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Rawhide
by Ann
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
Is rawhide really bad for dogs? My dog of course just loves it, and all the rawhide type chews. She will not touch any other toys, as I got her from a rescue and she was in a puppy mill for all of her life before that and never learned to play. She does like the nylabone brand bones that you can microwave. Are those basically the same as rawhide?
DISCUSSION:
Ann, Lucy is the same way. She loves chewing the rawhide. I get her the one that is almost as big a she is and she will chew on that thing for up to an hour. I keep an eye on the bone to make sure that big pieces are not being chewed off. She does not like the nylabone at all. I tried changing and she decided my fingers was a better replacement than the nylobone. I'm anxious to hear what others think.
DeeDee
Ann, I don't give Buster the Rawhide Chews. Everything I have read says Rawhide is very dangerous for dogs. They have died from rawhide, having swallowed the hide after it has become soft and mushy, only to cause stomach and intestinal blockage. There is a new product on the market called "Roar-Hide from Nylabone. These are composed of processed, cut up, and melted American rawhide injected into your dog's favorite shape, a dog bone. These are safe and smell and taste like rawhide but don't break up. The ridges on the bones help to fight tartar on the teeth and last ten times longer than the rawhide chews. There are also Pop Pup flavored Nylabones that are 100% edible too. Comes in several flavors. Buster loves these.
Libby & Buster
Ann: my babies like the rawhide too but from everything I have read or heard it is not good for them. I have given them rawhide a couple of times but do not buy it anymore. They really LOVE pig ears. I have been wanting to post a question to ask if pig ears are bad for them too. Maybe someone can answer that for us too. Happy 4th to everyone.
belle
Ann, all the dogs I had growing up had rawhide bones and nothing ever happened to them, but they were much bigger dogs. I dont give any rawhide to Puff, I prefer to be on the safe side. I also give her pigs ears, and I dont see a problem, as they do not seem to be the same consistancy as the rawhide bones. I, too, have not heard of any problem with the pigs ears. And I am glad to find a chew she likes since she wont chew nylabones at all.
Sandy and Puff
Belle,I was under the impression pigs ears are as bad (risky) as rawhide.. I can't recall where I got that impression. So it may not be valid. At any rate, I did give pigs ears a few times to my first maltese who adored them and devoured them. However, it usually gave her diahrreah... and so I stopped getting them .However, I think she would have stood on her head for a pig's ear!
Linda R
I heard that rawhide was bad......I think I read somewhere that it can splinter???? The Beasties love nylabones and pigs ears, but they only get the pigs ears occasionally. I don't know if they are bad for them to swallow but in that chewed-up state they look pretty similar to chewed-up rawhide, so I take them off them then......after all, I guess it's the chewing bit rather than the eating bit which is the most fun for them. I also cut the pigs ears up into about 6 pieces and give them 1 piece each at a time - it doesn't seem to give them diarrhoea then.
Deanna (Moose & Squirrel)
Talk about crazy for pig ears - my Diesel is the same. (yes, Turbo still ignores this as with all the chew toys I try to get him to play with). If anyone out there has official info about pig ears - please tell us. I'd like to leave it for Diesel since he literally must be scraping the tartar off his teeth so it makes my job easier of brushing them. But, if they are in any way dangerous - then i'd rather brush his teeth.
betty & turbo & diesel
Seems like we all agree that pig ears are a big hit with our fluff balls. I have tried everything, nylabones, booda bones, kong things etc. the only thing my two babies will touch is pig ears and something that looks like compressed rawhide shaped like a pencil. They love those too. Have not noticed any ill effects from either.
Gaeti
Ann, no no no for raw hide, they can kill the animal. There are other chews on the market, roar hide, carrot chews, hooves, etc. My vet has said a big NO to rawhide.Tasha loves the hooves, also the carrot chews, I also give her lamb and rice sticks, I thinkthey are put out by Nutria. Good luck! 
