[Meghan&Pedro]

Pig ears aren't a bad treat for dogs, but they definatly are very fatty. You also have to give each ear a good look over to make sure it's clean. A lot of pigs ears will mold during transport, and careless stockers might not notice this.

They are digestible, but can cause choking if the dog doesn't chew it properly. It can also cause an impaction in the intestine if they swallow a large peice.

YOU have to decide if they're right for your dog. My dog, for example, chews his treats VERY well, never swallowing the small peices without chewing them really well. Because of this, I can trust him alone at home with those types of treats (he gets lots of veal chews, and the lower-fat digestible chews like tendons and beef chews, tracheas etc). But my older dog, isn't like that. He'll swallow anything when it gets down to a small peice. So I don't give him the edible treats like pig ears. I give him rollover bones instead - which are cooked at the proper temperature not to splinter.

If you have a 'gulper', then don't leave your dog unsupervised with ANY long-lasting-chew that is small enough to fit sideways in their mouths. Some dogs can't be trusted to properly chew pig ears, rawhide, veal chews, hoofs, tracheas, greenies etc, It's all about how YOUR dog chews.

[Snowshoe]

Pig ears chew up much faster then say, a Nylabone or a natural bone. Because dogs can eat them so quickly, you have to watch for how many your dog ingests in a day.

If any treat equals more then 15% or so of your dog's diet, you have to watch out for nutritional value, of which pig ears have next to none.

IF a dog fills up on treats rather then his/her food, it can cause a host of problems.

Also, pig ears can cause intestinal blockage in some dogs. So, as the above posters have suggested, watch out for if your dog is a chewer or a gulper.

BTW, greenies are also known to cause intestinal damage and death in dogs. I'd watch out for those, too.

[Lilu]

My dog loves them to death with no runny poop. She gets about 1 a day

[Meghan&Pedro]

Originally Posted by Snowshoe

BTW, greenies are also known to cause intestinal damage and death in dogs. I'd watch out for those, too.

Out of the millions of dogs that eat them regularly, yes there have been a few problems with greenies.

however - they have since changed their formula to a slightly softer and more digestible treat.

[anjamaka]

About cooked bones, they do tend to splinter, but a lot of people on the GR website I frequent swear by them especially if you fill them with stuff. I dunno, I am still undecided.

[starry15]

Thanks for bringing this up! What other treats are bad for dogs?

[diana311]

I just recently saw an episode Emergency Vet on Animal Planet about this black lab who ate a whole bag of pigs ears. They had to give him this stuff through an IV to make him throw it all up.

The vet ended up telling the lab's owner, that "he is not a fan of pigs ears. they are coated with a sweet coating & thats why dogs like it. However with its rough edges, it can be harmful going through their stomachs & digestive tracts. So give it to them in moderation". And I would suggest for small dogs break them up into smaller pieces, so it runs less of a risk for them to swallow pieces that are too big for them.

[cjac&mac]

[quote=Alpha;6908]I've heard of salamonella poisoning with pigs ears as well as other issues.

Originally Posted by chuma

i also too have a dachshund ad she loves pig ears..but the vet said they are crawling with bacteria that arnt good for the dog..especiall little once..so i would do it even if they liked it..there a many diffrent varieties of treats and teeth cleaners to give your dogs.

Any reliable pet store would have recalled any pig ear if salmonella was still an issue. The same goes for beef products when we had issues with Mad Cow.

As far as them being loaded with bacteria.....I mean it is a pig ear, a REAL pig ear, and [u]anything[u] exposed to air will grow bacteria. Not all bacteria is bad, if you had cause to worry, they wouldn't be available to the public. A pet store or a vet office for that matter, would not sell something to purposely get your pet ill.

Pig ears make a good temporary distraction or reward for your pet. They help with jaw strengthening, gum massaging, and general oral health. However too many and your dog may gain weight, or become picky about eating his meals, so feed accordingly.

Do not feed your dog pig ears if he/she does have an allergy or sensitivity to pork! Always monitor your dog when trying new things to make sure they don't swallow too large a piece,and that they chew properly.

Their are many other chew items out there. Follow the same guidlines.

