Rawhide

[jodylp1]

OK, I'm not trying to be silly.

But my entire life from memory (age 5) to current (30). My family has given the dogs in the family plain rawhide sticks.
Everyone here seems very negative on them. But the local pet store I work with, which has never steered me wrong says that the ones I buy are made in the states & that they don't use formeldahyde(sorry sp.).

I often give Atreyu one when we leave as it gives him something to distract himself with. He is a little over 1.5 years old & 2 months ago refused entry to his kennel & hasn't been back in it since. So he is out while the other 2 dogs remain kenneled. And in truth, I believe in part to the rawhides, he's never touched anything.

So, back to my question. Is rawhide as horrible as some of the people are making it out to be ?

[Karlan]

I don't give rawhide and if I did it would have to be in a closely monitored situation. I have heard that the white rawhides are made with formaldehyde to bleach the color out of them. If your dogs chew the bone and swallow whole pieces of unchewed rawhide it can absorbe water in the stomach or intsestines and expand causing a blockage-resulting in a serious situation and even death.
Have you tried marrow bones instead? My dogs love them and chew on them even after the meat and marrow is gone.

[LadyEvil2172]

I don't give them because I've heard stories of them being lodged inside a dog. Also, that they don't break down. I'd rather be safe than sorry with mine.

[luvmybts]

Someone here said that pressed rawhide made in the states were better than regular rawhide because they didnt get slobbery like a wet noodle when chewed but from my experience they do and are just as dangerous as the regular rawhide, so I use nylabone, sterilized beef bones, and marrow bones which are very safe to use. Though I never give them unsupervised.

[Ayoka]

I don't know about the chemicals BUT when I did give Bear a rawhide when I first got him, he managed to pull off a huge piece. I was n the same room but I had my back to him.

A few minutes later he vomited it up and it was about the sixe of 2 lasagna noodles (it was the pressed sticks). After that, I decided to avoid them and the chance of obstruction. We use beef bones and nylabones now.

[GypsysMom]

I dont give rawhides to my dogs because when I have in the past they have gotten diahrrea and or vomit so for now on they get big beef bones and sometimes cow hooves, they smell bad so they only get those in their crates

[Dugganmom]

I dont ever give rawhides..my parents Golden got really really sick because he could not digest the rawhide...I ould rather spend my money on things that are better for them...JMO...

[buckeye96]

We give ellie the big raw hide bones (with a knot at each end) every once in a while. She loves the chewing and we throw the pieces away that she rips off. We have not had good luck with nylabones or most marrow bones.

[dogsbydoug]

Originally Posted by GypsysMom

I dont give rawhides to my dogs because when I have in the past they have gotten diahrrea and or vomit so for now on they get big beef bones and sometimes cow hooves, they smell bad so they only get those in their crates

We used to give cow hooves until the dogs started chewing off big hunks with sharp edges, which were not digested and were found in their poop. We noticed it only because both dogs had loose stool with some blood in it.

Cow hooves were immediately tossed...I agree they smell really bad - yuck!

Rawhide is given on a very rare occassion and only for a few minutes at a time while we eat dinner.

We usually give Bully Sticks or porkhide rolls - big rawhide rolls are given only when we buy 'em on sale

[Dugganmom]

Originally Posted by GypsysMom

I dont give rawhides to my dogs because when I have in the past they have gotten diahrrea and or vomit so for now on they get big beef bones and sometimes cow hooves, they smell bad so they only get those in their crates

I gave Duggan a cow hoove 1 time...it smelled sooo bad...never again..

[Skip]

I don't give any kind of rawhide. Too many better and safer alternatives (such as raw cow leg bones).

[Chicky Abby]

We do not give Sebastian Rawhide for two reasons:

1) as it has been mentioned, it creates a big gooey mess

2) more importantly, I had to retrieve a 6 inch piece of rawhide from sebastian's throat.

It unravels and dogs can easily choke on the rawhide. We now give Sebastian bully sticks, real bones filled with marrow, and dried chicken strips.

[2rotties2luv]

10 years ago, my first rottie was 2 yrs old and I gave her pressed rawhide chews on my vet's recommendation to help keep her teeth clean. I only gave them to her when I could supervise. One night I gave her the rawhide chew and while I was watching her, she chomped off a big piece and swallowed it before I could react and get it away. Needless to say, the piece got lodged in her small intestine and caused an obstruction. She recovered completely after emergency surgery to remove the rawhide. The vet saved the rawhide piece for me to see - it was pressed rawhide and it had swelled up quite a bit after it was swallowed. Needless to say, none of my dogs has ever gotten rawhide again. I think that raw marrow bones once a week do a much better job of keeping the teeth clean anyway.....

[jodylp1]

ok, on the advise from this post I went & looked up bully sticks for more information and to see how much they were...
Did I see a joke link, or is that what they REALLY are ???
I need something that can be given twice a day to help with seperation destruction (he doesn't get anxious : ) )