# Rawhide bones



## GinnyinPA (Oct 31, 2010)

My husband picked up a rawhide bone at Walmart last night. I don't know what brand it was, but I'd like to find a better one, if possible. Ben had it completely demolished in no time. He shredded it, then ate the pieces, except the sticky parts that stuck to his paws, ears and nose. I've had dogs that could play with a rawhide bone for days. In two hours, Ben ate half a large bone. I managed, with some difficulty, to get the other half away from him when he wasn't looking. He really liked the bone and was very unhappy with losing it, but I worried about his digestion and the mess it was making. 

So - are there good rawhide bones that won't turn to a gluey mess or is it just that goldens are such good chewers that they don't work for them?


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## dmsl (Jun 7, 2009)

You'll get alot of opinions here...I don't use rawhide...I use beef pizzle sticks....they're lets say 100% beef so they're fully digested & last along time. You can search this site for more threads on them. Oh...and if you want something to last a really long time, go to petexpertise.com and order a deer antler. We've had ours for going on a year!!! They love love them & come and go from chewing them. My hubby had a fit when I spent $20 on a antler, but now he sees the benefit! So don't balk at the price....just do it!


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

I would avoid the rawhide and go to a 6" raw marrow bone instead. Many hard chewing dogs have choked on the soggy remnants of rawhides.


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

We don't use rawhide either.....marrow bones, bully sticks, antlers are better options.


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## ggdenny (Nov 2, 2008)

I don't use or recommend rawhides. They are a choking and intestinal blockage danger, empty calories than can lead to weight gain, and most have nasty chemicals in the making or preserving - like formaldehyde. Made in China for digestibles just isn't safe these days. My opinion.


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## Jamm (Mar 28, 2010)

Havent given Joey any rawhide and i don't plan on it. He gets Marrow bones (roasted and raw) bullwrinkles, and deer antlers. He LOVES em all.


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## Charlie1 (Oct 23, 2010)

GinnyinPA said:


> My husband picked up a rawhide bone at Walmart last night. I don't know what brand it was, but I'd like to find a better one, if possible. Ben had it completely demolished in no time. He shredded it, then ate the pieces, except the sticky parts that stuck to his paws, ears and nose. I've had dogs that could play with a rawhide bone for days. In two hours, Ben ate half a large bone. I managed, with some difficulty, to get the other half away from him when he wasn't looking. He really liked the bone and was very unhappy with losing it, but I worried about his digestion and the mess it was making.
> 
> So - are there good rawhide bones that won't turn to a gluey mess or is it just that goldens are such good chewers that they don't work for them?


I avoid rawhide bones with both Charlie my GR and my shitzu/yorkie Brody. There is a huge mess, and I am worried about choking. Brody has choked a few times on the smaller pieces, and Charlie is a huge chewer still. I give both bison bones.


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

I give each dog a 3" rawhide bone every night after they finish their dinner and have done so for nearly 40 years. Not once has a dog choked on one or had digestive upset.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I'm right with Swampcollie on this... except I buy foot long rawhide sticks or the rawhide bones like in the pics below. It takes my guys a while to chew one of those down and they aren't swallowing big pieces or sharp small pieces. 

As with anything I give my dogs to chew on, they do not chew alone. They chew when I'm present to keep an eye on them. Dogs need to eat whatever they chew on, which means that whatever you give them there is a chance they will choke on something. 

I also give chicken jerky to the dogs, but those things are most definitely gone in a flash. 

Do not buy the meat wrapped rawhide bones, because those are a waste of money + messy + stain the dog's fur + cause gas for the dogs. And they are sticky gross.

Oh, and I only buy the rawhide bones that say they are made in the USA. They might not be, but I try.


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## C's Mom (Dec 7, 2009)

Oaklys Dad said:


> I would avoid the rawhide and go to a 6" raw marrow bone instead. Many hard chewing dogs have choked on the soggy remnants of rawhides.


I give the same for Mr. C. He had really bad teeth when I first adopted him and now they are great - a great side benefit of giving marrow bones is it cleans their teeth.


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

I occasionally give rawhides but only the pressed kind. They last longer and are harder to chew. I trust Ranger to chew them and NOT gulp down big pieces of rawhide, even if he sees me approaching. I've worked hard at getting him to relax around his food and he's always been a careful chewer. There's definitely some dogs who I wouldn't give rawhide to...but Ranger gets one about once a week.


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## MILLIESMOM (Aug 13, 2006)

I used to buy rolled retriever rolls made from free ranging cattle. The girls used to get one twice a week. Suddenly Pearl got sick and we had to take her to the ER. She had a terrible intestinal infection. I don't know if she got a bad chew or not. I started giving them nyla bones the knotted type.


