Dogs and bones go hand and hand, with many owners praising their pooch by rewarding them with their favorite chew toy. While everybody has heard that you don’t give a dog a chicken bone, in reality, owners should be careful when giving their dog any bone. Bones contain mineral content and elasticity among other components which gives them strength, according to Life Hacker. These positives break down and become brittle when owners cook bones, which can splinter when they’re chewed. This includes turkey bones, beef bones (steak), pork bones (ribs) and chicken bones, all of which can seriously injure a dog. The FDA warned against “bone treats" which are smoked or baked following a report carried out on 90 dogs with similar injuries, of which 15 died. Pigs ears and bully sticks are softer, non-bone alternatives which are safer for dogs to chew on. Uncooked bones are less likely to break and are in theory, safer, but they do offer up their own list of concerns. Given that a raw bone is covered in raw meat, it can carry e-coli or salmonella which can spread around the house and be a risk to children. The American Kennel Club recommends giving your dog a bone for 15 minutes, then putting it in a refrigerator until next time. Discard the bone after three or four days and be sure to give your dog a bone at least as large as its head to make it difficult for them to break.