Did you know that rawhide chews are mostly indigestible? Did you know that rawhide chews can be dangerous to our dogs?
The benefits of rawhide chews…
Our dogs love to chew and rawhide chews have been great for their teeth, for boredom, and to alleviate anxiety. Rawhide chews keep our dogs’ jaws strong, their teeth clean, and their breath fresh.
What are rawhide chews made of…
The ones we’ve purchased are made of beef hide. They’re spun in circles and dried and if you look closely they’re held together with adhesive (should our dogs be consuming this?). Some rawhide chews are flavored, but Rodrigo doesn’t do well with the flavored ones, so we’ve just purchased the plain ones.
What are the risks of rawhide chews…
There is a real risk of blockage. Our dogs sometimes swallow entire chunks at a time and since they’re largely indigestible, these can get stuck in their intestinal track.
There is a risk of contamination due to the chemicals used to create them (remember the glue I mentioned?).
And they can cause an upset tummy. Like I shared, Rodrigo can’t handle the flavored ones; there are other dogs that have shown that they’re allergic to the ingredients used to create the rawhide chews.
So what are our options?
This was an amazing discussion that I had in a LinkedIn group and I was skeptical about some of the recommendations, but then I tried them out and was happily surprised.
1) Bully Sticks – some people believe that these are no better than rawhide chews, but I disagree. Our dogs love these and I buy them in bulk. They smell awful, even the ones that are “low odor” bully sticks.
Bully sticks are also expensive. Recently, Costco has been providing a package of 12 long bully sticks for $25 – we would buy a package and cut them in half making 24 – our goal was the make them last longer, but with three dogs, that’s not a possibility for us.
Update: We no longer feed bully sticks to our dogs, because of the odor. Having three dogs chowing down on bully sticks is heaven for me, because it guarantees and expended period of peace. My boyfriend put his foot down, because he hated the smell.
2) Carrots – my dogs have never shown any interest in carrots and I thought the small, snack ones would be a choking hazard. Someone suggested I try again so I picked up a few full size carrots and they love them. This is a healthy, affordable snack that our dogs love.
Our dog, Sydney, needs to lose 5 pounds. Giving her carrots satisfies her need to chew without giving her the extra calories that she doesn’t need.
photo: claireknights
3) Raw Bones – we just started buying raw bones for our dogs. Little Riley loved her bone and I smile whenever I remember her going at it with gusto. There are cooked bones at the pet store – avoid these – cooked bones can splinter and wreck havoc on your dog’s intestinal track. They can also break your dog’s teeth (just learned this one recently from an unhappy dog owner).
We buy our bones from our local pet stores; they have freezers to store the bones.
Update: We no longer feed our dogs raw bones. Shortly after this article was published, our dogs started getting sick (vomiting) from the bones, which showed us that raw bones weren’t a great choice for our dogs.
photo: hennasabel
4) Life’s Abundance Pork Treats - Life’s Abundance Porkhide Bones are gourmet chew treats made with 100% natural pork skin and have a lasting, mouth-watering flavor that our dogs love! These yummy treats are naturally high in protein, low in fat and are highly digestible. The shape of the bone fits inside the mouth for maximum contact, which helps promote healthy teeth and gums. And they are safe for dogs of all ages. Your dog will love these safe, healthy and delicious treats!
There are many treats in the store that look like the Life’s Abundance treats (I found some at Target), but they’re made with the chemicals that Life’s Abundance avoids.
5) Dear Antlers - I’ve read that deer and elk naturally shed their antlers every spring an those naturally shed antlers ae gathered, cleaned, cut to create a great option for strong chewers. I always buy the antlers with blunt edges. Rodrigo was able to easily chew threw the ones with sharp edges, but we’ve had blunt edged ones for a year now with barely a dent. All three dogs love them.
Nicole of Bright Eyes Pet Wellness (where we purchase our non-toxic flea and tick treatment) recommends Scout & Zoes Natural Antler Dog Chew
photo: Stuart.Bassil
Now it’s your turn to share your tips – what do you give your dogs to satisfy their instinct to chew?
June 18, 2012 at 10:38 am
I buy Jones Natural Chews Slammer Bones for my boy. He loves em, they keep him occupied, oh did I mention, he loves them? He doesn’t get them unsupervised though as they have knuckles that I take away from him.
