Tell your husband there is a HUGE difference between raw bones and cooked bones... never, ever give cooked bones, they will shatter... raw bones will actually digest... many paople are feeding raw chicken necks, chicken wings, backs, etc, to their dogs.. what I feed raw I feed ground up with bone in it...
A lot of people with dogs like you describe do not grind, but feed whole -- some even feed turkey necks to dogs with extremely strong jaws, though the shape of a turkey neck is such that I would take it outside and wrap in a towel and hit it a few times with a hammer and then feed it..
Rabbit is another popular meat.. there's people out there who have a deal with the local police to call them when there is fresh deer road kill -- especially the people with large dogs who live in areas without wasting disease...
Chewing on these big bones occupy dogs for a long time and they actually sleep better from the exercise this chewing gives them...
Are smoked bones considered cooked? Here in the country we get lightly smoked bones and they appear nearly raw and the marrow is semi dry but moist yet and the bones are not brittle. My dogs love them and I have never had any problems feeding them to my boggies. My dogs teeth are perfectly white and in great shape due the bones I feed them. The bones keep them occupied for hours on end. I have been doing it for years without any problems. Of course my dogs are small (11# and 28#) but I never give them small ones... they are usually at least 5" long and probably 1 1/2" across in thickness. It takes them a while to do some major damage to them (they go after the marrow) and usually throw whats left of them away after 2 or 3 days. My little 11 pounder (90% MinPin / 10% Hole Digging Rat Terrorist) has no problem carrying around these big bones. (big for her of course)
The 11# Terrorist
and her 28# sidekick