[Captbob]

Originally Posted by Meghan&Pedro

Out of the millions of dogs that eat them regularly, yes there have been a few problems with greenies.

however - they have since changed their formula to a slightly softer and more digestible treat.

That's a gamble I am not willing to take with my dog.

[quote=cjac&mac;34036]

Originally Posted by Alpha

I've heard of salamonella poisoning with pigs ears as well as other issues.





Any reliable pet store would have recalled any pig ear if salmonella was still an issue. The same goes for beef products when we had issues with Mad Cow.

As far as them being loaded with bacteria.....I mean it is a pig ear, a REAL pig ear, and [u]anything[u] exposed to air will grow bacteria. Not all bacteria is bad, if you had cause to worry, they wouldn't be available to the public. A pet store or a vet office for that matter, would not sell something to purposely get your pet ill.

Pig ears make a good temporary distraction or reward for your pet. They help with jaw strengthening, gum massaging, and general oral health. However too many and your dog may gain weight, or become picky about eating his meals, so feed accordingly.

Do not feed your dog pig ears if he/she does have an allergy or sensitivity to pork! Always monitor your dog when trying new things to make sure they don't swallow too large a piece,and that they chew properly.

Their are many other chew items out there. Follow the same guidlines.

According to two vets, and a vet tech I have talked to, as well as E-Vet on the Animal Planet which has some of the best vets in the country on their program Pig's Ears can cause problems and are not recommended because of it.

[cjac&mac]

[quote=Captbob;34060]That's a gamble I am not willing to take with my dog.

Originally Posted by cjac&mac

According to two vets, and a vet tech I have talked to, as well as E-Vet on the Animal Planet which has some of the best vets in the country on their program Pig's Ears can cause problems and are not recommended because of it.

You can find something bad with everything on the market, and "EVERYTHING" has the possibilty of causing harm or even death to your pet.

Be smart, "know" your pet, and use your head. Don't feed a petite greenie to a great dane. Don't feed rawhide to puppies. Don't feed any by-product (ie. pig ear, bull stick, snout, hoof) if your dog has a sensitvity to the protein or doesn't chew it properly.

[Meghan&Pedro]

Originally Posted by Captbob

That's a gamble I am not willing to take with my dog.



According to two vets, and a vet tech I have talked to, as well as E-Vet on the Animal Planet which has some of the best vets in the country on their program Pig's Ears can cause problems and are not recommended because of it.

Well that's good. If you know your dog and you aren't comfortable with your dog getting treats like that - then I'm glad that you are willing to take a preventative approach!

I, with the dog I have now, completely trust him to chew his treats properly. So I am comfortable giving him veal chews and beef backstraps and hoofs etc when I'm not around to watch him. But I never in a million years would have given my flat coated retriever such things and left him alone. With him I had to supervise, and take it away when it got down to a small enough piece that it could fit entirely in his mouth.

Like Cj said - EVERYONE out there has a horror story about SOMETHING.

I have customers coming into the store and saying "my dog almost died choking on a peice of KONG!"

Does that mean that I don't recommend KONG's to people anymore? No. I just tell them to pick an appropriate size KONG, and discard it once it's been damaged.

Same with Nylabones. I've heard LOTS of horror stories about Nylabones.

But I hear horror stories from the same kind of people with the same kind of dog - The kind of dog that choked on (and had to get surgery to remove!) a piece of foam from their couch. Or a piece of their living room table.

Come on, I work in the pet food retail industry - I get to hear ALL the horror stories. And most of them are from irresponsible dog owners that don't supervise their pets properly when they are playing with their toys (and discard them once they're damaged), or provide their dog with treats that are inappropriate for that specific dog.

I think everyone has to be aware of what is, and what is not, appropriate for their specific dog, and make responsible choices.


Meghan

[Captbob]

Originally Posted by Meghan&Pedro

Well that's good. If you know your dog and you aren't comfortable with your dog getting treats like that - then I'm glad that you are willing to take a preventative approach!

I, with the dog I have now, completely trust him to chew his treats properly. So I am comfortable giving him veal chews and beef backstraps and hoofs etc when I'm not around to watch him. But I never in a million years would have given my flat coated retriever such things and left him alone. With him I had to supervise, and take it away when it got down to a small enough piece that it could fit entirely in his mouth.

