Bit of a silly question, but...

[Michele83]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

Piccolo is my first dog, so I'm a bit clueless about this type of thing.

I didn't realise she was old enough to have the chewy type of bones until yesterday (i.e. not real bones but the ones made of rawhide etc.) So I went to Pets at Home and they advised me which bones were for her age i.e. 5.5 months. I bought a rawhide one and she loved it and chewed it quietly for about an hour in the pub (and now I'm lamenting all those weeks I could have had more peace and quiet if I'd just bought one earlier haha).

Forgive my ignorance, but my dumb questions are:

- How long should you let a dog chew on a bone like this?
- How often is it okay to give them one?
- Is rawhide okay?
- Do they actually EAT the bone or do they just chew it like a toy? Will the bone actually be consumed?

Thanks

 

[JudyN]

It's not a silly question at all!

Rawhides can be dangerous - they do get eaten, and bits can break off, be swallowed, and cause a blockage. Though obviously a lot of people give them and don't have a problem, otherwise there wouldn't be so many in pet shops! I believe some people say you should just give particularly hard ones, and remove them as soon as they get to 'swallowable' size.

If you google something like 'is rawhide safe' you'll get a general idea of the dangers involved, but I'm sure the risks are to extent overemphasised. Still, it would make sense to look for safe alternatives. There's some ideas here: 5 Safe and Healthy Alternatives to Rawhide Chews for Dogs | Keep the Tail Wagging Have a look at Nylabones too.

Rawhides also gave Jasper terrible wind!

 

[Shalista]

there's a rawhide ish type thing we give dogs around here called bullysticks. ive always felt more comfortable giving bax these because they're clearly designed to be eaten fairly quickly. no big chunks to break or tear off. that being said they've always made bax prone to have accidents around the house. idk if its the increased salt content or what.

If you are open to giving bones (raw meaty big ones) that's always an alternative to though again like any chew they should never be given unsupervised and some people dont like giving their dogs raw meat.

 

[Kara 1]

After one of mine got a piece of rawhide stuck in his intestine i would never give these again he ended up with an emergency op ...mine have natural tripe sticks..dried chicken feet ...lamb ribs ....

 

[Shalista]

ive never given it but i imagine dried chicken feet would prolly have a similar consumption time to rawhide right?

 

[Mad Murphy]

I never give those nasty rawhide bleached and glued things.. murphy has his antler or a salmon skin or a nice real bone...

 

[Michele83]

Thanks for the advice all. I forgot to say that I bought a Yakers Dog Chew (Himalayan Yak Milk) at the same time which I've read is a good alternative. She liked this also so I think I might dispense with the rawhide one.

I guess I do really want something that takes the dog time. So nothing that can be eaten quickly.

I still don't really understand whether these things are meant to be consumed or not. Can I take it from your answers that you should stop your dog from ingesting any amount of rawhide? I just went to the pet shop again and it's not clear which chews are designed to actually be eaten, and which are just for chewing (and you should throw them away before parts are ingested).

EDIT: She has zero interest in Nylabones unfortunately. She likes Dogwood though. But again, this only holds so much interest.

Thanks

 

[Kara 1]

ive never given it but i imagine dried chicken feet would prolly have a similar consumption time to rawhide right?

No chicken feet are consumed quicker but need alot of chewing and they are airdried no nasties in them ...

 

[Biker John]

I can only comment about my Folly, chicken feet are eaten very quickly. Then again she is a greedy Whippet.

 

[Ragsysmum]

I'd never give rawhide since one of mine nearly choked on it and lots of dogs have needed ops at the vet to remove big pieces from gut.

 

[leashedForLife]

.

Chicken feet, like pigs’ ears, are a quickly-consumed treat... at least chicken-feet are not the greasy hunks of fat that pigs’ ears are, & unlike pig-ears, chicken feet have actual nutrients, including calcium.
Pigs’ ears will grease-mark carpets, rugs, & furniture, plus overconsumption will cause diarrhea (all that fat!).

Some long-lasting dog pacifiers include:
- naturally shed antlers, or horns (which are a slaughter byproduct)
- sterilized marrow bones, which can additionally be stuffed, w/ or w/o subsequent freezing
- sterilized cow hooves
- stuffed & frozen Kong, to be de-stuffed by the dog a lick at a time
- stuffed & welded Kong, where a low-fat, low-salt cheese (such as grated Mozzarella) is mixed into the stuffing & 20-secs in the microwave melts it, welding the contents into a single mass
- solid nylon Nylabones
- raw bones such as a beef knuckle (frozen overnight, then thawed & given to dog; later that day, rinse bone in hot H2O, drain, & re-freeze. This can be done 4 to 6 times, then discard what’s left.)


Safe rawhide is defined by source (country of origin - not China, & not S America; they have huge beef industries, but process rawhide for industrial uses, not for pets, & protect it from insects with arsenic), & processing method -
ground-up, welded rawhide is safe, as it will crumble when eaten into its pre-form small bits. // It is ground, moistened, heated, & molded under pressure, to form solid shapes.

