# Do you give your goldens rawhide?



## Murphysmom (Nov 2, 2009)

I've been giving Murphy bully sticks, but he downs them in no time. Which leaves him bored so he wants to go outside and eat everything in sight (including rocks). That's not ok with me. He has a TON of toys and chew things, but he has no interest in them. I haven't given him rawhide because I read some posts on here that said they aren't good for dogs. But I really need something bigger than a bully stick to occupy his chewing for a while. Does anyone have any ideas? If I give him a big rawhide bone will it hurt him to chew on?


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## Noey (Feb 26, 2009)

I give the rawhide sticks but they only are allowed to eat about half...


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## SheetsSM (Jan 17, 2008)

What about antlers?


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## Tracy S. (Jul 2, 2009)

I only give him pressed rawhide - Regular rawhide gives him the runs. I don't give himthe rawhide all the time - I try to stick with hooves and harder things because the other things he kills in about 3 seconds and they don't keep him occupied. He loves pig ears, but he'll be getting fat from them, and again, he blows through them in about 2.3 seconds.

On another note - I have to check into antlers as the above poster suggested.....hmmmm.....


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

The one and only time Sam ever had a rawhide bone was when he snagged one of his littermate's when we were at her house for a playdate. He threw it up shortly after, so I never gave him one. 

I think marrow bones (or soup bones, as they are sometimes called at the markets) are a much better and safer option, great for their chewing needs and for teeth cleaning.


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## inge (Sep 20, 2009)

Aren't marrow bones too rich for a puppy like Murphy?


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

I don't give rawhides. I am scared that they will choke on them, and way back when Jasmine was a puppy, she would throw them back up. How about a knuckle bone?


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

inge said:


> Aren't marrow bones too rich for a puppy like Murphy?



You can scoop most of the marrow out of the bone if you feel its too much. I never did with Sam even when he was younger and even though he has a notoriously finicky tummy, he never had any issues with the marrow. 

Or you can usually also find knuckle bones packaged either next to, or together, with the marrow bones. They are just bone, no marrow, usually with a little meat on it still.


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## Romeo1 (Apr 19, 2008)

No, I'm too afraid of him choking on it. I usually stick to pig ears.


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## Karen2 (Jan 5, 2009)

Sierra gets rawhide rolls. but only when we are here and able to watch her.
I like the antlers, she can chew and chew and have not had any splinters as with some bones. She has free access to her antlers and can take it or leave it as she pleases.
Karen


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## Murphysmom (Nov 2, 2009)

I would love to get him some antlers, but I don't really know what I'm looking for and what size to get him. He's only about 20 pounds now, but growing fast. I hate to get him antlers that are bigger than him, lol. Any suggestions on where to get one and what size?


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## goldencontriever3 (Nov 7, 2008)

No mine do not get rawhides. My brothers pug choked on a rawhide and was turning blue before my SIL pull it from his throat.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

Absolutely NOT! And my dogs get raw marrow bones all the time.


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## Laura Way (May 25, 2009)

No Rawhides in this canine home either! LOL I like to give mine the marrow bones. I haven't tried the antlers as I am afaird they will want to take the ones down off the walls. LOL And Mark would like appercaite that!


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## rappwizard (May 27, 2009)

My husband has this thing about buying rawhides. Any dog of ours that has eaten a rawhide has gotten such diarrhea. Ugh. I have a big bag of CET chews and my golden loves them--one chew will last an evening. I prefer the CET chews, although I understand some people have had problems with them.

I've also given Mac large knuckle bones, another favorite. She gnaws them until nothing is left!


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## Abbydabbydo (Jan 31, 2007)

No rawhides here, they fight over them, they devour them then they throw them up. Swampcollie feeds them, though and has no problem. It must depend on the dogs.


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## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

Marrow bones give my boys diarrhea. I do give rolled rawhide sometimes, watch them like a hawk and they only get half. I don't think I'd give rawhide to a puppy due to their tendency to gulp things down.

Petco/Petsmart have very hard sterilized or even fake bones with filling like cheese. Those seem good for puppies. You need to throw them away if the pup doesn't get the goo out of the middle. It can go bad.


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## sammydog (Aug 23, 2008)

No I don't feed rawhides... I will do bully sticks sometimes, but not often. I LOVE nylabones (durable) and Busy Buddy Funy Bones...


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## RSHANNING (Nov 14, 2008)

Sierra does not get rawhide I will give her a cow hoove or bones from the butcher. One Christmas my sister gave my dogs rawhide for Christmas. My female did not want to share hers so she swallowed the knuckle part whole and it got stuck in her tummy. The vet said not to give my dogs Rawhide as they don't digest them.


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## honeysmum (Dec 4, 2007)

No Rawhides here.