Like Cj said - EVERYONE out there has a horror story about SOMETHING.

I have customers coming into the store and saying "my dog almost died choking on a peice of KONG!"

Does that mean that I don't recommend KONG's to people anymore? No. I just tell them to pick an appropriate size KONG, and discard it once it's been damaged.

Same with Nylabones. I've heard LOTS of horror stories about Nylabones.

But I hear horror stories from the same kind of people with the same kind of dog - The kind of dog that choked on (and had to get surgery to remove!) a piece of foam from their couch. Or a piece of their living room table.

Come on, I work in the pet food retail industry - I get to hear ALL the horror stories. And most of them are from irresponsible dog owners that don't supervise their pets properly when they are playing with their toys (and discard them once they're damaged), or provide their dog with treats that are inappropriate for that specific dog.

I think everyone has to be aware of what is, and what is not, appropriate for their specific dog, and make responsible choices.


Meghan

I would think that a Vet that actually sees the results of problems working in one of the best Vet ER's in the nation, with things like Pig's ears, would have a bit more credability than someone that works in the pet food store......

[Meghan&Pedro]

You love your low-blows, don't you?

I'm sorry that you just see me as someone 'who works at a pet food store', and discredit my thoughts and opinions that easily, rather then getting to know me and learning how much I know, and how I learned it.

Thanks for putting yet another dark cloud on yet another nice thread Catbob.

[Captbob]

Originally Posted by Meghan&Pedro

You love your low-blows, don't you?

I'm sorry that you just see me as someone 'who works at a pet food store', and discredit my thoughts and opinions that easily, rather then getting to know me and learning how much I know, and how I learned it.

Thanks for putting yet another dark cloud on yet another nice thread Catbob.

You may view it as a "dark cloud" or a "low blow", but I am just trying to put things in perspective. I have a couple of very experienced vets that tell me personally that Pig's ears are not good because of the hazards involved in eating them that they have actually experienced , and in addition that very topic was also brought up on a Vet ER program on Animal channel by one of the most experienced vets in the ER (which is one of the best in the world by the way) , a week or two ago , and you are stating that you don't think that information is valid. If you have customers coming "into your store" asking questions about pet chew items as you stated , it would appear that you work in the store, or did I miss something somewhere along the line? I am just making a comparison between the two sources of information on this topic. If that comparison makes you uncomfortable, don't blame me. If you want everyone to know how much you know and how you learned it, then tell us all about it.

[cjac&mac]

CaptBob, if your 'vet friends' told you to jump off a cliff would you? Not every vet has the same opinions, and even the most experienced vets do make mistakes. Where do you think "second opinions" came from?

I think we should lay off the personal attacks. From everything I know about Meghan&Pedro and what she writes, she has a lot of credability. She has a lot of hands-on and educated experience. What is it exactly you do for a living?

Besides this, we have gone off topic, I believe the original question was--"are pig ears bad?"

One thing that is OK for one dog isn't necessarily OK for another. There hasbeen issues with pig ears before, but there has also been issues with bones(real and synthetic), dry food, raw food, toys, blankets, kennels, collars, etc. Know your dog, use your head, plain and simple. This thread has gone overboard, it's time to end it.

[Captbob]

Originally Posted by cjac&mac

CaptBob, if your 'vet friends' told you to jump off a cliff would you? Not every vet has the same opinions, and even the most experienced vets do make mistakes. Where do you think "second opinions" came from?

I think we should lay off the personal attacks. From everything I know about Meghan&Pedro and what she writes, she has a lot of credability. She has a lot of hands-on and educated experience. What is it exactly you do for a living?

Besides this, we have gone off topic, I believe the original question was--"are pig ears bad?"

One thing that is OK for one dog is necessarily OK for another. There hasbeen issues with pig ears before, but there has also been issues with bones(real and synthetic), dry food, raw food, toys, blankets, kennels, collars, etc. Know your dog, use your head, plain and simple. This thread has gone overboard, it's time to end it.

No, I wouldn't "jump off a cliff" if a Vet told me to do something , and I also wouldn't take the advice of somebody that posts stuff on the Internet which challeneges advice given by very educated and experienced people in that field, without knowing what the posters background as far as education on the topic and experience is.

