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Rawhide questions

cavimom

cavimom

Well-known member
I am sure this has been asked before, but I searched and can't find what I am looking for. Are rawhide bones ok for dogs to eat? Lily loves her bones and when I give her one she will chew the knows off of the ends and devour them. The middle she used to leave behind, but now she eats that too. Is this ok? Also, how often should she be allowed to have them? She loves to have constant access to one. I was wondering if this could add weight to her? She is a bit chubby and I know she needs to lose weight. I have quit buying her treats and she begs for them, but I refuse. It is sad to watch. But she is about 21 lbs!!!! I think that is a bit much for her. Am I right? Any suggestions?
 
Years ago we had a Yorkshire Terrier that managed to ravel a rawhide ball and swallow most of it except for about 1-2 in. which I was able to grasp and then pull out the whole thing-not nice.. Earlier this year I had given the dogs appropriate sizes of the tendon chews and Annie began to choke-couldn't grasp anything-and flew the blocks to the vet where he removed the chew with forceps. Because of these scary, threatening incidents I will never again give these guys any type of leathery chew. Those leathery chews get mushy and can get swallowed in large pieces and it's my understanding they don't digest well and can cause a blockage.They do chew on nylabones and they need to watched while chewing those.
Mine love frozen green beans and small carrots for treats and I give them Charley Bears (3 cal.a piece) and other small dog treats that I break into small offerings. I try to keep the treats calories as low as I can-they are all food oriented. They did rob the cherry tomato plants this summer and were quite proud of that so they definitely like their veggies.
 
raw hide bones

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: hey i had an experience a few weeks back i gave charly a raw hide bone . i was in bed and heard a horrible gurgling noise and i jumped up. charly was choking on his bone,i grabbed the end of it and pulled it had all unravelled and 90% of it was down his throat,if i wasnt there he would be dead its as simple as that. needless to say charly does,nt get raw hide bones noe,he get pedigree chum tooth treats.please please please take this into consideration next time you give your dog a raw hide, i dont mean to scare you just giving you the heads up :hug:
 
I only let mine chew on one when he's in plain site and I can watch him. I also get ones that are too big for him to swallow and keep an eye on him because I'm scare he's going to choke.
 
my charlies dont like rawhide bones. Ezme our tri cav does but she eats them too quickly to be safe.
if you get rawhides make sure they are the thick white beef ones, some rawhides are supposedly made from dog & cat skin in the far east!
 
I have tried the veggie treats for Lily and she just turns her nose up at them. I do get scared about the rawhides and she only gets them when sitting by me. But yes, she does break pieces off that she should not swallow. I snatch them up and toss them. I have never heard of the nylabones. What are they and where can I get them? I need to find something she can chew that will keep her busy and out of trouble. She hates to exercise and all she wants to do is sit and chew. :) I try to limit that as I know it isn't good for them. If anyone has any great suggestions I would appreciate it. Thanks for all the comments, I will stop with the rawhides. You all have me scared!
 
Geordie likes the nylabones - they're plastic but are scented or flavored and are not edible. He chews on them for maybe 10 minutes at a time and it gives his jaws a good work out.:razz: I won't let him have the "edible" nylabones because I saw one break off into sharp pieces.

Sometimes I let my 3 have bully sticks, but I make sure I'm keeping an eye on them in case of choking. I've never had them choke on a bully stick. I give them a treat in exchange for the stubs. They have swallowed the stubs before, and I asked the vet about it - she says they digest the bully stick stubs.

I give them lamb ears as well. The lamb ears don't last very long, maybe 5 minutes before they're gone.

I won't let them have rawhide bones or sticks because of the choking hazard, but I just recently bought a bag of rawhide flip chips from the vet's office. The chips are treated with something to clean their teeth and reduce bacteria in their mouths. I haven't let them have those yet, as I'm waiting for Geordie's colitis to heal.
 
I had heard that the flat rawhide was safer than the ones twisted into bones or sticks. However, the vet told me that Luke's tonsils were inflamed and he put it down to rawhide. As soon as I stopped giving it to him, he got better.

I had a scare with Jolly too. I gave him a flat piece of rawhide about 3 or 4 inches long and 2 inches wide. He chewed for an hour drive in the car and then it was gone and I heard him wheezing. I pulled over to find that He had swallowed it whole and it was stuck in his throat! :yikes I was able to pull it out, but that was the last rawhide he has ever gotten.

For chewing they now get nylabones, Sam's Yams, Snooks made from sweet potatoes, Merrick's Lamb Lung Filets & Greenies. And on rare occasions Booda Velvet Bones.

