Hi and welcome to the forum from me and my two Labs, Willow and Shadow. Views are split on rawhide bones. Some people use them as a treat for their dogs to focus their chewing behaviour on - especially useful when teething, which I'm sure yours is about to start if he hasn't already. Others think they're the work of the devil and would never feed them. I would say, if you do want to give him one, then go for it. Make sure he's always supervised with it, though, since they can splinter and those bits can cause choking or blockages. When the bone is small enough to swallow whole, remove it so it doesn't get trapped. Also, make sure you're buying good quality ones, because lots of the cheaper ones - often made in China - contain traces of toxic chemicals from the curing process. Finally, some dogs are sensitive to rawhide and it will give them dodgy tummies. If this is the case, you can try hides from different animals to see if there is any difference.
I give mine a rawhide 'cigar' after each meal, once they reach five months old. It keeps their teeth clean and they have a good 'settle' after the meal while they chew them - better for digestion
Molly has rawhide chews, though I think she might have been a bit older than 4 months when I started giving them to her - while she was very small she had rice bones which are great for puppy teeth. The rawhide doesn't cause Molly any digestive problems and the vet says she has exceptionally clean teeth, however I know they don't suit all dogs as my last Lab used to be sick if given them (so obviously after a few tries we stopped).
Harley can't have rawhide as they go through her . I use kongs, rice bones or smart bones. Kongs are really good at a young age as it occupies their brains too
I prefer bully sticks (pizzles). Last longer and fully digestible. But same thing applies, always give to him supervised. And Myles is almost trained to spit it out when it gets too small or he knows I will come get it out myself!
Rawhide goes right through Cooper (15 months old)...I also use bully sticks but they do "stink" when he chews them! I dont give him large ones....maybe 5 inches. He enjoys them and it keeps him busy. But I also use Kongs and Nylabones......
Some dogs are fine with rawhide, some not. I'd give a small amount to a teenage dog (not a puppy) and see how they got on. Rawhide has been a bit funny for Charlie. He used to eat rawhide fine (never a lot), but then it seemed to give him runny poo, I tried a few brands and found one that seemed fine, so he used to be able to have a little bit. Smart bones, dentastix etc were even worse, dreadfully upset him. But then, his tummy seemed to get more sensitive and he couldn't tolerate the rawhide that had been ok before. So rawhide stopped. I then moved on to bully sticks, but had the same story. So no of these type of chews for Charlie boy. Over the time when his tummy seemed to get more sensitive, he was on anti-inflammatories, and had some vomiting - resulting in 3 changes in drugs. Anti-inflammatories can upset tummies, and it does seem like his tummy being a bit sensitive is here to stay. So, rawhide is out for us.
I get lamb dried lamb skins from Millies Wolf heart. Rory has colitis and he can have these and they dont upset his tum. His tum is very sensitive but I wanted him to enjoy a good chew so I was so happy when I found these. He can also have antler chews. The big maybe a problem for some pups/small dogs but the do ones which are cut in half.
We use the Millie Wolfheart fish chews in medium. They both love chewing these and they last quite a while. The Moo Chews are also good. We have also had the whistleblowers, but they are big, last for ever mind! We eventually sawed one in half.... https://www.millieswolfheart.co.uk/Millies-Fishy-Chew-Sticks https://www.millieswolfheart.co.uk/100-Natural-Treats/
Morning kates already kindly provided the link so hope that ok? Not been around for a few days. I do cut the lamb skins up into little bits with some chicken shears, they last longer and they are easier for him to digest. I don't give Rory really big bits just in case it causes his belly to rebel. My old boy with throat problems finds them easy to deal wth too. I've just go some moo chews so I'm going too give that a try with "mister delicate tum" if thats ok and I get a bit braver I might try those whistleblowers they look a bit formidable. They love them big fish bars too and they've been fine with Rory. They were really helpful when Rory was really ill and gave me a lot of good advice and different things to try so he could eat something. The best bit being cut out chicken and eggs. He's doing well now and theres so much out there now that I'm broadening his diet all the time. Sx
My black lab is 11 weeks old now, and he has had raw hide bones for the last 2 weeks. He loves them and will chew them for ages.
These look great. We always used rawhide but there has been such bad publicity about them. Millies Wolfheart has a good reputation. Think we will be visiting this site!
