Rawhide bones- Good or Bad?

cja75 · 01-02-2008, 06:43 AM

Domestic dogs CAN die from eating bones. It does happen. Rare but does happen. Wolves digestive system works a little different. Bones they eat come out wrapped in hair after the rest of their meal. Ie after eating they poo once kind of like your dog then later a the bone and hair come out. Most dogs can probably eat bones their whole life and never have a problem but it CAN hurt them. It has hurt dogs. Im not saying dont give bones, I'm just saying it doesn't make any sense to me to give my dog something that can hurt it when they don't need any of the nutrition from it and their are similar safer chews available.

[url]http://www.secondchanceranch.org/training/raw_meat/testimonies.html
http://www.thepetcenter.com/imtop/wolfexrep.html

Equestiana · 01-03-2008, 01:04 AM

What about the rawhides that claim to be natural and aren't bleached?
Meaty bones are great, outside.. Bully sticks are good too, unfortunatly my pups have sensative tummies and are often sick after bully sticks. We've tried nylabones, they'll chew them for a few days, get bored and never touch them again. I can imagine Kong's getting messy as well...

So what would you recommend for a inside chew? Currently we do give rawhide every once in awhile because it isn't messy like most alternatives and the dogs love it.

cja75 · 01-03-2008, 06:03 AM

Pigs ears are pretty good but my dog breaks them up fast. lamb lung is good as well I think it lasts a little longer. Rawhide is really too bad. If your dogs eat them with no problem and you aren't buying any with a bunch of crap in them why not right? The only bad I've read about them is stomach issues (indigestion etc..) Kinda like a person eating junk food. A little isn't so bad. I have and I think everyone has this problem with chews the ones that last dogs get bored with. The kong gave me the best results I guess. You can get the one shaped like a cylinder with ruffels on it, and I put a very tiny bit of penut butter in the crevases. My dog will chew it for quite a while some days. I just wash it when shes done. When I was a kid my parents always used rawhide for our dogs and we never had a problem and I know many people who use it and dogs are ok.

JAYBO837 · 01-03-2008, 12:03 PM

if you continue to choose rawhide,make sure its from u.s.a.

xtina · 01-04-2008, 01:34 AM

Well, my answer to this may be a little controversial since it seems like so many people have had bad experiences with rawhides. My opinion is that everything a person gives a dog to chew could end badly (even in death) if the human doesn't supervise the chewing. Every dog owner seems to have their own anecdotal evidence that this sort of chew or that is horrible, and I think the truth is that every type of chew probably has its drawbacks. I've been feeding Max rawhides all his life. He chews them into small pieces, swallows the pieces, and begs for more. I never see evidence of large chunks of rawhide in his poo, but if he weren't digesting it, he'd surely have a lump the size of a rottweiler in his gut. Neither is the case, so I assume it's getting safely passed somehow. I've seen dogs that are far more voracious chewers than Max, and those dogs probably have a greater chance of swallowing an inadvisably large piece that I could see causing a blockage.

I think a better course of action is for us to maybe list the benefits and drawbacks we see of each type of chew product instead of just condemning this or that as being horrible. I'm not a vet, and I bet that not many of us here are also not (but I don't know since I'm new). So since none of this is a scientific study, each of our anecdotal experience might be really informative to people. I'll go first.

Rawhides: + last a long time, dogs love them, relatively inexpensive
- can cause a blockage, have chemicals that may be dangerous
Bully sticks: + dogs LOVE them, they're natural
- expensive, don't last long
Natural bone: + last a long time, dogs love them, natural
- over a dog's lifetime, chewing natural bones can cause teeth to crack and wear down to the gums
Nylabones: + last a long time, inexpensive
- dogs get bored of them quickly
Corn starch bones: + Never used them
- Emergency vet tech friends have reported numerous near fatalities due to choking on "knuckle" of this toy
Greenies: + dogs love them, good for teeth
- don't last long, could cause a blockage, expensive
Kong: + last forever, doubles as a toy, awesome diversion
- dogs sometimes get bored of the Kong, stuffing the Kong adds unneeded calories and fat to the dog's diet

This is just my experience, and I'm open to input from others. I'd hate to lose a dog from rawhide use, but it seems so far-fetched with Max, as he's been an accomplished rawhide destroyer for so long.

cja75 · 01-04-2008, 05:56 AM

good post Xtina

xtina · 01-04-2008, 10:30 AM

Thanks! I hope everyone has something to add. I'm sure I can learn a lot.

Equestiana · 01-04-2008, 12:36 PM

Ok, ill go

Rawhide: +My dogs love them, they've never caused problems, cheap, not messy, last awhile, never get bored
- Possibility of blockage

Bully Sticks: +Dogs love em
- Expensive, Messy (at least with my dogs!), made my dog sick

Nylabone: +Last forever
- Dogs got bored with them quickly

Real Meaty Bone: +Dogs Love them
- Messy! Makes 2 of my 3 dogs have upset stomachs

Kongs: +Last forever
- Dogs got bored of them, not big toy dogs, extra calories

ACampbell · 01-04-2008, 12:48 PM

I like Greenies...so did my dogs. It took them about 20-30 minutes to get it chewed enough where they'd swallow it...seemed safe to me and no blockage afterward.
Rawhides - My dogs love them and chew them to globs of goo quickly (then leave them on my floor, not ingesting more than the corners of them) once it's goo they unravel it and 99% of the time it has retained it's original composure.
Bully Sticks - Expensive, I haven't used them...if they don't last long they are not cost efficient...my bullmastiff can chew through an entire rawhide in an hour or less - bully sticks would probably last 5 minutes.
Raw bones - smell like death (for obvious reasons) good for outside, and once they eat the marrow out you can stuff the big ones full of peanut butter or something gross that they'll like

Kong - haven't used one, I think it wouldn't get played with much...
Rubber tire chew toys - last a long time, don't come apart...flip side sometimes they get bored with it.

ozzy · 01-04-2008, 01:31 PM

I let Ozzy have rawhide once in awhile. He usually chews it for about an hour and then gets bored and never touches it again. I don't think he is swallowing much and since they are so cheap this works out ok. Sometimes I give him a chewed one later in life (like a few weeks) and he shows new interest, so they get rotated.

Greenies he gets once in awhile as well. I have heard about the blockage problems but I think if the dog is supervised and doesn't gulp it's ok. Ozzy doesn't gulp so I don't worry too much.

He loves bully sticks. They last a long time here too. I am not sure who said they don't last long but maybe it depends on the dog. I know it keeps his interest longer than a rawhide and since they are natural they are my fav choice. They are smelly though.

The kong is great for stuffing with stuff. If you then freeze it it will take awhile for the dog to get everything out. I know mine cleans his out and then keeps coming back to it looking for more. He likes to toss it around and get every last bit out.

brigitesmith1 · 01-13-2008, 03:42 AM

There is an increasing trend in feeding dogs a raw diet that consists of uncooked meats and vegetables. One popular version of this diet is known as the bones and raw foods (BARF) diet. This diet places an emphasis on feeding your dog only natural foods that have not been cooked or otherwise processed.

Here's an articles that will give you some pretty sound advice.

http://www.HealthyHappyDogs.com
http://www.Dog-Health-Care-Information.com
http://HealthierDogs.com