# Rawhide question.



## Quossum (Mar 18, 2011)

I would be super careful about rawhide; much of it is chemically processed or otherwise unsuitable. Here's a good articel from Whole Dog Journal about rawhide and how to choose a good quality product:

Finding the Right Rawhide Chew For Your Dog - Whole Dog Journal Article

I don't share the author's disdain for "pizzles," aka "bully sticks." Those are the chews I prefer.

Good luck,
--Q


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## PoodlePaws (May 28, 2013)

Thanks a bunch. My sisters dogs use bully sticks. I think they smell horrible  ill get those from now on instead of rawhide. 


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

Quossum said:


> I would be super careful about rawhide; much of it is chemically processed or otherwise unsuitable. Here's a good articel from Whole Dog Journal about rawhide and how to choose a good quality product:
> 
> Finding the Right Rawhide Chew For Your Dog - Whole Dog Journal Article
> 
> ...


Great article, never knew all that about rawhide, but do know that I am not so keen on giving to Sunny, even tho Virbac chews, for instance, are supposed to be great for dental use and are backed by vets --- but still the rawhide thing always bothered me. Sunny loves the Virbac chews; however I tend to go with real bones or bully sticks myself.


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## Cailin77 (Jul 21, 2012)

I know others beat me to the punch on this one... But just want to throw in my "rawhide is scary" story. My brother gave his dog a rawhide chew and later that day she had a seizure! Apparently, if you aren't very careful about where your rawhide is made, they can be processed with all sorts of harmful toxins! 

I actually prefer to give kongs to chew on instead of edible chews. Brody would be prompt to take a bully stick on my bed, and I really don't want that to happen!


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

Bully sticks!! And some of them dont stink 


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## julietcr1 (Nov 10, 2012)

I use to give them bully sticks but after Sushi almost choke when he threw up a piece of about 4 cm long I stopped. I never gave bully sticks or pizzles since and I don't think I will. I now give them "Heavy-duty pressed rawhide bones" made in USA or Brasilia and nothing else. The Heavy-duty part is really important and the bone part to. They break into small pieces instead of big ones. I still never leave them unattended when I give them a rawhide bone.


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

julietcr1 said:


> I use to give them bully sticks but after Sushi almost choke when he threw up a piece of about 4 cm long I stopped. I never gave bully sticks or pizzles since and I don't think I will. I now give them "Heavy-duty pressed rawhide bones" made in USA or Brasilia and nothing else. The Heavy-duty part is really important and the bone part to. They break into small pieces instead of big ones. I still never leave them unattended when I give them a rawhide bone.


Same thing happened with Lou, so now I stuff it real tight in a kong toy! :-D
Sometimes I will stuff a large bully stick with the small remainder of another to make sure it won't come off even if she pulls on it. it has worked really well! I dont leave her unattended either  And when the bully stick gets to small inside the kong I stick a screw driver in the other end to push the remainder of the bully stick out and put another large one in.

It's the only thing that will keep her busy 
when she is pacing around for no reason. LOL








[/url] Look at them white teephes! by Louthespoo, on Flickr[/IMG]


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## Ainsley (Apr 22, 2013)

I was chatting with the vet about this at Alby's 12 week appt and she said she only gives the non edible nylabones or kongs. She also suggested years ago with our lab puppy to soak bagels in chicken broth and freeze them for teething. She didn't suggest that I give them to Alby yet bc he's fairly thin and doesn't want him to fill up on bagel. plus he is just starting teething so I'm sure he will get some frozen treats this summer.


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

Ainsley said:


> I was chatting with the vet about this at Alby's 12 week appt and she said she only gives the non edible nylabones or kongs. She also suggested years ago with our lab puppy to soak bagels in chicken broth and freeze them for teething. She didn't suggest that I give them to Alby yet bc he's fairly thin and doesn't want him to fill up on bagel. plus he is just starting teething so I'm sure he will get some frozen treats this summer.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Lou's vet said she treats dogs with broken teeth all the time from the really hard nylabones.
I threw Lou's nylabone away, she didnt care for it too much anyway.
Many vets have different opinions, sometimes I just go with my gut and the "better safe than sorry" deal


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

I've had two dogs with bad experiences with rawhide. Rebel (120 pound RR/Lab mix) swallowed a large piece and then needed help passing it. *Blech!*

My Aussie, Wishes ended up with ulcers from eating the ALpo flip chips (flattened rawhide chips). SHe vomited what looked like coffee grounds for days everytime she was given a flip chip. It took us a while to figure out the ulcers were from the rawhide. 

