[Luigi]

I give luigi rawhides all the time...but someone was telling me that rawhides are actually bad for dogs. is this true?

 

[Zookeeper]

I won't give them to my dogs. Once when the labs were young, I gave them a rawhide and Cassie chewed the entire thing apart and it was one long strip and she started choking on it. I was right there and ended up pulling out about 6 of rawhide strip from her throat. Never again.

I've also heard that they can swell up in their stomach and cause serious problems. Best to stick with non-rawhide chews (like Boodas) treats or nylabones.

 

[Murphys Dad]

I don't give rawhides, either. Li'l Girl was chewing on one once, and swallowed it whole when she thought Traveler might take it. Like to have scared me to death!

Thankfully, she suffered no ill effects, but that was the end of the rawhides.

 

[Murphys Dad]

I don't, either. I guess you can give Luigi rawhides if you are there with him to watch him.
I don't like the way they melt and the possibility of them choking on it.

 

[DaisysMom]

I do give them to Daisy but only the braided looking ones and if she gets pieces off or somehow untwists one end, in the trash it goes.

 

[MariaK]

Our dogs have always had rawhides and Blue loves his. We monitor them though and he never has them if we aren't home. I tried the Nylabones once, but he was able to actually get pieces off of the plastic Nylabones and that was terrifying. I guess these are all at the owners discretion.

 

[Murphys Dad]

Jersey has one huge rawhide. It's about 10-12 inches long. She's only allowed to chew on it when I'm with her to watch her. Once it softens and she can break peices of it off, I take it away. She only gets to chew on it every month or so. She knows where I keep it though and sometimes I'll find her sitting in front of the closet crying. Otherwise, she has her Nylabones (the durable ones) and her squeekies.

 

[Luigi]

To me, the point of a rawhide is so i do *not* have to watch him. To be frank, I'm tired of watching him every moment he's awake. The rawhide provides blissful quiet with the benefit of not having to lock him in the bathroom or put him on the balcony. I've tried nylabones, but yesterday he shredded the thing into a thousand plastic peices...

Now, this may make me sound uncaring. I'm not. I *love* Luigi, but that shouldn't mean I have to spend every waking moment with him....No toy keeps him as busy as a rawhide. He'll play with a toy for maybe two minutes before coming to seek us out. The rawhide is the only thing that keeps him busy for any extended period of time.

 

[Murphys Dad]

Not even a stuffed kong with goodies? That's Chloe's favorite, and frankly, most other chewable treats (rawhides, nylabones) she buries first and takes out later (maybe days later).... so I don't give them to her. Nylabones yes, but not rawhides.

I understand your will not to watch him every second of every day... but he's still a puppy, and this stuff is dangerous for him.

 

[angelaH]

A friend of ours dog choked to death on the remains of a rawhide bone. Since then rawhides are banned from our house. Chloe's mom is right, have you tried a stuffed Kong?
If a puppy of mine was too quiet I would be worried not pleased! But I know what you mean.

 

[nismostate]

good info

 

[Makaella's Mom]

They always gave my dogs diarreah..... what fun!

 

[CarrieD]

Our three dogs-including the Chihuahua-never had any trouble with rawhides. Of course we always watched them and they only got them like once every few weeks or something.

 

[BookerMoose]

I think rawhides are high in calories too, are they not? And since so may of us are waging the beagle battle of the bulge at some point in our dogs' lives, that to me makes them a no-go separate and apart from the other concerns that have been raised here...

 

[CarrieD]

I think the calorie monsters are pig ears and the 'basted' rawhides...

 

[Brisen]

I don't give Maggie rawhides per se, but she does get an occasional Dingo. We only give them to her when we can sit there with her and watch her chew on it...she absolutely loves them!

 

[Luigi]

I do use stuffed kongs. Luigi loves peanut butter loaded kongs. I give him one of those a day. usually holds him about 10 minutes. Great for easing him into the bathroom when i go to work...

And what do you mean basted? the ones he loves are chicken flavored ones that look like they're soaked in chicken stock, are those basted?