Do you give your Dog Rawhide?

[EsmeraldaX]

Hi All, I was wondering if you give your dogs rawhide. I have heard many people say that they would never, and up until last week, I never gave my jack russell terrier any rawhide treats at all. I'd give him pig ears, natural basted bones etc as treats. And Nylabones and Greenies.

But then for Easter, we took him over my mothers. She had made up an Easter basket for him and filled it with rawhide chews. He's one now and I'd always heard that no rawhide rule geared towards young puppies.

He LOVES the rawhide. It literally keeps him occupied for hours which is amazing because he is usually so hyper and we have yet to find anything to keep him occupied when we can't be paying attention to him. But this stuff seems to keep him busy.

But I am worried still, since so many dog people have said rawhide is bad.

This is regular rawhide, bought at grocery stores or places like Petsmart.

So what do you think? Does your dog get rawhide?

Sheri

 

[Blondie]

My dog has been eating rawhides for the last 7 years. He seems to be doing just fine.

He especially likes a certain brand that is flavored with peanut butter.

 

[DoeWDW]

On the very rare occasion we've given our dog rawhide, she ends up very....um.....smelly from gas. She may like it but her human family can't handle the after-effects.

 

[JoNo]

I give my Weim rawhide whenever I can b/c she's a chewer; and we all know what happens when chewers get bored! Once I gave her a 14" rawhide bone for her birthday & it was gone in 2 days!

 

[jazznms]

both my dogs turn there nose up at them
blondnie ? where did u get the peanut butter ones?

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

My dog loves rawhide - the only problem is that if you let her go outside with it - she buries them. I think she just likes to "soften" them up for a while, since she's been know to find them months later. I've never heard anything about them being "bad" for dogs...

 

[Blondie]

Originally posted by jazznms
both my dogs turn there nose up at them
blondnie ? where did u get the peanut butter ones?

In a grocery store here called Giant. I haven't been able to find them anyplace else, not even at Petsmart. So I make a special trip there just for his rawhides!

 

[CookieGVB]

Rawhide bones can sometimes cause a blockage in the dog's intestines. It's fine if the dog swallows smaller pieces, but if it's a greedy soul, and swallows the end knot when it gets it soft enough, that's where you could run into problems.

 

[Blondie]

The ones we buy look like pencils, they are straight and thin. Shiloh would never finish the other kind, he'd just give up, it's as if he loses interest or something.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Monty does swallow small peices, but he also is quite , um, regular so I don't think he's gotten any that are that big. He tends not to swallow big things, thank god, as I've heard horror stories about dogs who do

He's also not one to bury his stuff. It seems like it really keeps him from chewing on other stuff he should be chewing on.

His toys are all hard rubber which don't give him much chewing pleasure I don' think, but the vinyl toys he has, he would chew through and I'd be worried about him swalloing small pieces. I don't mind him swallowing small pieces of rawhide or pig ears, but I don't think swallowing small pieces of vinyl isa good idea.

Thanks for the responses. I think it sounds like most dogs can handle rawhide ok. As for the after effects, I haven't noticed a rawhide - gas correlation yet , but he's been a fairly gassy dog since he was a baby. Vet said he's okay though, just stinky.

 

[stinkerbelle]

Our dog goes through about a bag of these every week and a half. She actually hurls herself at the door to the closet where we keep them to signify that she wants another. There are bits and pieces all over my house, as she gets "tired" of one after a while and demands (by hurling herself at the door!) that she wants a new one.

She does tend to "bite off more then she can chew" at times...but we're pretty good at tossing out the nasty/small ones. Also - we don't let her have these outside - inside only.

 

[Feralpeg]

I used to give them to him, but he wouldn't chew them enough and would end up getting them stuck in his throat. I had to reach in and pull several out. That was enough!

 

[Harley Chick]

Sometimes I give them to my shepherd, but it makes me nervous that she'll choke, so it's usually not worth it. Most of the time I give her a carrot. She loves them.

 

[JerseyJanice]

Originally posted by BriarfoxinWA
My dog loves rawhide - the only problem is that if you let her go outside with it - she buries them. I think she just likes to "soften" them up for a while, since she's been know to find them months later. I've never heard anything about them being "bad" for dogs...

LOL Briar Box! I have the same kind of dog. He rarely chews his rawhide treats. He prefers to play hide-and-seek with them--both inside and outside the house. (We find them in the most interesting places. )

For chewing, my dog loves cow's ears, but he's not too keen on pig ears. I have no idea why, except maybe that he prefers the taste of beef over pork.

 

[browneyes]

Rawhide has saved my fingers numerous times. My puppy loves the stuff. I give him the small round sticks of rawhide. It's easier for me to hold while he's gnawing on them (yep, he's got me right where he wants me ).

 

[TinkHappy]

I don't give our rawhide because he is a Bouvier and it makes a mess in his beard ewwwww
Last time I gave him rawhide it tooks me hours to comb it out, then I just gave up and cut the rest out.

 

[Raysplus1]

We give him rawhides but the downfall is it gives him bad smelling gas.

 

[KristiKelly]

My mom's boxer got a blockage from them and had a nice hefty vet bill to follow, for that reason I don't. Also they get really slimey after they've chewed on them and dogs always want to take slimey things and put them in your lap to show you.

 

[Kermit]

We do give our dog raw hide, but only when we're around to watch him. We don't do it often anymore. He's too darn polite and insists on sharing it with the baby.

 

[slo]

I currently don't have a dog because mine passed away, but he loved rawhides. We always made sure that they would say "made in America" because ones that are not may have chemicals in them that would not be good for your dog.

If your dog enjoyed the rawhide he had - buy more, your dog will thank you for it in his own way.