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## Summer's Mom (Oct 20, 2010)

Summer has had 1 pressed rawhide bone in her lifetime so far, and I was watching her so closely I think she thought I was crazy! I got her a large pressed one (she is a very very strong chewer, you should see her nylabones!) but only let her chew on it for 20 minutes at a time. It lasted almost 2 weeks of a daily dose of chewing, because the rawhide gets soft when it gets wet with saliva, then I take it back and air dry it so it becomes hard again.. I think the biggest danger is when the hide is soft and they can take off big pieces to swallow.

She's great at giving it back to mommy to "keep" for next time, so thats a plus. It's been good for her teeth and no tummy upsets so far.

I don't think I'll do this regularly, but she sure seems to enjoy it a whole lot!!

I've heard horror stories, but have also heard from people whose dogs have done fine on it.


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## Abby (Aug 17, 2010)

I don't give Chopin rawhide, I've heard some terrible stories about choking and digestion problems. I'm suggest roasted marrow bones or bully sticks. I've heard antlers are good too, but Chopin hasn't tried those yet.


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

Ranger said:


> I occasionally give rawhides but only the pressed kind. They last longer and are harder to chew. I trust Ranger to chew them and NOT gulp down big pieces of rawhide, even if he sees me approaching. I've worked hard at getting him to relax around his food and he's always been a careful chewer. There's definitely some dogs who I wouldn't give rawhide to...but Ranger gets one about once a week.


These are the ones I use, too. I very seldom give my dogs rawhides, but they are nice to have when the weather is bad and they can't get outside. And they do really enjoy them.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

I used to give my goldens pressed rawhide- the kind with many thin layers pressed together, and never had any problems. They sell a nice variety of these at Whole Foods. I don't give them anymore bc two of our breeders have strong feelings about them.


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

I also bought Ranger a pressed rawhide ring and it's lasted even longer than the regular shaped ones. He couldn't figure out how to get it started so the first few times I gave it to him, he just kept running from place to place with it in his mouth and then licking it. Once he got it figured it, it was chewed like the other ones but it definitely lasted longer at the start. 

Ranger's got an antler and a nylabone that are always left out in case he feels the need to chew on something while he's home by himself. The rawhides are just for the nights when nothing will settle him down, like fostermom said. He chews voraciously on it for about an hour under close supervision then I take it away and he's tired and happy.


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## Bender (Dec 30, 2008)

I just use marrow or neck bones here for chewing, they get them in their crates if they're really meaty, and once they've been cleaned up they come into the house and I just toss them back out to the mudroom during the day. 

Rawhides are too messy and too many horror stories for my liking. Everything from the choking/blockages to mouth cancer.... no thanks.

Lana


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## Braccarius (Sep 8, 2008)

Miri's dad got rawhide once. Pieces got caught in his throat and he ended up with an abcess. Her breeder spent the better part of 10 grand to get him to an emergency vet in southern ontario. 

Why risk it? Is rawhide so unbeliveably delicious that your dog can't go without it and its worth the risk of them choking or developing issues?


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

> Why risk it? Is rawhide so unbeliveably delicious that your dog can't go without it and its worth the risk of them choking or developing issues?


I think people risk it because they never had a problem with any of their dogs choking.  

One thing though is I would never give rawhide to a dog that eats it too fast. They need to chew and gnaw at the bones. They should not be eating and swallowing the bone shortly after you handed it to them. 

The other thing is that giving your dogs plenty of things to chew on every single day lessens their need to gnaw stuff down to nothing. The knotted rawhide bone like in the pic on the previous page - those last forever, because the dogs will gnaw and gnaw at the big knots and not really get anywhere with it. 

The rawhide rolls - like I have in the pic on the previous page - those go a little quicker because the dog can gnaw better with their back teeth. But even then, I've never really had any dogs choke on them. 

I do not buy nylabones, because the guys chew plastic pieces off of the bones and try swallowing them. Those plastic pieces draw blood from their gums and tongues as they chew on the bones, so I can just imagine what they'd do to their intestines. 

And I imagine it would be the same with anything. 

Which is why I would most definitely discourage any chewing when you are not actually around to step in and take care of your dog.


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## katelyn29 (Jul 21, 2010)

I am having the same issue. I have been buying rawhide bones for both my dogs, they love them, but they make me nervous. i have had to fish remnants of the rawhide out of Dakotas throat way too many times. I never give them to them unless we are right there watching them, but it still scares me. I have been wanting to find something else for them to chew on for a while. I am getting lots of recommendations from this thread, thank you!


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## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

No rawhide here. Our guys only get raw marrow bones and Nylabones. Rawhide has the potential to cause problems like choking and blockage. I wouldn't want to risk it.


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