Rawhide

[Nancy Estes]

The problem is that they're not really very digestible and can lodge in the digestive tract and/or swell, causing blockage or gastrointestinal distress.

Nancy

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von Dorow Rottweilers

[Cad Jackson]

Totally agree with Nancy, rawhide tends to swell in the digestive track and cause blockage. I get marrow bones from my local grocery stores meat department, the dogs love it and I have never had a problem. http://www.rottweiler.net/rottie/biggrin.gif

[SarasMom]

In addition to the problem that Nancy mentioned, some of the rawhides are processed with chemicals that you don't want your Rottie to ingest.

[PowerROTTS]

Not only are they dangerous on a dogs digestive system, but these products are constantly being recalled due to contamination
http://www.safe-t-net.org/rcls/fda/99/petchews.htm

[2RottieMom]

I had to stop giving Gypsy those flat rawhides because she would get them all wet and slobbery that she would try and swallow them whole. I have heard that knuckle bones are also bad for dogs. I had a neighbor who had a rottweiler who gave the dog a knuckle bone. A few days later, the dog was vomiting everywhere and had a very bad case of the runs. They couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. They took him to the vet and found out that from chewing the knuckle bone, slivers of the knuckle bone cut his intestines. They wrote a letter to the company and sent the vet bills and the company did pay for the vet bills.

[otkayan]

How about compressed raw hides? What are your opinions about compressed raw hides? Aren't they better quality and completely digestible?

[snakesNxD]

If compressed rawhide you are talking about the bits pushed together, then I think those are fine. I dont like themcause gwen eats them way too quickly.

the reason your friends rottweiler may have had the runs is bacause of the marrow in the bones. i would give marrow bones uncooked, then they are digestable, and will not splinter.

as with anything, i am sure there is always the exception...

.:Liz

[frau]

Well, durn it! I have been using rawhides because I tried oxtails-- Gypsy swallowed one whole and almost asphyxiated! Scared me to death.
Pigs ears I use, but they only last aobut 10 minutes. She seems to get bored of knuckle bones.

The search continues.

Frau

[frau]

One of you mentioned rawhide chews being something bad for dogs. Can anyone enlighten me on this. I have'nt heard of this before.

Thanks,

Frau

[dbe]

Our Jane has been "working her rawhide bones" since she was about 7-9 months or so... We knew Jane could possibly have the tendency to be orally active after seeing her parent's home, chewed up stuff, doorknobs flattened. SIDENOTE: (We later attributed Jane's parents' behavior to not getting enough love, walks or attention. They were burning off their energy on negative things, like destructive chewing.) We vowed that this puppy would know the difference between what she could chew on and what she couldn't.

From the very beginning Jane had "her" toys. During the time she was teething, she would chew on plastic teething toys, frozen rolled rags, us and the occasional sock.

After she went through her teething phase, we tried different things to keep her occupied in the evening. SIDENOTE: We later attributed this behavior to Jane, just being a rottie and always wanting love! We first tried the mental approach with toys that were "educational" or were supposed to keep her occupied instead of chewing.

Then we realized she wanted to chew and we tried "booda-velvets." Natural corn starch flavored bones. These thing were messy! Excess "velvet" and pieces all over the place. (Jane loved them)

After reading alot of stuff about rawhides we decided to give them I try. I read that "American Made" rawhides are better than foreign. Mainly because they are not made with the chemicals that are used overseas.

We started her on small chips. She would carry it around, want to give it to us and eventually she learned that this was something she could chew on. We saw it as something constructive for her to do other than chewing on our shoes or furniture. We usually give Jane her rawhides in the evenings when we're all together and she can be supervised. Always supervised.

The only problem I ever remember having was by making the mistake of giving her a foreign (non-US) rawhide once...Damn non-payday week http://www.rottweiler.net/rottie/rolleyes.gif ... She threw up and became ill before I disposed of it. I was never sure if it was because of the bone or something else. But I've always suspected that it was the bone since it WAS foreign. She hasn't had a foreign bone since!

Jane's had no problem digesting her rawhides and is very regular. She gets plenty of exercise, fresh water and only gets her rawhides when we are around. Jane chews her rawhides down to hardly anything before she eats them. We have never had a problem with her choking, having intestinal problems or being constipated. We have found them to be very good in occuping Jane's evening time after her walk and dinner.

All dogs and owners are different.

What works for some, doesn't work for others.

The choice is ulimately yours. I'm not gonna lie and tell you these are the best things for YOUR dog. I will tell you we've never had a problem. I do know personally of one friend's dog (collie mix) having a terrible time with rawhides. But they could've been foreign or one of those dogs that doesn't take to them.

<A HREF="http://members.tripod.com/~EPets/janebone2b.JPG" TARGET=_blank>Jane love's em!
</A>

And remember to always supervise your pet with any toys or chews. They're there for you, be there for them!


dbe
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http://www.rottweiler.net/rottie/cool.gif stop and visit Jane!

[This message has been edited by dbe (edited June 27, 2000).]

I only give my rottie fairly large rawhides and only when supervised. When they get too soft and slimy, or if he manages to get a big chunk off, I take it away.

When he is chewing it, I listen for a sound that indicates he has bitten off a large chunk and is moving it around in his mouth, then I take it away.

I think it depends on the dog- mine seems to mostly nibble at the end of the rawhide, and doesn't tend to bite off big chunks very often. Others seem to devour the whole thing, which can be dangerous.

[Monika Malow]

My dogs get frozen raw knuckle bones and I have never had a problem. They get pigs ears once in a while as a special treat. I tried rawhides when they were puppies and neither one would chew on them!! The vet then told me that rawhides could cause blockages so I threw them out.