Lately I have decided not to get the Bully Sticks or Texas Toothpicks anymore, because when they get down to the nub they are swallowing it and I am afraid that that may get stuck in their throats or intestines.
 
Hi, I have been giving Breeze pressed rawhide all her life (10 1/2 yrs) and she loves it. Scout also loves the pressed rawhide. My vet always ask if they are chewing on something so I told her I give them pressed rawhide and she told me that's what she gives her dogs. It does keep their teeth clean. Breeze has never had her teeth cleaned by the vet and I've been told she doesn't need it. Also her breath isn't bad, no smelly doggie breath after 10 1/2 years.

However, with that said, I have on several, several occasions pulled pieces that were too big to be swallowed out of both of my dogs mouths. You have to be very, very careful with rawhide. Your dogs must be monitored with rawhide or any toy or chew. When the piece get too small I take it away and throw it in the trash. They love to chew and I find that pressed rawhinde is the best thing for my dogs. They last for quite a while, most things I buy at the store last for 5 minutes. If Breeze is in a really heavy chewing mood she can chew 1/2 of the 10" bone in less than 2 hours. :eek:

I buy the 4" and 10" bones. Of course whichever bone Breeze has that's the one Scout wants. ;)
 
I have tried different shapes of raw hide and have had problems with the flat strips as these tend to be sticking out of his mouth but if I pull it, you can tell it must have been half way down his throat at the same time, and I mean the whole 6 inch strip. I use the long rolled up stick about 10" long then throw away half of it to be sure I always have enough to grip hold of to take off him!
 
I stopped giving anything but munchie chews, or rawhide cigars (from which only small pieces can be nibbled) under strict supervision and taken away as they get smallish, though my springers used to enjoy huge ones that we joked were cow's legs. this was because Monty, who will swallow any rawhide piece which is less than 4cm long and twice nearly choked after the soggy strip got caught in his throat. The first time was put down to bad luck, but twice made it a real danger to be considered.
 
The nylabones are available at pet stores and come in a couple different flavors that are some how impregnated into the "bones"-they also come plain. They also come as edible but I never get those. The dogs can get tiny particles off the regular ones while chewing and probably can break off larger parts which can be bad news.They come in different sizes and mine all handle the the bone that is 7.5 in. in length-all handle these well except for Annie who finds them too awkward. I like having chew objects for them as it helps their teeth and satisfies their instincts. I check the bones for sharp edges periodically and file them down if needed. They are not risk free, nothing is, and, as Shane did, can break a tooth with the very hard chewers.
Because Annie doesn't chew them well I tried the Merrick Flossies and she proved to not chew those well either and ended up choking. I think part of all these chew things is knowing your dogs' jaw strength and what they can safely handle.
 
Thanks all!

I found the nylabones in a Target here and bought Lily 2 of the edible ones. This was before I read all the comments about only using the non-edibles. :) She carried that bone around for about 3 days before deciding to do anything more than licking it. When she finally started to eat it last night she was tearing it off in chunks! It scared me so I made her sit by me and I kept stealing pieces I thought were too big. So, I guess no more of those. So, my question is. If your dog wants something they can eat and I buy the plastic nylabone, can they devour it? Is that possible? I don't want her eating something she isn't supposed to. I have to find something that she likes that I feel safe with. Otherwise she starts stealing anything she can get her teeth on to chew. When she has something to carry around she doesn't do that. Toys don't cut it. She could care less. More ideas would be great! Thanks!
 
Thanks for the original poster for bringing this up because I did not know the choking hazards of rawhide bones. Also I didn't even know that rawhide bones are not supposed to be eaten. :(
 
Mine won't touch even the meaty flavoured Nylabones, once they are a day old. They do enjoy Pedigree Dentastix or Jumbones, though I doubt the manufacturer's claims about teeth cleaning. I read, somewhere that these claims are based on a very small number of dogs, trialed over only a few months; far too smal, to give statistically acceptable results.
 
Wouldn't the jumbones be high in calories? I need to find something to slim Lily out while she can still enjoy it. She is downright fat these days! I have given her the jumbones before, but they don't seem the healthy choice. I bought a chicken flavored nylabone and she is enjoying it. If it keeps her happy without calorie intake, we are good!
 
Ok, Lily just had some explosive diarrhea. Has anyone had this happen after giving a nylabone to them? This is the non-edible one. It is the only thing that has gone near her mouth today, besides her usual morning potty treat.
 
Just a little note about the nylabones-you can see white flecks in the stools after they've been chewing on them.............can make you wonder about worms.
 
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