Hello All, I was just wondering if there is a safe alternative to rawhide? My 6 month old puppy can go through a 12" rawhide with 1 hour. Is rawhide healthy or can it can any digestive problems? Thanks
Cow rawhide doesn't tend to be digested very well - that is, the digestive system doesn't do a good job of breaking it down. For some reason pig rawhide is different - it is quite easily digested. At pet shops were I live (Australia) you can buy pig rawhide in the form of 'Pork Twists' (that's just what they are called at my pet shop). With any form of rawhide some people worry about choking on large pieces that are bitten off. I would expect that thr risk is quite low, although not zero... It is not something I have ever had a problem with, and I'd guess that the risk is similar with anything that puppies might chew (toys, furniture, socks etc...). It is often a challenge to find a chew that is safe and lasts a long time and that is tasty. The two best things I have found are: - 'bully sticks' (actually dried bull penises, which sounds gross, but dogs love them and due to their somewhat fibrous nature it's hard to bite off a chunk that might be choked on, if you are concerned about that kind of thing). - food dispensing toys like Kongs (freeze fillings for the longest lasting effect), Kong wobblers, treat balls etc. Others will have suggestions too, I'm sure.
I gave my boy rawhides to chew as a puppy. I had no problems with them at all. But then I started to read about how they are prepared -- apparently full of chemicals -- and I stopped buying them for him. At the same time, coincidentally, he stopped wanting to chew them, although I must admit I didn't throw out the old ones, and from time to time he'd find an old one with his toys and chew on it. I also gave him bully sticks, which he still loves as an adult, but can chew through them now in a matter of minutes! They didn't last that long as a puppy either, but sometimes you just need them to chew on something to initiate a calming down period. From 5 months I started feeding Snowie raw meat chunks and raw meaty bones. As a puppy, the raw meaty bone lasted up to 45 minutes, although again, as an adult, they are chomped down very quickly (very strong jaws!). If I needed Snowie to be occupied, I'd give him a raw meaty bone even if it was not his meal time -- sometimes one is desperate for quiet! I also froze rice, veg, and peanut butter mixtures in a tub, but he learned to pry them out of the tub and gobbled these down so quickly and started to put on weight, so I stopped those. When we would go out, we'd leave him with a hoof in which we'd smeared peanut butter. That kept him occupied, licking licking licking. And then he would start chewing the hoof (probably nice and soft after all that licking). I have been told to soak the hooves to make them more appealing, but I never got round to doing that.
I sometimes give Juno a SmartBone or SmartStick as I don't like rawhide. They have never lasted anywhere close to an hour though and are much smaller than the 12" chew you have offered. Something to be aware of with both rawhide and SmartBones is that they upset some dogs stomachs, particularly puppies.
Anco roots are another safer alternative, but not universally liked by dogs. Lilly wasn't a fan. They are at least "indentable by your thumbnail" which I think is the safest chew object from a dental point of view. Unlike antlers which seem to have an association with cracked teeth. Although the flatter parts of an antler may be safer in this respect??
I just stick to kongs - I found a disadvatange with everything else. Either a risk to teeth, upset tummy, concern over quality, or the chew lasted 30 seconds and was a waste of calories that could otherwise have been used for training.
The worst value - for my dog - was an 'everlasting treat', which I know others have used with success. It was a hard round ball of a treat that fitted inside a rubber thing (not unlike a kong, but a different shape). Charlie clamped his jaws round the rubber ball, crunched down, and shattered the treat. It popped out in two halves, and he had it crunched up in a millisecond. And then he had runny poo. 'Everlasting'. Right.
We've got several of the 'everlasting' treat dispensing toys but have only gained value from the toy itself, not the edible inserts that you buy with the toy. Obi had them crunched up in a pretty short time too. The toys themselves are tough (disclaimer: Obi isn't hard on his toys) and can be stuffed with other things that take a while to get out. We haven't bought any more of the official edible inserts though - they were expensive and proved to be a waste of money. Would be OK for a small dog or a dog that licked or nibbled rather than actually chewed. So, not really a Labrador
Rachael, I was wondering if you could expand on this a little. If cow rawhide isn't digested well, could that be seen as a good thing, in that the dog won't absorb as many calories from it? What are the problems with this?
In this case low digestibility means that the chewn off pieces can remain whole and aren't broken down. There is potential for whole pieces of rawhide to remain in the stomach or pass into the gut. There they could cause a blockage. So, not a great thing. https://thesciencedog.wordpress.com/2015/03/25/keep-those-doggies-rollin-rawhide-rawhide/
Twiglet is my first puppy to enjoy Anco roots, the others completely ignored them, but she gnaws away happily at them and only tiny pieces come off. The producers now need to learn how to infuse them with flavour so that more dogs enjoy them .
Charlie loves Anco roots. So much so that he bounces them off the furniture in delight. And they are big, hard and heavy - they don't half leave a dent in sideboards...
I've not seen anco roots anywhere. Are they not too hard, then? How long do they last (not power chewers, a large kong filled with frozen kibble takes 30 minutes+)? Hmmm, wonder if I should try them out with my two. A few more dents in our oak floor won't make much difference
They are like lumps of wood, but not as hard as wood. They are very expensive but I have had mine three years - they've been chewed a lot by twiglet and she's not made much of a dent in them. She's a power chewer and only the toughest nylabones don't get wrecked in minutes. Here is Gypsy with it (I'd put honey on it to encourage her, but that didn't work - she just licked the honey then left it!) .
I'm with Fiona, never heard of Anco roots before. Will gave to investigate now and perhaps get one for Juno in the garden fir the summer
They are hard, although soften as dog slobber soaks into them. They are big, so unlike hard things like nylabones, a power chewer can't get them between the back teeth and think it's a dual to the death - the teeth or the root. This is what a real power chewer does, then the teeth break when they eventually meet their match. So, I don't think that anco roots present the same risk to teeth as some other hard things. I still wasn't keen on the way Charlie scraped his teeth down the root, repeatedly. I thought his extremely thin doggie tooth enamel could do without that, really.... Let alone I could do without more dents in my furniture. It might have been a bit of frustration at not being able to crunch it up and destroy it, but it didn't take long for Charlie to think 'this might be more fun used as a football'.
Doesn't Charlie think most things would be more fun used as a football? Hmmm, the enamel, yes. I'm undecided, but will more than likely just stick to kongs and the occasional pizzle. I bought a handful yesterday, popped them in the large oak chest I use for all things doggy and within two minutes, Willow was trying to dig a hole in the side of it to get at them. J was not amused - he was the one that built the chest The pizzles are now in the highest cupboard in our kitchen. I still wouldn't put it past Shadow to reach them, though