Twitter: pibblesnheathen
June 18, 2012 at 11:07 am
Thanks for the tip, Brenda
I’ll look those up. In this world of recalls and crappy ingredients, I’m finding that the best tips are from other dog lovers and our veterinarian. Thanks so much!!
Kimberly
Twitter: thefurmom
June 18, 2012 at 11:48 am
To be honest, I don’t even trust the vets anymore. I love mine dearly but they push Science Diet food, which imo is crap food. Tears my pittie up terribly! I try to stick with all natural-grain free stuff. He eats Nature’s Variety kibble and Taste of the Wild Can. The only raw hide he gets is a baby Dingo bone.
Twitter: pibblesnheathen
June 18, 2012 at 7:32 pm
The reason I love our vet is because he seems to love animals more than he loves people. I’m not into Science Diet. We’re a Life’s Abundance family until we find something better.
Twitter: thefurmom
June 18, 2012 at 10:04 pm
I think a lot of dog owners should be aware with this because it can cause something bad for their dogs.. This should be shared..
June 19, 2012 at 8:12 am
Thanks, Meygann
Twitter: thefurmom
June 19, 2012 at 8:03 am
I love my rawhide bones. But I’m going to ask Corinne (of Everyday Gyaan, remember?) to try out the carrots. I think I’d like that – safer too.
PS: I confirmed that I’m human – we boxer dogs are!!
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Pablo recently published..Happy Happy
Twitter: pawesomewisdom
June 19, 2012 at 8:13 am
Thanks so much. Four paws = human to me! Our dogs love their carrots. I was skeptical when someone recommended them, but now they understand the word and it’s really easy clean up and good for them. They don’t last as long as a rawhide, but that just means we get to do more active stuff. They’re herding dogs, so they prefer it that way too.
Thanks for stopping by!
Kimberly
Twitter: thefurmom
June 19, 2012 at 12:01 pm
Yeah, rawhide – definitely the best thing. Bully sticks are certainly awesome. Gotta yet try the antlers.
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Jana Rade recently published..Why I Dislike Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Twitter: DawgBlogger
June 20, 2012 at 12:39 pm
The bully sticks are great but they are expensive and stinky. Our Speckles goes through one in half an hour. She also has a bone filled with flavored stuff, which has been long gone. I’ve been meaning to try the antler but haven’t yet. Great suggestions – never would have thought of carrots!
Twitter: cookiesANDclogs
June 20, 2012 at 4:19 pm
Thanks, TerriAnn
When Blue joined our family, the smell of bully sticks was overwhelming and we were buying 4 bags a month ($100) and they didn’t last us the month. We had to find another way to satisfy their need to chew
Thanks for stopping by!
Kimberly
Twitter: thefurmom
June 20, 2012 at 7:24 pm
Thanks so much for the info. No more rawhides for my little guy!
June 21, 2012 at 6:55 am
Fantastic!
It sucks, because they do keep our dogs occupied, but the idea of them swallowing something that’s not good for them when there are so many alternatives out there is tough for me to swallow.
Ahhh, I made a joke. I think.
Kimberly
Twitter: thefurmom
June 21, 2012 at 1:22 pm
lol, too tough to swallow! Nice!
June 22, 2012 at 7:06 am
I have a border collie and at one point during his adolescent period we thought we were going to lose our minds keeping him calm and busy. We found out rawhide gave him tummy troubles and were directed to Bully Sticks. Unfortunately, one day of working on that thing sent us to the vet for his uncontrollable diarrhea…he wound up on a prescription to stop it. My husband was so enthralled with how busy it kept him that he chalked it up to a fluke and tried a bully stick again a month later only to find the same results. Anyway, we find that his tummy can handle Pork Skin Chews, carrots (which don’t keep him busy but he likes them) and deer antlers (a Godsend!). I am going to look for raw bones now that I’ve seen your post…I’m sure he will thank you for it, lol:)
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Amy recently published..On Grief and Border Collies…
Twitter: Momof3withaPhD
June 22, 2012 at 7:40 am
Hi Amy – bummer about the bully sticks. Our dog Rodrigo had loose stool at first, because he has a sensitive stomach. I think it was the brown stuff on the first bully sticks we bought, because they were “flavored.” The raw bones are great, but I would start with one and see how your pup does with it. We give the dogs bones under supervision (accept the puppy, teeth aren’t strong enough). We don’t give them bones after they’ve eaten a meal, because it’s a little too much on their tummy. It’s more of a mid afternoon snack once a week.