The problem with rawhide in whole hunks (those bleached strips that are tied into knots at both ends to make “bone” shapes) is that, once nicely slimed & softened by a dog’s drool, they can UNtie, & once again are a contiguous single strip, flexible, swollen with saliva, & to a dog, tasty.
Dogs do not CHEW their food - they bolt it in hunks, so swallowing a 2 to 4-inch wide,, 6 to 12-inch long hank of wet rawhide is a tempting prospect, & often easily done, in a moment.

Then the bl**dy thing gets stuck- somewhere in the esophagus, the stomach, the small colon, or large colon.
Surrounding tissues lose circulation, & begin to die; the dog feels ill, goes off their food, & may vomit after drinking water. Toxins are released to the bloodstream, the liver is overworked, kidneys are stressed... S/he becomes dehydrated & lethargic, then the body’s core temp starts to climb, & the abdomen becomes painful- when U touch it, if U can, it’s tense & rock-hard with muscle tension, but the dog will resist handling of the painful area & may bite forcefully, no matter how sweet they’ve been all their lives, before.
Blockages in the GI tract can be fatal in days, & removing them usually means surgery. If they were going to pass on their own, they’d have done so, before causing the blockage.

Dogs have swallowed incredible inedible objects as whole items, such as steak knives with 4-inch blades plus handle, cat wand toys, & more; a flexible rubbery well-oozed hunk of rawhide is way easier to get down.
Definitely choose ground & pressed rawhide, if U buy it at all, & it should be US or UK or EU sourced, not a product of China, Brazil, Argentina, etc. Watch out for PACKERS who repackage items produced in other countries!

Deer, reindeer, elk, caribou, moose, et al, grow & shed their antlers every year, so giving them to dogs is not supporting a slaughter industry. // Horns & hooves are however, definitely from slaughtered cattle, as are sterilized bones; pig bones are the hardest & are denser than a cow’s, but if Ur dog has a pork allergy, pig bones are off the list, as “diet” is ‘anything by mouth’.

HTH,
- terry

.

 

[Michele83]

Thanks everyone! I'll throw the rawhide away and stick with the more natural stuff. Fortunately Pets at Home has quite a lot of choice. They have antlers but they're too expensive so I'll stick with the other stuff.

It's kind of nice discovering all this so late on, as I'm really feeling the benefit!

 

[Wooliewoo]

Thanks everyone! I'll throw the rawhide away and stick with the more natural stuff. Fortunately Pets at Home has quite a lot of choice. They have antlers but they're too expensive so I'll stick with the other stuff.

It's kind of nice discovering all this so late on, as I'm really feeling the benefit!

Hi @Michele83 ... sorry I’m a bit late picking up this thread.... I bought Flint an antler a couple of weeks ago, I initially was put off by the price, but it has proved to be a god send! He chews on it peacefully for hours! And as yet, has made no impact on it! It’s more or less the same as it was the day I bought it! I was told they last for ages... and looks like they do!

Flint has no interest in the Nylabones ... so if I’d known how good the antlers were I wouldn’t have wasted the money on them.

Hope this helps x

 

[Michele83]

Hi @Michele83 ... sorry I’m a bit late picking up this thread.... I bought Flint an antler a couple of weeks ago, I initially was put off by the price, but it has proved to be a god send! He chews on it peacefully for hours! And as yet, has made no impact on it! It’s more or less the same as it was the day I bought it! I was told they last for ages... and looks like they do!

Flint has no interest in the Nylabones ... so if I’d known how good the antlers were I wouldn’t have wasted the money on them.

Hope this helps x

Thank you! That sounds promising. In that case, I will give the antler a try

 

[JudyN]

Jasper's not a chewer, but I did try him on an antler once. The first time he had it he playbowed at it, barked at it, bounced around and tried to get it to chase him... I've heard of other dogs doing this, goodness knows what goes through their mind but it's funny to watch!

He has no interest in it now. If he's feeling unsettled/whiney, he likes to nibble on something fleecy - the fleece I'm wearing if necessary!

 

[Kara 1]

Our vets stopped selling the antler chews as dogs were breaking teeth off with them ....

 

[PWDmum]

Riff you go to pets at home and look in their freezers, they do packs of frozen turkey and duck necks , these are great for treats but also include in daily food intake. You can put in freezer and give one when you want. Don’t defrost give them frozen and it will take longer to eat and good for teeth, also go to Tesco and buy a chicken wings and spare ribs, slice the ribs to indevidual and wrap in cling film also freeze and give when you want, again give frozen as it takes them longer to get through

 

[PWDmum]

Our vets stopped selling the antler chews as dogs were breaking teeth off with them ....

Agree don’t like them to many dogs with broken teeth, also if you have a dog like mine and wooden floors they don’t go well together as he likes to throw them around

 

[Shalista]

bax likes to demarrow antlers in about fifteen min and then ignore them. hed chew for hours when he was a pup though

 

[Michele83]

Riff you go to pets at home and look in their freezers, they do packs of frozen turkey and duck necks , these are great for treats but also include in daily food intake. You can put in freezer and give one when you want. Don’t defrost give them frozen and it will take longer to eat and good for teeth, also go to Tesco and buy a chicken wings and spare ribs, slice the ribs to indevidual and wrap in cling film also freeze and give when you want, again give frozen as it takes them longer to get through

This is great, thanks, I will try it.

I assume you mean raw, right? (Is it cooked bones that are dangerous?)