Why on earth do they fill those bones with fat? How is that good for dogs? My guys get the poops.

I don't buy from pet stores anymore - goodness knows how long that stuff lays around. When I give raw marrow bones (with fat inside) they are fine - no stool issues at all.

I can't imagine the chemicals used as preservatives in the bones bought in pet departments. YUK! I buy the regular marrow bones at the grocery store or the sterilized bones that I occasionally find a t the shows. JMHO

Yes, exactly. I bought one before. Saw a bunch there today while shopping not even wrapped. All I could think was germs!

Please pardon me as I chuckle about "germs" on dog bones. I try hard to keep everything in perspective and so here I am keeping my dog food pest free, and when feeding raw making sure it is of the highest quality...and then what do my 4 legged kids do???? YUP They go out and eat poop! It is like dessert with a twist, when the dog poop is scooped they go for the goose poop or the rabbit poop or, treat of all treats the buried cat poop from the cat next door! *BARF!*
Fortunately I know the dog's stomach will produce some large amounts of strong acid, thus lowering the pH level down to somewhere between 1 and 2! Now, pH=1 corresponds to an acidity you would obtain with
a 0.4% solution of Hydrochloric acid! That is a seriously corrosive fluid you could not hold your hands in without getting burned! Don't worry if you are a bit unfamiliar with the concept of using pH as a measure of acidity. It is enough to understand that this very low pH level is much lower that which your stomach can produce - a human stomach generally operates around pH=5, only two units below the neutral pH=7.
Most germs and enzymes are extremely sensitive to pH. If pH is off what they need, they simply don't function. From this, you can understand that the enzymes the dog has available for its own digestion are totally different to those we have in our stomachs. This again means that food that is great for a dog to digest might not be digestible at all for a human - and vice versa!

Guess to clarify I meant "germs" as in all that the bones come into contact wth not being wrapped. Dogs welcome in store. Dogs licks bone on shelf. Bone falls on floor. Cleaner on bone.

No mater what my guys might eat in the wild I still like to keep them safe in things I can control. Eg, what pet food I purchase.

My dog doesn't go near his own poop, but he goes nuts for goose, rabbit, and coyote poop. It make me gag. My previous lab used to rub his head in the goose do-do...that was a joy to clean up his face.

Any ideas on how to break him of this habit other than dragging him away?

I have worked for one of these stores for some time now. I have taken my dogs to work with me and come home to my dogs daily. I also feed my dogs these bones. Though I have never seen the stuffed variety that are not wrapped.

My dogs have been healthy and never effected by these "germs". At least nothing so horrible it warrented medical attention. I have brought more "stuff" home with me from a dog show or even the vet clinic (kennel cough).

My opinion is, if we keep our dogs in a bubble and never expose them they never build up an immunity. Sort of like children. It seems some of the sickest kids I see are with over protective mothers who shield them from everything. They are constantly ill with colds, flu, throat infections.

I work at a few of these pet stores with my part time job and they DO sell the unwrapped kind. I can't bring myself to give the dogs any of those cooked bones the pet stores sell.