# Rawhide bones- Good or Bad?



## marc515 (Nov 27, 2007)

Not sure if this belongs here, but I have always wondered if rawhide bones are good for dogs.

We have a 92lb Lab who loves them, especially the pressed rawhide bones, but have heard they are not good for the digestive system?

Your thoughts please? Thank you

Marc


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## lynn'stwo (Aug 12, 2007)

we've had a lot of dogs over the years and they all got stomach upsets on raw hide bones. I won't buy them anymore.


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## lovemygreys (Jan 20, 2007)

My vote is that they are bad. I see no reason to give rawhids when there are much better natural alternatives.


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## filox (Dec 19, 2007)

Will you elaborate on the alternatives....

I give them to my dogs, the rawhide bones, and they love them, dont do it every day, once in a wile, will love to hear other alternatives...


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## lovemygreys (Jan 20, 2007)

filox said:


> Will you elaborate on the alternatives....
> 
> I give them to my dogs, the rawhide bones, and they love them, dont do it every day, once in a wile, will love to hear other alternatives...


Raw Meaty Bones - Our dogs enjoy everything from turkey wings to deer shoulder blades to marrow bones to pigs feet. Always raw. On another board I'm on, one poster gave her dogs a whole goats head. I have to admit, that was a tad too gross for me (there were pics)...but the dogs seemed to really love it and there wasn't much left at the end of it all.


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## filox (Dec 19, 2007)

My.... a goat head...  

Well, one of mine has become quite good at hunting birds. He will eat them feathers, beaks and all. First time I saw him I was on the second floor terrace. and watch him stoke the bird, then he jump after the bird took flight and catch it, by the time I got down to the yard, there where only the wings flopping on the side of his head, and when I finally reach him he all ready swallow it. He seemed to enjoy it, since he keeps after the birds, he will be near the water dish, and wait for them.... 

Here is a pick of him... (with out a bird)


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## Renoman (Mar 20, 2007)

Other alternatives to rawhide might include; Kongs, nylabones - not the edible ones and antler chews.


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## britishbandit (Dec 11, 2006)

I give my dogs rawhide once in a while. Never had an issue with them getting sick or anything and they chew em up really good, they don't swallow the small hard pieces at the end without giving em a good chew first. LOL

I too prefer to use real raw meaty bones, but that's not possible with PJ. When I got him he had severe food aggression. With any type of food. Well we worked on it for a while and he's no longer food aggressive, with MOST things. However raw meaty bones are a different matter, I tried him 3 times with them along the way after he'd stopped getting food aggressive with kibble, rawhide.....etc, and it just wasn't gonna happen. Now I just don't give him them. He's fine with boneless meat, and small things like chicken/turkey necks, backs, thighs and such. But give him a good old knuckle bone or something of considerable size, and he goes into "stupid mode". It's just not worth it.

Tysa on the other hand does get the raw meaty bones on occasion, but when PJ is downstairs with my buddy. You could chew on an end with her and she wouldn't care, she's not food aggressive in the least bit. But she's never had cause to fear I'll take her food or be aggressive if someone approaches her, and I've had her from a pup. PJ was 7 1/2 months when I got him, and had already developed this aggression. Makes me wonder what did and didn't happen to him before I got him to make him this bad. I've never had a food aggressive dog before. It was pretty darn scary too, having a 95lb Rottweiler that just came into your home growling, raised hackles and eyes dilated. It took a lot of time and patience to get as far as I have with him.


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## UrbanBeagles (Aug 13, 2007)

I've always used rawhides, for as long as I've had dogs, and have never had a problem with the knotted bone type rawhide. On the contrary, the first time I ever fed a Nylabone, my pup nearly choked on it when the bone, in it's entirety, slid down his throat!!! I've had incidences with certain raw meaty bones, especially pork - almost lost a dog to a pork neck & seeing a dog nearly die right in front of my eyes is not my idea of a safe chew. Don't get me wrong, anything a dog puts in it's mouth can be a choking hazard, but rawhides are no less safer than raw bones or Nylabones, etc.

The only thing is that I don't give them quite often, as too much can wear down the enamel. Other than that, rawhides are fine.


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

Most of us who are against rawhide believe that their are two factors that cause us not to offer it. First the processing contains all kinds of cleach and worse chemicals. Second, rawhide is not digested. So I have visions of theis slimy goo rolling around in their guts for months. Many dogs form impactions in the intestines from rawhides. Some require surgery. Not worth the risk for me.

Alternatives... stuffed frozen kongs, ice cubes, bully sticks, raw bones, home made biscuits


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## yodarunner (Sep 12, 2007)

Thank you for posting this, I've always wondered myself... my dogs absolutely love them... oh well.
Filox, I thought you weren't supposed to let dogs have bird bones of any sort, I've always heard that they splinter and can cause damage. Am I wrong? or does it matter what kind of bird???


