# Ate a piece of his rawhide!



## carvy (Dec 1, 2012)

Today I got my 11-week-old puppy a rawhide bone. I had held off on this for a while, having been given totally contradictory advice about appropriate toys and trying a number of others things first. I decided to watch him closely with it, and he bit off a small (~1x.5 inches) heavily-chewed piece and swallowed it before I could get it out of his mouth. I know the big worry is a blockage, and to watch for vomiting and failure-to-poop, but I'm worried. Any advice, words of wisdom, tips, or reassurance?


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## zeronightfarm (Jun 15, 2011)

Don't freek out yet, you didn't know! Just keep an eye on him, he should be fine though. No they don't break down, they can get stuck. I prefer bully sticks, antlers, or pig/cow ears.


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## carvy (Dec 1, 2012)

I've heard a lot about bullysticks— looked in... gosh, maybe five or six pet stores in three weeks and haven't found any.


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## Fade (Feb 24, 2012)

I would imagine you would be fine. Dogs generally chew and swallow pieces of raw hides. its been chewed it will be slippery and if it does not digest it should slide right through ^_-

If he DOES get a blockage he will start to vomit. 

My moms dog swallowed a doubled knotted rawhide WHOLE and because of his age we made the choice to try to get it to pass. and after many heart wrenching days at the clinic with me and at home he was just to weak to get through it. His last Xray showed the bone right at the end of his colon ready to come out. HE died the next morning  They just do not drop dead. it takes a long time for something like this to kill them. and many opportunities to help the problem. but that is not something you should be worried about!

They swallow pieces all the time like this. they chew the bones then rip up chunks and swallow the pieces. they are slippery and pass right through. When they swallow a whole bone or the majority of a bone then you worry. or something that can bind them up.
If this happens Pouring mustard down the dogs throat will induce vomiting. There is a peroxide mixture but I always preferred the mustard. I had to once do this too our husky when the cats picked a large ham bone off the counter and dropped it on the floor. I assumed he would h ave chewed it but I was not sure. So I spent 30 min pouring yellow mustard down his throat. He vomited it up WHOLE and I was glad I went with my gut feeling and did that. Knowing little things like this can save you problems in the future.


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## carvy (Dec 1, 2012)

Wow, thank you so much. This will prevent me from having an anxiety attack before the vet appointment tomorrow.


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

Bully sticks are often called Pizzle sticks, beef chews.


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## wishiwas (Mar 3, 2008)

Best Bully Sticks has flat rate shipping. That's where I get all my bully sticks. They also have things like cow cheeks that are similar in texture to rawhides, but digestible.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Rawhide is digestible in small amounts. It's just cow skin. The problem comes when they eat a chunk that's too big to digest before it gets to a narrow spot in the digestive tract, and it gets stuck. A small piece shouldn't be a problem, but do keep an eye on his pooping to make sure everything is moving on through .


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## bonnie bear (Jul 13, 2012)

My dog goes through one raw hide a day - she throws up more when she eats real bones...her stools are okay so far.


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