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## Goldenmomma (Oct 15, 2009)

With my bassets, I could feed them anything and they would be fine. My goldens have sensitive stomachs so we don't give rawhides, ears, hooves, etc. They has sterile bones, but I have to watch them because Scotty chews bits off the ends. They have kongs, but again can't use the kong stuff because they get upset tummys. My vet also warned against regular peanut butter.


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## Daisybones (Aug 25, 2008)

Hudson gets frozen Kongs with nutritious stuffin's that I make myself. It really keeps him busy for a good hour. Hudson has a very sensitive tum. He used to get rawhides and then I read all kinds of bad stuff about them and never gave them to him again. I have given Hudson bully sticks (wow! are they expensive) but he eats them so fast.


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## golden_dane (Nov 30, 2009)

no rawhides here - after she swallowed a piece of it, and that caused blockage. Luckily, vet was able to get it out without a surgery.
I'm giving them bully sticks, large beef bones, and nylabones.


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## Finn's Fan (Dec 22, 2007)

Absolutely no rawhide here, either. I worked for a vet and saw far too many obstruction surgeries from rawhide. Antlers are Finn's fave, surpassing marrow bones, which is just fine since the bones upset his tummy.


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## iamswiss (Aug 6, 2009)

When I bought the first time bully sticks I was thinking the same. It was like 20$ for two large bully sticks. I order them now online and it costs half of it, so that makes more sense.


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## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

Since reading here that someone's golden broke off an antler and swallowed it, I won't be getting antlers either.


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## janine (Aug 8, 2009)

This whole bone thing is driving me nuts. Chester only ever had bullysticks, he didn't like nyabones, didn't like kongs and we were told not to give rawhide. Pigs ears are to rich and don't last and hooves stink. Then we get Murphy...Chester didn't want to share bullysticks so he swallowed a 7 inch one whole to keep it away from his little brother....then he ate a whole nyabone. This was scary so I stopped buy those. I ask the vet about antlers and our vet said they were to hard for his puppy teeth it could break them. The vet said rolled rawhide and just watch they don't get to short. Chester isn't that fond of the rawhide anyway so we really get them for Murphy....but from what I am reading they aren't really safe either. I guess I should just let him eat the kitchen chairs and baseboards????


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## Milo's_Mom (Sep 9, 2009)

I gave this topic a lot of thought too, my Milo gets pressed rawhide and raw bones. I keep an eye on the rawhides and get rid of them when they get short or if he unravels them some how. Never had a problem, although he has been working on a cow hoof the past few days and did have some loose stool...:yuck:


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## hgatesy (Feb 14, 2007)

We only give raw bones and nylabones. Parker used to get rawhide as a puppy, however he once swallowed a giant piece and it basically got stuck in his throat. Thank goodness we were there and were able to get it out.


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## Sienna's Mom (Oct 23, 2007)

No rawhides here, Sienna inhales EVERYTHING ;-(
She loves to chew on things. I was using those hard marrow bones with the filling and she really seemed to like them, but the vet said she could chip a tooth since she goes at it so intensely.

So now the only thing I can give her is kongs filled with tasty treats, and if I freeze it, even better as it last longer.


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## SheetsSM (Jan 17, 2008)

A family in Oklahoma lost their golden today due to choking on rawhide, by the time they were able to get it out, it was too late. I can't imagine the pain the golden went through or the horror the family experienced as they watched their boy struggle and despite their efforts, ultimately die in front of them. Nope, no rawhide for my girl--not worth the risk.


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## Traz (Jan 19, 2009)

I use marrow bones, no rawhide. Too many chemicals too in rawhide. Marroe bones are people food so hopefully no chemicals.


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## wagondog (Aug 24, 2007)

Murphysmom said:


> I would love to get him some antlers, but I don't really know what I'm looking for and what size to get him. He's only about 20 pounds now, but growing fast. I hate to get him antlers that are bigger than him, lol. Any suggestions on where to get one and what size?


I found them on Ebay, a box of twenty cost me 5 bucks


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## dmsl (Jun 7, 2009)

petexpertise.com has antlers & a chart showing size/weight of puppy or dog to give them to. Just ordered my first xxl for bear....I'll update when it arrives!


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## nixietink (Apr 3, 2008)

No way on the rawhides.

We give marrow bones, knuckle bones, antlers (from petexpertise), and sterilized bones (on occasion).


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

dmsl said:


> petexpertise.com has antlers & a chart showing size/weight of puppy or dog to give them to. Just ordered my first xxl for bear....I'll update when it arrives!


I bought the XXL for Hank before the holidays, he's chews on it frequently and you can hardly tell. It would be difficult to break off a piece since it's about an inch in diameter. Very nice quality.

I get his bullysticks from K9Cuisine. I get the 12" supreme, they're thicker and last longer than the shorter/thinner with not much difference in price. I love this company's service...fast delivery and they always include free items with the order. Free shipping with orders over $50.

P.S. No, I don't give rawhide.