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## CrazyDog (Oct 16, 2007)

I NEVER offer rawhide to my dog anymore. I lost a beloved dog 2 yrs ago because of rawhide bones. He got a large piece lodged in his intestines, which required surgery. He did not make it after the surgery. I am now totally againest rawhide and always recommend NOT to offer it to your dogs.


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## lovemygreys (Jan 20, 2007)

> Filox, I thought you weren't supposed to let dogs have bird bones of any sort, I've always heard that they splinter and can cause damage. Am I wrong? or does it matter what kind of bird???


Raw bones, even bird bones, are fine. They should be size appropriate though - our dogs will swallow a chicken neck whole b/c it's so small, so no chicken necks for them. I have one greyhound that will swallow a whole chicken drumstick, so I have to be careful the size and shape bones he gets


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## filox (Dec 19, 2007)

yodarunner said:


> Thank you for posting this, I've always wondered myself... my dogs absolutely love them... oh well.
> Filox, I thought you weren't supposed to let dogs have bird bones of any sort, I've always heard that they splinter and can cause damage. Am I wrong? or does it matter what kind of bird???


Hello, 
Well, it isn't about me letting him, he just gets the birds. About size, the ones I have seen are medium size birds. dove size. definitely not chicken size, I guess the bones are pretty small. He should be able to digest them.

Cheers.

PS. About the thing about the birds bones. As far as I know. raw bones will break in small pices there good, cooked bones are the ones that splinter.


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## yodarunner (Sep 12, 2007)

Oh. Well that's 1 less thing for me to be worried about. They will be very happy to hear that!!


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## raquyx (Dec 27, 2007)

At my house we call rawhides "bum shrapnel." Rawhide isn't digested so well, so sharp little fragments can literally slice up the dog's rectum on the way out (or other intestines before they even get that far!)

Also rawhides seem to really bring out food aggressiveness in dogs that have never been food aggressive before. For example, when we still fed my dog rawhides, he almost bit the head off of the neighbors' dog when she wandered too near to the rawhide he was currently chewing on. He doesn't do anything like that with anything else. If anything, he'll pick up the bone, ball, or whatever, and run away with it so he can chew it in peace.

If your local pet store sells dehydrated sweet potatoes, give those a try. The texture is similar but without all the nastiness rawhides tend to bring. They also taste pretty good!


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## ACampbell (Oct 7, 2007)

I give my dogs a rawhide every now and then...but mine don't swallow the giblets, they leave them all over the floor for me  so I'm not real concerned with the lack of digestion because they aren't getting that far. Mine especially like the ones with the fake smoke stuff on them...they chew those down to a gooey glob on the floor within an hour.


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## cja75 (Jan 2, 2008)

First of all dogs die all the time from bones raw and cooked. I never use them. Pigs ears, bully sticks, lamb lung are great chews. Bully sticks in paticular because you can get different sizes. Make sure they are natural (no salt or anything added) Only use thm sparingly ie.. not for training just a special treat. Kong toys are great too if your dog will chew it. Some just get the treats out and dont like the toy itself (doesn't smell good to them) Rawhide from what I've rad isn't really deadly or anything but usually has additives so I dont use it.

First of all dogs die all the time from bones raw and cooked. I never use them. Pigs ears, bully sticks, lamb lung are great chews. Bully sticks in paticular because you can get different sizes. Make sure they are natural (no salt or anything added) Only use thm sparingly ie.. not for training just a special treat. Kong toys are great too if your dog will chew it. Some just get the treats out and dont like the toy itself (doesn't smell good to them) Rawhide isnt too bad but has additives usually (from what i've read) so better to stay with others I mentioned above


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## britishbandit (Dec 11, 2006)

cja75 said:


> First of all dogs die all the time from bones raw and cooked.


They do? Where do you get your info from?  I've never personally heard of a fatality from feeding a dog raw bones. Cooked bones I've heard numerous people have issues with splintering and dogs sometimes requiring surgery. I feed my dogs raw bones on a regular basis, and always will. If it was as common as you say that bones cause fatalities, nobody would feed them. I'm sure you'll find many of us here feed our dogs raw bones, and never had a dog die on us from doing so. There's also quite a few people that feed a strictly raw diet, which I too would do if I were able to financially keep up with the amount my two Rotties would need each day.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

I've never heard of a wolf dying from eating a pheasant......or a coyote dying from eating your chickens (except if you shoot him). So I feel safe in giving my dogs raw chicken with the bones in. I definitely feel that it's safer than having their teeth professionally cleaned.......dogs die from anesthetic all the time, too.


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## cja75 (Jan 2, 2008)

Domestic dogs CAN die from eating bones. It does happen. Rare but does happen. Wolves digestive system works a little different. Bones they eat come out wrapped in hair after the rest of their meal. Ie after eating they poo once kind of like your dog then later a the bone and hair come out. Most dogs can probably eat bones their whole life and never have a problem but it CAN hurt them. It has hurt dogs. Im not saying dont give bones, I'm just saying it doesn't make any sense to me to give my dog something that can hurt it when they don't need any of the nutrition from it and their are similar safer chews available.


http://www.secondchanceranch.org/tr...p://www.thepetcenter.com/imtop/wolfexrep.html


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## Equestiana (Aug 8, 2007)

What about the rawhides that claim to be natural and aren't bleached? 
Meaty bones are great, outside.. Bully sticks are good too, unfortunatly my pups have sensative tummies and are often sick after bully sticks. We've tried nylabones, they'll chew them for a few days, get bored and never touch them again. I can imagine Kong's getting messy as well...

