Is Rawhide bad for your dogs?

We gave our dogs rawhides for years and, no problems. They shouldn’t get them often, though. Just an occasional treat.

no, but bonanza makes them skittish.

Small dogs should not have rawhide.

When I was a kid our dogs became aggressive when they were given rawhide. My mom stopped giving it to them pretty quickly.

Sure sounds like it.

…especially the additives.

If it’s the kind where the rawhide is formed into a bone-shaped object, yes they can choke on it. Even though it’s hard when you give it to them, it quickly becomes mushy and they can bite off chunks of it which is very hard to digest and can get caught in their digestive tract. They can also choke on it easily. My bullmastiff had about 2 inches of one sticking out of her mouth and I pulled it out…. it went ALL the way down her throat and she was trying to suck it down! It was probably a foot long soft rawhide. They get super slippery when they chew them too.

The only problem I’ve ever come across with rawhides is when given to dogs who are ravenous chewers, they can fracture their teeth on them requiring dental work. Of course, yes they could swallow them and then you have all sorts of issues.

I don’t give them to my dogs, they are too processed and artificialized for me. I prefer natural foods.

Rawhide chews can be dangerous for dogs who prefer to swallow or gulp rather than chew. The rawhide becomes slimy and can be swallowed whole, but it can easily form a blockage in the digestive tract if it is not chewed into small pieces. You need to watch your dog’s behavior to see if he/she is a chewer or a gulper. Our pit bull and our American Bulldog are both gulpers. The rest of our dogs are chewers.

For gulpers you might try giving small treats as rewards, but depend on things like the Kong for their chewing needs. Very few dogs are large enough to swallow a Kong, and they can get a lot of enjoyment out one loaded with peanut butter or Velveeta or even just soft dog food.

@Darwin please… not velveeta

We stopped giving it to our JRT when she choked on a long sliver of it. She chews her Kong ball incessantly, and has yet in two years to even make a tear in it. We don’t have to put anything in it, she likes it plain.

@Lovey_Howell Velveeta is fine in moderation, and is an excellent way to get dogs to take pills. Just don’t give them huge amounts.

Darwin That crap is… well crap. * barfs * :P

@Lovey_Howell ever heard of a ‘dog’s breakfast’? Dogs will eat just about anything, even cat turds out of the litter box, aka ‘kitty Snickers’

All dogs go koo koo for pigs ears, the delicious dehydrated big ones you don’t dare pick up-they are packed with nutrients?

Rawhide is very dangerous, because of the potential for swelling in the gastrointestinal tract. From Pete Safety

“Wedeking adds that dogs can easily choke on it when the original large rawhide object is chewed down to a smaller piece. “Choking is a hazard, and rawhide can cause gastric irritation when dogs chew on it often,” he says. Wedeking adds that gastric irritation can also cause vomiting and extreme discomfort in dogs. ‘Tests on imported pet products made from animal hides by UK health authorities revealed many carried the salmonella bug, a common cause of gastro-intestinal infections in humans.” “They found that one in three batches imported from Thailand and one in eight from China contained salmonellas that had survived processing and manufacturing”

One option I like instead are dried sweet potato treats. Uncooked beef marrow bones are OK too, if messy.

@evelyns_pet_zebra et al. Well if I let myself, I’d eat pizza & pasta every day as well. Doesn’t make it ok. Fortunately for us, we have a certain type of intelligence where our pets do not. We control what they eat, they can’t just hop in the car and drive up to McD’s anytime they want and get a burger. I would never let my dog have something I know is bad for him, that’s all I’m saying.

I know there are as many schools of thought as there are pet owners, but there is a consensus that says don’t give load bearing bones, such as the marrow bones, unless the bone is big enough that the dog cannot actually chew it up. If they just gnaw on it fine, but my big guy can crunch them and that’s not so good for a variety of reasons.

My trainer said avoid those made in China at all cost. They have the filler ingredients that are so very bad.