Dottie & Tasha
I've had larger dogs - goldens, shepherds, setters - and they loved rawhide and chewed & ate it safely. My smaller dogs, although they, too, love it, have real trouble managing the soft rawhide. Not to scare you but, on more than one occasion, I had a choking maltese on my hands due to chunks of rawhide stuck in his throat. I had to reach in and pull it out before his breathing was restored. Please think twice about rawhide - everyone will be happier!!
JJ & Warrior
We gave our Maltese rawhide for many years like some of the others here without any problems whatsoever. About 2 years ago we had to get a piece out lodged in the throat of one. Luckily I was right there when it happened so I was able to help and got it out. If someone wasn't home I think our Maltese would probably have suffocated to death. No more rawhide for ours. Its a shame because they all really liked that treat. Instead we give them the baked cow holves(sp?) and they all love them. I really don't know if the cow holves are good or bad for them, we haven't seen or heard of any bad side effects so we're assuming they're safe.
Jay
It seems like the things they like the best are the worst for them. Rawhide is a no-no. I've heard a million horror stories of choking, blocked bowels, etc. Cow/Pig ears might be just a little bit better (only my personal opinion) because they don't seem to break in pieces as easily as rawhide. I watch very closely and as soon as they get a piece that is pliable, I cut it off with kitchen shears. I've heard recently though that you shouldn't buy them if they come from outside the country as they are soaked in formaldehyde (sp?). How can you tell when they're loose in a big tub in the middle of the store floor? No one at PetSmart could answer me when I asked where they came from. By the way, I just bought two new things from Foster and Smith that found their way to the trash within five minutes of use. One was lamb ears (became too soft way too fast), the other was tendons (broke into sharp pieces within seconds). As for hooves, and again this is hearsay but it makes sense to me, they're too hard and wear the plaque off the teeth. (I'm starting to feel like Ralph Nader here.) Well, I started out to give my two cents and ended up with about a quarter's worth. Sorry for rambling.
Marie
Libby, have you been able to get the Roarhide Nylabones in petite size? I have difficulty obtaining every type of edible Nylabone except Chick 'n Cheez Chooz in petite sizes. Touquet won't even attempt the regular size bones! I was just wondering if the others exist in petite sizes.
Barbara & Touquet
Barbara, yes I can get the Nylabone Roarhides in petite size at both Petsmart and Petco. No problem. I can also find them at the Southern States store if you happen to have one of those around.
Libby & Buster
Barbara, all the catalogs (Foster & Smith, R C Steele, etc) carry the roarhides along with all the other new stuff and they're a whole lot cheaper than in the petstores like Petco and PetSmart. I pay over $2.00 apiece at the store and I recently saw them in a catalog (the carrot ones anyway) for $.89 if you buy a dozen. The smallest size is about four inches long.
Marie
Barbara--Cubbie loved the edible nylabone I got for him a couple of weeks ago. It's gone now, so he needs a new one. I am going to try the bone Libby talked about. Cubbie needs all the help he can get with the tartar problem.
Felicia & Cubbie
Good grief!!! I have been allowing Toby to chew on rawhide chews of different varieties and did not know how dangerous it is. She particularly liked the ones that were shaped like baby shoes and would chew and chew to get the lace out of it. I noticed that the lace got soft but thought it was okay for ingestion or it wouldn't be marketed. Again, I am so grateful for this site (Jay, thank you, thank you) and for all of you who share your knowledge here. This site improves my ability to provide a good home for Toby every time I come here! I'm off to throw away all rawhide and will keep my eyes open for some of the suggestions posted here.
Laney
Thank you so much for the information. Lucy and I are going shopping tonight for an alternative. Hopefully I can find the Roarhide. I had no idea that rawhide was that dangerous. Thank you everyone.
DeeDee
Marley just goes nuts for the Roarhide "Wolf" size bone. At first he doesn't really show much interest in it -- just kind of carts it everywhere but within a day or two he has it "worked in" and just loves it. Sometimes it's the only thing that will allow me to read the paper or take care of people business without his "help."
Cheryl
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