Is this an urban myth?
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A bunch of us went out to St. Johns to visit Eric’s (and Ben’s) chicks. This was their second time outside and they were having a grand old time. Owain had a blast feeding, petting and chasing them too!
Question by Anna P: Is this an urban myth?
Somebody told me a story today that horrified me. Surely it’s an urban myth and it’s safe to give dogs bones?
She said a “friend” gave her dog a bone, dog left it in garden and it got covered in maggots. Dog ate bone and maggots on it and then maggots got inside dog and ate it from the inside out.
Is there any way this could happen? Surely the stomach acid would kill maggots?
I know maggots can get into open wounds or into the skin where fur is matted and dirty so you need to be careful your dog can keep clean and doesn’t have sores or a matted coat.
So is it safe for me to give my dog a bone from a pet shop (obviously not a chicken one)?
Feel free to answer in the comment section below
12 Responses to Is this an urban myth?
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Maggots only eat dead tissue, so I would say that it didn’t happen. The stomach acid would kill the maggots. Just be careful when you give your dog a bone, and make sure that it doesn’t go outside (the bone).
Wolfy(wants a Dane puppy!)
July 13, 2012 at 10:51 am
Yes its a myth. Don’t believe everything you hear.
Jon
July 13, 2012 at 11:24 am
This is absolutely untrue haha, for one maggots wouldn’t infest the bone unless it was especially meaty and moist. and two, the maggots would absolutely be killed! they sometimes use maggots in modern medicine in infected/septic wounds to eat the decayed flesh and keep it clean, they only consume decaying matter.
however, something somewhat along those likes that could happen, would be for the dog to consume worms, the kind that live in the intenstines/bowels, in extreme cases theyre known to cause death, but only by blockage and consuming nutrients from the dogs food, not eating the animal themselves.
Galaxyofthelost
July 13, 2012 at 11:58 am
I don’t think its possible. Like you said they would die in the stomach.
Rogue Bulles is taking a break!
July 13, 2012 at 12:37 pm
Complete and utter bull. If a canine’s digestive system couldn’t handled decaying flesh, then they would have died out a long time ago. Wild canids frequently cache their food, letting it rot.
I wouldn’t bother with a pet store bone – a non-processed unbleached raw bone is ALWAYS best, in terms of safety and nutrition. Raw non-weight bearing bones (think ribs, etc.) are always the best source of food – chicken is the most popular and usually the cheapest, but many people use turkey, game birds, lamb, beef, kangaroo, etc.
EDIT: TexasRiv.., COOKED bones splinter and will indeed perforate the delicate esophageal and stomach lining. I have never heard any kind of evidence that states raw bones do the same, regardless of the kind of bone. If canines couldn’t fully consume the carcass of their prey, they would have died out long ago. About the only thing a dog won’t eat on their prey, especially larger prey, is excessive hair and rumen contents. Other that that, they eat everything. Yes, including those rib bones.
~ La vita è misterioso ~
July 13, 2012 at 12:42 pm
Myth, the gastric acid in the dogs stomach would kill the maggots. Some other kind of worms that cling to the dogs intestines like roundworms and hookworms, that is a different story.
Katie
July 13, 2012 at 1:32 pm
i don’t know but probably not cuz if a dog ate maggots the dog would have crushed and killed them and i think they would have died anyway. the only kind of bone you should also give your dog is a steak bone cuz all the other bones could give your dog splinters hope this helps
Gabby
July 13, 2012 at 1:34 pm
No.. dogs are built to eat virtually anything. Of course things like chicken bones are bad and can get stuck in their throats… But I don’t see a problem with maggots. Dog’s eat dead things all the time. I’d say they’d die before they did anything to the dog.
But.. I have heard this story.. from an actual doctor, and this was a supposed patient… But his patient came in with stomach problems that he’d been having for a couple weeks… They did ultra sounds, CAT scans, and all that jazz… Finally after anothe couple weeks of finding nothing wrong, they decided the only thing left to do was to go in surgically to see if anything was wrong. During surgery, after he was opened up, the doctor notice his stomach had a weird consistency, it moved like jello. So, they open his stomach, and to everyone’s horror, it was FULL of worms, that had completly eaten out the inside on his stomach. The patient died on the operating table. Come to find out, the patient had eaten some bad sushi a few days before the stomach problems begin.
Because I heard this from the doctor that actually saw this… I want to say maybe your story isn’t a complete myth. But then again, dogs are built to handle things like that over humans.
Rockstar
July 13, 2012 at 1:46 pm
I’m going to contradict La Vita’s comment about bones. Ribs, and poultry bones splinter and can cut your dog’s esophagus and stomach. If you plan to give your dog bones from your kitchen they should be out of a roast or ham. NOT from chickens or turkeys!
TexasRiverRat
July 13, 2012 at 2:43 pm
Haha xD OK first of all maggots only eat dead tissue so no way they would eat a bone or a live dog! Second, surely the dog’s gastric acid would kill them. So yeah, as long as it isn’t a chicken bone and it isn’t cooked (cooked bone will break easier and therefore you’d be risking your dog getting a splinter in his throat or choking on it.), it’s fine. Do not believe everything you hear!
Alex R
July 13, 2012 at 3:42 pm
That is a rediculous story. There is no way that could happen, I give my dog bones all the time.
betty0000
July 13, 2012 at 4:41 pm
I have seen my cats and dogs licking the maggots off a piece of meat that one of the dogs has left for ‘ripening’. Pretty gross but I try to think of it as ‘live prey’.
As for the bone issue – those pet store bones are far too dense to be safe for your dogs teeth and many of them are smoked which will make them more likely to splinter.
Raw bones (especially those covered in meat) are safe to eat and are very digestible. It is only cooked bones that will splinter and those cut by a saw (chops, steak etc) can cause problems too. My dogs and cats get raw chicken including the bones several times a week.
Joh: think outside the bag
July 13, 2012 at 5:00 pm