I now go to my local packing house and get raw beef bones. The dogs are only allowed their bones when safely in their crates (to minimize any chance of bickering) but occasionally, I still find a bone buried my my bed. Bug thinks they're safe with me to guard them, I guess. :/ Nothing like getting poked in the rib by a rib. lol (yuck) My dogs do have the prettiest, cleanest teeth. I'm proud of their teeth. lol


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

BorderKelpie said:


> I've had two dogs with bad experiences with rawhide. Rebel (120 pound RR/Lab mix) swallowed a large piece and then needed help passing it. *Blech!*
> 
> My Aussie, Wishes ended up with ulcers from eating the ALpo flip chips (flattened rawhide chips). SHe vomited what looked like coffee grounds for days everytime she was given a flip chip. It took us a while to figure out the ulcers were from the rawhide.
> 
> I now go to my local packing house and get raw beef bones. The dogs are only allowed their bones when safely in their crates (to minimize any chance of bickering) but occasionally, I still find a bone buried my my bed. Bug thinks they're safe with me to guard them, I guess. :/ Nothing like getting poked in the rib by a rib. lol (yuck) My dogs do have the prettiest, cleanest teeth. I'm proud of their teeth. lol


I'm afraid of splinters... but that's just me. I know of several people that have never had issues with bones. I've been considering it, but just not sure yet.

I also give Lou the crunchy greasy pig ears, she loves them. and Lou also has really white teeth. She is always chewing on something. LOL And she makes me hold it for her, so I make sure she chews with all teeth, including front ones  to keep 'em nice and clean. I also started brushing her teeth, she likes it.


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## Melly808 (May 6, 2013)

I've had issues with bones and so far no issues with good quality rawhide. Every dog is different. Just try and see what works best for your family. I enjoyed the article posted. I learned more than I knew before. 


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## Cailin77 (Jul 21, 2012)

Lou said:


> Lou's vet said she treats dogs with broken teeth all the time from the really hard nylabones.
> I threw Lou's nylabone away, she didnt care for it too much anyway.
> Many vets have different opinions, sometimes I just go with my gut and the "better safe than sorry" deal


I've heard of this happening too. Specifically, nylabone makes "extra tough" toys that can damage their teeth. My mom had one for her dogs, and she threw it out when I pointed it out to her. I would give Brody the regular nylabones, but he's not really interested in chew toys, unless they're stuffed with food!


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

BorderKelpie said:


> I've had two dogs with bad experiences with rawhide. Rebel (120 pound RR/Lab mix) swallowed a large piece and then needed help passing it. *Blech!*
> 
> My Aussie, Wishes ended up with ulcers from eating the ALpo flip chips (flattened rawhide chips). SHe vomited what looked like coffee grounds for days everytime she was given a flip chip. It took us a while to figure out the ulcers were from the rawhide.
> 
> I now go to my local packing house and get raw beef bones. The dogs are only allowed their bones when safely in their crates (to minimize any chance of bickering) but occasionally, I still find a bone buried my my bed. Bug thinks they're safe with me to guard them, I guess. :/ Nothing like getting poked in the rib by a rib. lol (yuck) My dogs do have the prettiest, cleanest teeth. I'm proud of their teeth. lol


So you use the beef rib bones as recreational bones? Do you take most of the meat off (or not)? I get the bone in rib bones for Sunny when I find them, and he loves them, too. He rarely goes back to one once he has "cleaned" it though, so we do go through them. I also watch the calories, too.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

I was giving my dog raw hides a lot and then I stopped. Twice they got indigestion after swallowing big chunks. For a while I was only giving american made ones. Then I discovered ligaments attached to bones. I give those now. They don't cause them any trouble and last for days, not 30 minutes. I don't use nylabones because of the broken teeth thing. It depends on the dog, but some of them just bite harder and harder trying to get a chunk of it off and then break a tooth. I do think the puppy or the soft nylabones won't hurt teeth, though. I have given those on occasion.


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## Dawnsohma (Jan 24, 2013)

(insert rawhide scare story here) when i was younger i had a very old cocker and she used to ride on the floor in the front of my car. i used to give her rawhide all the time i gave her one while in the car and while driving down the street she started choking on it! i had to pull it out of her throat. 

you have to be really careful with any kind of treats. my chi cant have pig ears because he bits of pieces and wont let me have them back he becomes aggressive about chews. so no one gets them since he might choke on it. i do allow pig ear strips since there much smaller and he cant bite big pieces off. braided bully sticks they have done well with too.


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