The Truth About Rawhide
 

My dog is a "chewer". This means she loves to chew and chew and chew and chew....my books, papers, all of her toys, her bed, my pillows etc.

I was at the pet store the other day and saw all this rawhide. I've heard sketchy things like dogs choke on them or that it tears the stomach and intestines, or it's indigestible. Is there any validity to these claims or is rawhide a good snack/chew thing? If they're bad, then why would they sell it still right?

I wont feed the moose pig ears, but she adores and I do mean ADORES those rolled up rawhide thingies. Since I started giving her the rawhide-roll-ups she has seriously cut back on her mass gnawing of shoes, paper, underware and other non desireable chew toys.

They also sell this stuff called "Bitter Apple" it smells noxious to dogs and they tend to leave alone whatever smells like it. :)

For now I've been using greenies, bullies, and chew toys. But oh man, they get expensive. I'm just looking for new and interesting things and alternatives (hopefully cheaper too).

But do we know if the rawhides are harmful?

Did you say moose? Oh my God!! Moose+moose appetite+moose food+moose droppings=big clean up

Suprisingly the moose doesnt eat much... she looks like a german shepard pup... a 4 month old 30 pound pup. Yeah... droppings...

Every dog I have ever personally known has eaten rawhides regularly and lived to a ripe old age unless struck down by a car or some such.

I would sao nah, they are fine.

I had to give up giving raw hide bones to the newfs because they loved them too much. I want mine *and* yours.

I highly recommend them if you have one dog. You'll have one contented pup and save yourself a lot of damage. Also, the rawhide doesn't splinter, but becomes pliable and soft with doggy drool. You probably don't want this happening on your furniture. :)

Nylabone.

http://www.nylabone.com/

They last forever and are digestable.

but many dogs (mine included) don't like nylabones and won't touch 'em.

Rawhides are fine as long as you don't give them the thin little ones that are about as big around as a pencil - dogs sometimes tend to try to bolt the rawhide, swallow that, and then start choking. Give 'em the big thick rollup ones or even a rawhide "bone." But don't give 'em out too often, it's not like a rawhide is health food ;)

One thing my dogs like as a nylabone alternative is the Booda Bone. It must have a better flavor than the nylabone.

I've had a Nylabone for my beagle for a few months now, and they seem to be indestructable. I think its the only chew toy that's lasted this long. He only chews on it once a week at best (they aren't flavored), but enjoys it when he does. I recommend it.

Edible nylabones are a good alternative.

Rawhide is only a "problem" for some small dogs and puppies, and really the main problem is pressed rawhide that can splinter and come apart. Pig's ears and rawhide "chips" should be fine. But if you're worried, the edible nylabones are favorites with our dog who hates the regular "plastic" nylabones.

I had a 100 pound basset start choking on one of the thin stick rawhide chews, so it's not just the small mutts ;)

I have been using them for years. However I try to keep an eye on the Labs until they finish. They don't chew them really. It's more like a snack.

My newf won't touch Nylabones, she prefers the real thing. My yard looks like a dig site. I've never had a problem with rawhide, though I only get the large ones. Her favorite is smoked pig ears, though I need to buy them by the sack at Sam's.

Due to inbreeding, many dogs have weak teeth that wear down prematurely.

No point in speeding that process along.

Oh, and DON'T GIVE YOUR DOG ANY MORE GREENIES. I've heard too many horror stories.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/02/14/dan...eat/index.html

Other than that, we've never had a problem with rawhide with any of our pets. Even my cats like 'em. :)

We just recently took a Nylabone out of a bulldog puppies stomach during exploritory surgery. It was NOT DIGESTED at all and was sitting in the stomach and intestine causing a blockage that would have killed him.

I HIGHLY recommend not using this product or GREENIES as they both are known to do this. I have never however seen a problem with rawhide other then in small animals where sometimes they swallow to big of a peice and it has caused choking.

We get our dog the rawhide rollups from Costco. He gets one every now and again and just loves them.

For us, it's a good choice, because anything that is supposedly indestructible for other dogs is definitely not for Jack. He's had no problem tearing through things that were supposed to last.

give your dog a cold raw carrot, my dogs have always loved them.

Well, I have been giving my doggie Nylabones, greenies, bones (the big roasted kind as well as chicken), bullies, and assorted toys. I was just looking for a bit more variety and maybe a chew thing that could "stump" her. She goes through the Tough Nylabone in no time! She eventually eats the great big roasted bones over a couple of days.

I will look into rawhides. Pig ears and chippies?

there is no reason to give your dog anything other than good dog treats (nutro is good. 3dog bakery if you wanna go nuts), carrots (they're like candy to a dog, and they're very good for him) his food, and the occasional large rawhide chew. Pig ears are to a dog what a deep fried twinkie is to us. Nothing but fat. Bones are universally a bad idea. Your dog doesn't need that much variety. Dogs are not people. They do better on a steady consistant diet, both from a gastrointestinal standpoint and from a consistancy standpoint - Dogs like routines. They tend to get nervous if routines get broken, even if it involves food.