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## Zeppelin (Jun 28, 2009)

NO rawhide here either! Zep had blood in his stool when he was little and the vet figured it was from the rawhide, since they break off little pieces that are not digested and then need to "pass". About a year later, he got a piece of rawhide at a family member's house, gulped it down and then threw it up the next day. Disgusting and i was SO happy he threw it up because i believe it was too big to "pass". Rawhide scares me to death. 

I've given Zep marrow bones (frozen...they last longer) since he was a pup and he never has any problems. But, you do need to make sure to throw it away if they dont finish it as it will go bad and they stink!  

He also gets antlers, but only if he's found them himself in the woods. I've never bought them, so have no suggestions there. We've never had any problems with the antlers or the marrow bones.


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## Jo Ellen (Feb 25, 2007)

SheetsSM said:


> A family in Oklahoma lost their golden today due to choking on rawhide, by the time they were able to get it out, it was too late. I can't imagine the pain the golden went through or the horror the family experienced as they watched their boy struggle and despite their efforts, ultimately die in front of them. Nope, no rawhide for my girl--not worth the risk.


OMG, my heart just sunk when I read this. Too horrible for words.

No rawhide here, just marrow bones and bully sticks. And I throw the marrow bones away after the first chew because I think they get brittle when they dry, not good for the teeth.


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## Tanyac (Jun 18, 2008)

No rawhide at all here after I had to fish some from Izzie's throat when she started choking! 

Mine have nylabones, sterilised bones, and the very occasional pigs ear (although much less since I heard a lot of ears are brought in from China - less than 100% sources!). Luckily both of mine don't chew very much now, but seem satisfied with what they've got.


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

I give rawhides to my dogs on a daily basis. They've never had a problem with them whatsoever in over 40 years. 

Time to cut to the chase here folks. As with most things you have to make your choices based upon the dog at your feet. Is the toy or treat appropriate for the dog at hand? Rawhide bones work well for aggressive chewers because they reduce them to tiny bits before ingesting them. There is no choking hazzard with such dogs.

Rawhides are not an appropriate toy or treat for the non-aggressive chewer. Such dogs tend to work at a rawhide until it's a large softened ball and then try to swallow it. For this type of dog there is a choking hazzard as well as a chance for intestinal blockage. 

Each dog owner has to make the judgement as to which type of dog you own and make appropriate choices for your dog. A one size fits all approach doesn't apply to dogs.


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## lizandhec (Sep 20, 2009)

iamswiss said:


> When I bought the first time bully sticks I was thinking the same. It was like 20$ for two large bully sticks. I order them now online and it costs half of it, so that makes more sense.


My wife and I have been looking for a good place to buy bully sticks in bulk. Where did you find them online?


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## brandiwine (Nov 28, 2009)

lizandhec said:


> My wife and I have been looking for a good place to buy bully sticks in bulk. Where did you find them online?


I was going to ask the same thing! I would love to find a good place online to buy them as my nearest petstore that sells them is 30 minutes away.


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

lizandhec said:


> My wife and I have been looking for a good place to buy bully sticks in bulk. Where did you find them online?


I buy Hank's at K9 Cuisine 

http://www.k9cuisine.com/p-245-free-range-dog-chews-moo-bully-sticks.aspx


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## Noey (Feb 26, 2009)

we get rawhide sticks. When they get down to a certain size I toss them. My guys are very active with the chewing so they are watched when they have them.

I agree with Swampcollie...know your dogs. 

I don't leave rawhides out when we are not home - and keep an eye on them.


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## lizandhec (Sep 20, 2009)

Willow52 said:


> I buy Hank's at K9 Cuisine
> 
> http://www.k9cuisine.com/p-245-free-range-dog-chews-moo-bully-sticks.aspx




Thank you! These look much more reasonable than where we currently buy them. Thanks again!


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

I agree it's a case of "know your dog". I'll give Ranger a pressed rawhide here and there and always supervise the chewing. If he gets a big blob of rawhide off the bone, I'll take it away from him then he keeps chewing away on the bone. I also know when i walk over there to take it away from him, he's not going to panic and swallow the whole thing so I can't take it. Really depends on the dog.


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## Tristan (Dec 24, 2009)

Gee, I am sorry to meet you, but my Golden ate a 3 inch rock when he was about 10 months old.
I give them rawhide ( we also have a 9 year old Yellow Labrador). But I am hoping that once the snow melts (in June?) that he will have fogotten the rock eating. That turned into one BIG expensive surgery to remove the rock, and until the snow came we had to put a basket muzzle on him when we would go out.
I have kongs, but yes, you are right they play with them for 5 minutes and they are done.
The older dog doesn't want anything to do with the puppy.
Trinian matured into a 96 pound VERY BIG dog.
He's even bigger than our 92 pound Labrador ! 
I just hope that he forgets about eating rocks !!!!


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