Hi all, Our Buck is 10 weeks old. He has a bunch of chew toys. I keep reading that rawhide for puppies isn’t good. Was just wondering what are the preferred bones or chew treats you give your pups. He’s teething a bit Thanks, Brian
You're correct that rawhide isn't a good (healthy) choice. Whilst he has his puppy teeth, you can give deer antlers - because he won't have the jaw strength to be able to do any damage with those. But once he gets his adult teeth in, stop giving deer antlers because they can cause slab fractures and broken teeth. (Got the tshirt there with one of my own dogs.) You can also give Yak chews, which some adult dogs eat quite quickly but will take a puppy with little puppy teeth, ages. Just supervise in case he breaks a bit off. I really like the K9 Connectables range of chew toys at the moment, but Kongs or any stuffable food toy is a must...
I always use rice bones at this stage. Pups like to play with them and then settle down for a good chew!
What are your concerns about rawhide bones/rolls? They have always been on our dogs favorite chew list. Never had a problem with them, except that they leave little bits on the carpet if we let them in the living room.
My previous dog wholly choked on a bit of rawhide. Had my brother not performed doggy heimlich, it likely would have killed him. I never fed them after that. All was well until then. He got a big piece of it mushy and thought it was okay to swallow... But he choked when he did it. We thought he was just going to vomit... But then he begun to lay down and he wasn't able to breathe and we realized it was choking. Brother got under him and thrust a few times and a big piece of soggy rawhide came flying out after a bit. Dog was fine.
I think rawhide should be avoided. The chemicals used to process it are pretty scary and because it's basically leather any bits ingested are not digested and have potential to cause intestinal blockage. My dog loves to chew and it amazes me watching him chomp through a big meaty bone like a venison neck, there is never any identifiable bone in his poo, dogs are so well adapted to processing it. For a non-bone chew I like things like pizzles and tripe sticks although they don't last him very long at all any more.
Rawhide is a product of the leather trade not meat and is processed with chemicals. Any chew needs supervision and you need to see how your dog behaves with them. My Gwenni at around 5 months now swallowed about 6 inches of a pizzle after chewing on it for an hour. She was very uncomfortable. She did vomit the whole thing up in 5 mins. She will also chomp through a nylabone and has ingested some, it contains nylon and made her vomit, so never again for her. She has enjoyed a yak chew, antler, lamb spaghetti, good quality pigs ear. Just make sure they are good quality, nothing is added or processed and you supervise your dog.
Yes some products are definitely to be avoided, however not all Rawhides are as sinister as the video may suggest. https://www.farmfood.co.uk/rawhide/farm-food-rawhide/
@Debs I wouldn't trust a manufacturer that says they make rawhide without the use of any chemicals. I did some research into this and the conclusion was that it doesn't seem possible to make the product, without using some chemicals... Even Farm Food's own website states it has been bleached to kill bacteria - and bleach is a chemical! There is no mention of formaldehyde in what they say, which (considering it is essential according to other manufacturers) raises questions. Raw hide can never be 'human grade' food - because humans don't eat cow skin - and so will always be an animal byproduct, with the animal having been killed for other uses. For me, all raw hide is a no-no....
Bleach is a chemical, but it goes away quickly. Most all commercial kitchens use it to wash/sanitize dishes and all the food prep surfaces.