Before you pick them up (in our area, the local pet stores have them in their freezer), I would double check with your vet to make sure that the marrow won’t cause tummy issues.
I hope your dog likes them.
Kimberly
Twitter: thefurmom
August 2, 2012 at 9:00 am
I just wanted to say I recently started my own blog (much smaller more focused audience than this one though), but I LOVE THIS BLOG!
Onto the topic: I use Moozles. They are a dried cow snout made by Merrick. For smaller dogs they make Snoozles (dried pig snouts). They don’t last quite as long as a big rawhide, but are digestable and the dogs like the flazor much better. I will mention that I have found that dried pig ears are just as dangerous as Rawhides.
Also if you are using bones, like mentioned above make sure they are RAW! Cooked bones splinter and can puncture the digestive tract, which can quickly become lethal for you pet.
August 2, 2012 at 9:06 am
Thank you so much, Amanda!!! You’ve now made my week!!!
I’m in talks with Merrick about writing about their products and just sent an email to their PR rep about the Moozles. This is one of my favorite posts and I’m going to write more about safe chews, because our dogs love them and it’s so important to let dog owners know that just because you can buy it in the pet store doesn’t mean that it’s safe for dogs.
I love raw bones. They keep the dogs occupied forever! Our puppy is almost old enough for them and we can start buying them again. Such a great treat plus they keep the teeth so clean.
Anytime you’d like to submit an article, please shoot me an email
I love hosting other dog lovers on Keep the Tail Wagging!
Kimberly
Twitter: thefurmom
August 6, 2012 at 5:21 pm
Now I am really confused. I have read numerous articles that say bones are terrible for dogs because they can splinter and puncture the dog’s intentional tract, etc. Vets even say this. Your take on this?
Twitter: commentluv
August 6, 2012 at 7:02 pm
I know what you mean, Deb – so much information out there and it seems to be all contrary. Cooked Bones are bad for dogs. Those are the ones that will splinter. You see them in pet stores, they’re smoked and not a good idea. I’m surprised that they sell them. But they sell rawhide too. I buy raw bones from a local pet store with a freezer section. The Petcos and Petsmarts in our area don’t have raw food/raw bones; but the neighborhood pet stores do. The raw bones are really inexpensive and they give our dogs hours of enjoyment.
For our dogs, I have to limit their chew session to an hour, because they’re not used to the bones (they took a break when we got a puppy) and they tend to upset their stomach until they get used to them again – I think it’s just too much marrow. Our puppy isn’t allowed raw bones until he gets his adult teeth (which just came in), because puppy teeth are too soft and will break off.
Hope this helps, Deb!
Thanks for the question
Twitter: thefurmom
August 6, 2012 at 7:11 pm
Thanks so much for helping clear up this ‘bone’ issue for me – I don’t know of a local store that carries raw bones. Do you buy beef bones, pork, chicken bones?
Thanks!
Deb
Twitter: commentluv
August 7, 2012 at 6:57 am
Great question! So far, I only buy them Beef or Bison bones. A local breeder gives her dogs raw chicken thighs and they’re fine; I’m not ready to do that yet.
Twitter: thefurmom
August 7, 2012 at 3:56 pm
Thank you so much for the replies!
Twitter: commentluv
January 20, 2013 at 10:04 pm
We don’t use any skin-based chews, since they all tend to have the same issues. We’re huge fans of antler chews and all three Casa de Kolchak dogs LOVE them. We’ve also used tendon chews, trachea chew and hoof chews (LOL, often directly from our horses after the farrier has come!).
Our dogs do love bully sticks. I have found that the cheaper bully sticks smell AWFUL. The organic, non-medicated ones I buy aren’t terrible (though I do tend to lock the boys in the yard or in the dog room to enjoy them. Not on my couch, thankyouverymuch) I’ve also found that the buffalo and bison ones don’t seem to smell as strongly, plus, they’re great for my Felix and his allergies!
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Kolchak, Felix & Jodi recently published..Luda’s Tips to Driving the Humans Up the Wall
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January 21, 2013 at 11:46 am
Thanks for the tip!
Twitter: thefurmom