I'm getting confused about all the threads you're posting regarding dogs. In the bones thread you started you seemed to have come to the understanding that chicken bones are a bad idea, yet in here you say you still feed the bones to your dog. You seem to be a very novice dog owner. Nothing wrong with that, but a good dog book would not be a bad idea at this point. There's a LOT to know about caring for a dog, and just tossing things at the dog because you think the dog might like it, is not a good idea, and in fact could be dangerous to the dog.

Yeah, I can see how it gets a bit confusing. The above list is what I used to give my dog. As stated before, I no longer give my dog bones. I was thinking about it but wanted some more opinions.

The reason I posted about bones is because it is so divided. Some people do, some people don't. Even the Greenies got contoversial. I just wanted to solicit some more opinions other than just the people form the dog parks and pet store.

In regards to looking for variety, I was wondering if there were other chew items I could look into as my doggie goes through them quite quickly (hence the list of items). I thought maybe rawhides were "tougher" and therefore last longer.

At the end of the day, it isn't a big deal, it just means I have to buy more chew items to replace the used up ones.

I actually tried to give my dog a carrot once, but she wasn't interested.

I have done my homework though. I've read some books, articles, talked to other dog owners, dog trainers and people at the pound. It took me three years of careful considerations and learning before I got my dog. I actually dog sat for a year first to get a feel for it (all sorts of dogs too, it was awesome!).

Novice dog owner? Maybe, but I sort of see it as a lifelong learning experience anyways. I started alot of threads because I enjoy talking about my dog, had some questions, wanted other opinions and thought others would enjoy it too ;) In some ways, I see it as similar to the Parenting thread.

We keep our dogs on a steady diet of good dog food and they aren't fed table scraps of any kind. However, while they may not need it the occasional ham bone sure makes for a couple happy dogs and it keeps them busy for hours. Also they will do anything you ask them for a saltine cracker, potato chip [of any kind] or just plain ole ice outa the ice machine. If they hear a bag krinkle or the ice machine dumping ice into a cup they are all over themselves.


When they are puppies we give them the large rawhides to give them something to chew on. As they get bigger they seem to lose their zest for rawhides but they sure save the furniture, shoes etc.

We are having a real problem finding something they will eat other than Puppy Chow, in fact we are still in the experimental stages of finding a good quality food to replace the Puppy Chow. So far we have tried Iams and Science diet and a few others on the shelf at the local pet stores with no real luck. We try to mix it in but our older dog will eat the puppy chow and leave the rest or just not touch his bowl and eat all the puppy's food out of her bowl :eek: I think Purrina puts something in their food to get the dogs hooked on it ;) I guess it won't hurt him to eat the Puppy Chow for another 8 months or so then wean them both at the same time....

Try Wellness. It's an excellent food with human-quality ingredients. They make a sweet potato and fish flavor that stinks to holy hell, which means your dogs naturally love it. Mine went crazy over it when they came out with it.

My border collie used to go through a rawhide treat in no time. Then I switched to using a bull pizzle (dried bull penis) - those things are the toughest items around!

i have a 92lb. Royal Standard Poodle. he will eat just about anything. he has some interest in Nylabones, but he can take it or leave it. it's rawhide that he likes best. he loves 'em but goes really crazy (obsessive and aggressive) with them. cause of his size he gets very large bones. i end up giving him the bone for like 20 minute to 1/2 an hour, due to his craziness with bones. i try not to give him any of the rolled up, braided, twisted rawhide because he will eat them, not chew them in less than 5 minutes. He usually swallow them whole.

i am not too worried about the bones getting stuck in his digestive track because Vinnie is a rare dog. since he was a puppy he has eaten socks, underwear, tissues, paper-towels, coffee beans (5lb. worth) wash cloths, an ace bandage, and condoms all of said items has been eaten whole, and passed. i have been quite luck, actually he is quite lucky. my point is if i had any other dog than Vinny i would refuse to give him any Nylabones, Greenes, or small rawhide. i would go for a riduculas sized rawhides so i know that the dog could not swallow them whole.

the big knuckle, and hip(I think its the hip bone) and femurs bones from cows are great. they don't have much meat on them but keeps their chewing habit satisfied. plus they last a long time. one warring...when you first get them they are smelly and messy, but after that they are great.

I think what you should take away from this thread is... every dog is different, just like every human is different. First of all, the hype over Greenies is blown WAY out of proportion. It's simply because there is a company to sue that it's making news headlines. For the number of Greenies sold to the number of incidents... it's tiny. My mom's black lab snarfed down an entire corn cob half (honest!) that got lodged in her digestive system. She had to get surgery. ANYTHING a dog gets to that it does not chew properly can cause the same problem. That's like saying you shouldn't giv gummy bears to 20-year olds because a few people DIE from choking on gummy bears. *shrug* Media hype is lame, people... think about the logic behind things before you repeat it.

As for rawhide, there's really little concern as long as your dog chews it. You'll know soon enough if your dog is compatible with rawhide. Get a medium-sized piece in any shape and let them at it. If they like it AND the chew it... great! If either of those is missing... bad!

Common sense really...