If three excellent Vets tell me they actually see something negative that is frequently happening with a certain dog treat, and someone that is involved in selling and marketing of Pet Products takes an opposite view, I would tend to believe the Vets. Others may differ.


http://www.sentex.net/~hamilton/wels...n/chewies.html

[merrow]

i was advised that when bying pigs ears from the shops u need to find how they are preserved and to make sure they are real ears and not rawhide as they still say pigs ears if u asked ur butcher they would most probley give them to u really cheap or free like trotters then u just pop them in a really low oven to dry them out at least that way u no whats in them

same as all things like this always watch ur dogs while eating them espeaclly if they are piggy wiggys and try to swollow the whole thing, i used to give teddt pigs tails, snots and stuff like that which was deep fried but i found it wasnt fully digested by the time it came out which is scary as he brakes down bones easy peasy
xxxxx

[Meghan&Pedro]

Originally Posted by Captbob

You may view it as a "dark cloud" or a "low blow", but I am just trying to put things in perspective. I have a couple of very experienced vets that tell me personally that Pig's ears are not good because of the hazards involved in eating them that they have actually experienced , and in addition that very topic was also brought up on a Vet ER program on Animal channel by one of the most experienced vets in the ER (which is one of the best in the world by the way) , a week or two ago , and you are stating that you don't think that information is valid. If you have customers coming "into your store" asking questions about pet chew items as you stated , it would appear that you work in the store, or did I miss something somewhere along the line? I am just making a comparison between the two sources of information on this topic. If that comparison makes you uncomfortable, don't blame me. If you want everyone to know how much you know and how you learned it, then tell us all about it.

I never said that the information your vets gave you isn't valid. To quote me

"Well that's good. If you know your dog and you aren't comfortable with your dog getting treats like that - then I'm glad that you are willing to take a preventative approach!

I, with the dog I have now, completely trust him to chew his treats properly. So I am comfortable giving him veal chews and beef backstraps and hoofs etc when I'm not around to watch him. But I never in a million years would have given my flat coated retriever such things and left him alone. With him I had to supervise, and take it away when it got down to a small enough piece that it could fit entirely in his mouth.

Like Cj said - EVERYONE out there has a horror story about SOMETHING.

I have customers coming into the store and saying "my dog almost died choking on a peice of KONG!"

Does that mean that I don't recommend KONG's to people anymore? No. I just tell them to pick an appropriate size KONG, and discard it once it's been damaged.

Same with Nylabones. I've heard LOTS of horror stories about Nylabones.

But I hear horror stories from the same kind of people with the same kind of dog - The kind of dog that choked on (and had to get surgery to remove!) a piece of foam from their couch. Or a piece of their living room table.

Come on, I work in the pet food retail industry - I get to hear ALL the horror stories. And most of them are from irresponsible dog owners that don't supervise their pets properly when they are playing with their toys (and discard them once they're damaged), or provide their dog with treats that are inappropriate for that specific dog.

I think everyone has to be aware of what is, and what is not, appropriate for their specific dog, and make responsible choices.


Meghan"

And I still stand behind what I said, and I am sorry that you discredit my opinions that easily just because I work in a pet store. I hope everyone doesn't discredit YOU that easily just because you aren't a vet.

Thanks CJ

Meghan

[squirt1968]

I had given my dog pig ears on several occasions until I was watching animal planet one night and a dog had gotten into a sach of them and ate them all.The vet gave something to cause the dog to vomit and the ears were in big chunks the vet said he did not advise peopkle to give them to pets because they do n;ot chew them well and the sharp edges and points can be dangerous to the digestion tract so I no longer buy them

I had given my dog pig ears on several occasions until I was watching animal planet one night and a dog had gotten into a sach of them and ate them all.The vet gave something to cause the dog to vomit and the ears were in big chunks the vet said he did not advise peopkle to give them to pets because they do n;ot chew them well and the sharp edges and points can be dangerous to the digestion tract so I no longer buy them

[2toys]

I don't like them because my 8 pound toy poodle/pom cross can finish one (as in eat it) in less than half an hour.