# Cow ears?



## Nargle

I've recently gotten a few large cow ears for Basil to chew on from the pet store. He absolutely loves them! However, I'm concerned since they're mostly skin I think, would they be dangerous like rawhide? I have no idea how they compare to pigs ears, because I don't buy pork products. The middle of the ear and tip seem pretty stiff, but near the base where it gets thicker, it seems almost like it's been puffed up like styrofoam. I have no idea how they got it to look like that! But anyways, do you guys think that cow ears are safer as chews than rawhide?


----------



## mydogs2011

I only feed my dogs rawhide or pig ears once a month,because the dog can choke on them.If you want to feed her it then just watch her and make sure she doesnt eat to much or choke on it.


----------



## jean4paws

You definitely do not want to feed your dog rawhide, it can be quite dangerous, same thing with Pig ears. Cow Ears are better because they do tend to be puffed up, and are not as hard and sharp, plus they are lower in fat which is always a good thing. Have you tried bully sticks?? My dog cant get enough of them, and they are among the safest chews out there. They are a bit pricier, but I get a great deal from alleystreats.com on 4 inch sticks.


----------



## Labsnothers

I don't trust any of the consumable chews. The dogs just gnaw them down to a dangerous size too quickly. These problems are the worst with, but not limited to, large, aggressive chewers such as Labs.


----------



## Dog_Shrink

The problem I have with cow ears is that there was a problem a while back withthe cheaper ones where the metal id tags were still baked into the ear and wasn't discovered until it was too late. Y ou can check simply by holding the ear up to the light and you'd seeit, BUT what I would suggest is getting raw ears (and yes you can do that) and baking them yourself. I wouldn't be too worried about a pap swallowing too large of a piece esp. if you're monitoring them. Something else you might want to check out are snooters. 










You avoid the whole jagged thing because they're like chewing on a huge piece of tuff foam rubber. 

something else we do is get cow tongue and put it in the food dehydrator and make jerkey... they really love that. If you have a dehydrator you'll never need to buy another mass produced dog treat ther est of your life. We use tongue, tripe, heart, you name it. Cheap organ parts and it supplies you with a TON of consumable treats that aren't hazardous. The dehydrator will pay for itself in a month. Also dr. Fosters and smith catalogue has an awesome natural treat section.


----------



## Nargle

Dog_Shrink, thank you for the suggestions! Honestly I've looked EVERYWHERE for those snouts, but I can't find them anywhere. My mom used to get them for our family dog when I was a kid, and I thought they were the grossest thing ever, but now I think they're kind of cool  One of these days if I find some, I'm definitely buying a whole bunch!

As for dehydrated beef parts... I actually do have a dehydrator. My mom recently gave me hers, but I still have to ask her how to use it, lol! Tongue treats actually sound like a really good idea. Will they last a long time? Basil isn't a really tough chewer, but he can go through a bully stick in like 20 minutes. And $4 for 20 minutes of chewing time doesn't sound like a very good deal to me. I saw some beef tongues and tripe at Walmart last time I went, though, so I might try this!


----------



## nekomi

I have nothing to add, other than the comment that your sig is BEAUTIFUL. What a nice photo of a gorgeous dog. The curl in her tail is lovely in that shot!


----------



## mrslloyd09

Bestbullysticks.com has the pig snouts. Melodie has a pork intolerance, so I won't be getting them, but I think Mandie would love them.

You could also try lamb ears.


----------



## Dog_Shrink

You can get the cow and pig snooters at jeffers pets pretty cheap. 

I just entered snout into their search and this is what came up
http://www.jefferspet.com/ssc/search_results.asp?CID=0&mscssid=XMD16PH9JS4B8PDFELDHPKKF5VHD92FC&keywords=snout&cmkw=snout


----------



## Nargle

nekomi said:


> I have nothing to add, other than the comment that your sig is BEAUTIFUL. What a nice photo of a gorgeous dog. The curl in her tail is lovely in that shot!


Thank you Nekomi!  It's not half as lovely as your sig, though, lol!

*Dog_Shrink*: The other day I went to go look for some cow tongue, but they were sold out. However, I did find pig ears. How would you suggest I prepare them in order for them to be a safe recreational chew for Basil? Should I bake them or use the dehydrator? Also, if I use the dehydrator, do I cook them in the skillet first? (My skillet doesn't require the use of butter or oil to function, so I won't add any extra unnecessaries.)

Any tips (from anyone, not just Dog_Shrink) are definitely appreciated


----------



## Triskit

I have had a lot of people tell me with any consumable chew the pet gets it to a certain point and swallows the last chunk of it. My sister would give her Shih Tzus edibles and they would do this, so she clips a vice grip to the treat and gives it to her dogs. the vice grip makes it so they can't swallow the last part whole, and it gives her dogs great leverage, they use the vice grip to hold the treat down with their paw.


----------



## Kashi

Oh, my, thank you very much! I have a dehydrator. Have been giving pigs ears which my dogs LOVE, but am think there's too much fat for my little guys. So, yes, I will look for tngue,tripe, heart and dehydrate them. THANK YOU.


----------



## Fresh Tracks Steve

Nargle said:


> I saw some beef tongues and tripe at Walmart last time I went, though, so I might try this!


Chances are that any tripe that you find at grocery stores is useless for dogs due to the processing and cooking. Only raw, uncooked tripe has the bacteria, enzymes, amino acids and gastric juices that are so great for animals. If the tripe is white, don't buy it! It has been scalded and bleached and has no almost nutritional value.
And, of course, it is always best to only use tripe from grass-fed ruminants who have not been raised with antibiotics and added hormones. Good luck finding that at Wallyworld.


----------

