Problem With Rawhide

[sanford]

Yesterday, when Ruffy was contentedly working away at a rawhide chew, then stopped and began vigorously pawing at his mouth, I discovered he had a piece of softened rawhide stuck and glued to the roof of his mouth, way back, near his throat. With a lot of difficulty, (three tries), I got it out; it was very firmly stuck and I'm still shaken up at the thought of what would have happened if it had been lodged further down, beyond my reach.

I've heard about choking warnings with rawhide and I'm ashamed to admit I dismissed them as an unlikely, "acceptable risk", (dogs like to chew, and its good for teeth and gums). It never occurred to me that the choking factor might be due to the fact that a piece of chewed rawhide becomes so soft, slimy and gelatinous, it can adhere to the roof of the mouth, (or, even worse, to the throat)?

If rawhide has benefits, do I play the (hopefully, unlikely) odds and allow him rawhide chews? Nylabone is not an option - He ignores it. Raw, natural bones can splinter and more than one vet has cautioned me that they can fracture teeth, which might be true for Ruffy, going on 10 yrs. Are large smooth, round knuckle bones an option... or perhaps CET Chews?

Opinions, advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Edited July 9, 2017 by sanford

[Sam I Am]

Sanford I would feed raw marrow bones(marrow removed) long before I would ever feed a rawhide chew.  If you keep an eye on Ruffy while he has a good chew most marrow bones do not splinter . I have been feeding them for years with no issues. I do  watch and never leave them alone . Yes bad things can happen with anything, but after all they are dogs, and dogs eat and chew raw bones. My vet years ago warned me to stay away from anything like rawhide chews, pigs ears etc. Full of bad chemicals.http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/rawhide-dangerous-for-dogs/

[Idaho Cairns]

So much depends on the particular dog.  We can give Bonnie a raw hide chew with no fear she will choke on a piece--she takes it slow and easy.  Sammi, however, is a dedicated speed chewer and we have to take the chew away pretty quickly with her or she will swallow a huge chunk the instant she gets it separated from the rest of the rawhide. 
Besides that, we don't particularly like the mess--around their mouths or on the flooring where they do their chewing.  As a general rule, rawhide chewy's are persona non grata around these parts.

[bradl]

I'd forgotten the terror of that gummy chew glued to the roof of the mouth. We did give up on those. 

Over the years we've had a lot of unchewed nylabones laying around and eventually we found one that a couple of the dogs loved: a "galileo". I think it was the "wolf" size. It kept Haggis busy trying to hold it still with his paws in order to gnaw on it.  It looked about as interesting as a rock to me but he seemed to enjoy it. 

Main downside we saw is that once they get sort of spiky-looking from being chewed on they are murder to step on in bare feet  

 

[pkcrossley]

i gave up on rawhides many years ago. they look sturdy, but to cairn jaws and teeth they are not much of a challenge (and CET chews even less ). they not only can stick in the craw they can go right down the gullet and cause various kinds of havoc (they are much easier to tear to pieces than to digest). i agree with you about bones, very dangerous. my redmon was even able to tear kong toys into bitesize morsels. i would suggest making a nylabone more appealing by smearing it with something yummy. i know that is pretty pedestrian and doesn't quite bring out the wild side in any self-respecting dog. if you want to get closer to nature, i guess a day trip to the jersey swamps will have to do. 

[Malcolm's Dad]

I don't give Malcolm rawhides. They give him diarrhea. I give him smoked kneecaps. They are natural bone. They aren't hard so as to break teeth. Malcolm will chew them until all the smoke flavoring is gone then he isn't interested any more. I get them at Menards in the pet section. I don't know if you have Menards in New York. If not try looking  for smoked kneecaps at some pet store. Been using them for years and never had a problem.

[kjwarnold]

No rawhides for us either.  They made Packy throw up every time he chewed on one so we just never used them.  I also agree with Brad, it's like stepping on a Lego at night - ouch!  Kirby isn't much of a chewer but Phinney enjoys the boiled hard bones.  I checked them all the time but have never seen a splinter.  He used to like Nylabones but now he says those are for puppies and never gets them out.

Edited July 10, 2017 by kjwarnold

[Kathryn]

Oban really likes those deer and elk antlers - he will chew for an hour. Even with those, however, we toss them as soon as he "sharpens" them. And they are expensive.  Though I can't smell them, he can and knows where we put them away. They have something he finds delicious.

[sanford]

Thanks for the helpful feedback, everyone. From this day forward, rawhide is banned from the premises!?

P.S. Bradl - I tried the Galileo chew some time ago. Ruffy's comment:!

Edited July 20, 2017 by sanford

[JoJo]

I've recently tried the Himalyan chews - Pepper loves them and they seem to last a reasonably long time.  I've also found that if another dog gets chewing started pretty good on a nylabone, it becomes super interesting to her and she will chew on those for a long time.  LOL - if its brand new she has no interest.  I have to let my daughter's labradoodle get a good chew started, then Pepper gets them.

[Dempsy's Mom]

Bully sticks and Dreambones or Dreamsticks - no rawhide in them and they like the peanut butter flavor.