So what would you recommend for a inside chew? Currently we do give rawhide every once in awhile because it isn't messy like most alternatives and the dogs love it.


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## cja75 (Jan 2, 2008)

Pigs ears are pretty good but my dog breaks them up fast. lamb lung is good as well I think it lasts a little longer. Rawhide is really too bad. If your dogs eat them with no problem and you aren't buying any with a bunch of crap in them why not right? The only bad I've read about them is stomach issues (indigestion etc..) Kinda like a person eating junk food. A little isn't so bad. I have and I think everyone has this problem with chews the ones that last dogs get bored with. The kong gave me the best results I guess. You can get the one shaped like a cylinder with ruffels on it, and I put a very tiny bit of penut butter in the crevases. My dog will chew it for quite a while some days. I just wash it when shes done. When I was a kid my parents always used rawhide for our dogs and we never had a problem and I know many people who use it and dogs are ok.


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## JAYBO837 (Dec 8, 2006)

if you continue to choose rawhide,make sure its from u.s.a.


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## xtina (Jan 4, 2008)

Well, my answer to this may be a little controversial since it seems like so many people have had bad experiences with rawhides. My opinion is that everything a person gives a dog to chew could end badly (even in death) if the human doesn't supervise the chewing. Every dog owner seems to have their own anecdotal evidence that this sort of chew or that is horrible, and I think the truth is that every type of chew probably has its drawbacks. I've been feeding Max rawhides all his life. He chews them into small pieces, swallows the pieces, and begs for more. I never see evidence of large chunks of rawhide in his poo, but if he weren't digesting it, he'd surely have a lump the size of a rottweiler in his gut. Neither is the case, so I assume it's getting safely passed somehow. I've seen dogs that are far more voracious chewers than Max, and those dogs probably have a greater chance of swallowing an inadvisably large piece that I could see causing a blockage. 

I think a better course of action is for us to maybe list the benefits and drawbacks we see of each type of chew product instead of just condemning this or that as being horrible. I'm not a vet, and I bet that not many of us here are also not (but I don't know since I'm new). So since none of this is a scientific study, each of our anecdotal experience might be really informative to people. I'll go first. 

Rawhides: + last a long time, dogs love them, relatively inexpensive
- can cause a blockage, have chemicals that may be dangerous
Bully sticks: + dogs LOVE them, they're natural
- expensive, don't last long
Natural bone: + last a long time, dogs love them, natural
- over a dog's lifetime, chewing natural bones can cause teeth to crack and wear down to the gums
Nylabones: + last a long time, inexpensive
- dogs get bored of them quickly
Corn starch bones: + Never used them
- Emergency vet tech friends have reported numerous near fatalities due to choking on "knuckle" of this toy
Greenies: + dogs love them, good for teeth
- don't last long, could cause a blockage, expensive
Kong: + last forever, doubles as a toy, awesome diversion
- dogs sometimes get bored of the Kong, stuffing the Kong adds unneeded calories and fat to the dog's diet

This is just my experience, and I'm open to input from others. I'd hate to lose a dog from rawhide use, but it seems so far-fetched with Max, as he's been an accomplished rawhide destroyer for so long.


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## cja75 (Jan 2, 2008)

good post Xtina


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## xtina (Jan 4, 2008)

Thanks! I hope everyone has something to add. I'm sure I can learn a lot.


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## Equestiana (Aug 8, 2007)

Ok, ill go

Rawhide: +My dogs love them, they've never caused problems, cheap, not messy, last awhile, never get bored
- Possibility of blockage

Bully Sticks: +Dogs love em
- Expensive, Messy (at least with my dogs!), made my dog sick

Nylabone: +Last forever
- Dogs got bored with them quickly

Real Meaty Bone: +Dogs Love them
- Messy! Makes 2 of my 3 dogs have upset stomachs

Kongs: +Last forever
- Dogs got bored of them, not big toy dogs, extra calories


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## ACampbell (Oct 7, 2007)

I like Greenies...so did my dogs. It took them about 20-30 minutes to get it chewed enough where they'd swallow it...seemed safe to me and no blockage afterward.
Rawhides - My dogs love them and chew them to globs of goo quickly (then leave them on my floor, not ingesting more than the corners of them) once it's goo they unravel it and 99% of the time it has retained it's original composure.
Bully Sticks - Expensive, I haven't used them...if they don't last long they are not cost efficient...my bullmastiff can chew through an entire rawhide in an hour or less - bully sticks would probably last 5 minutes.
Raw bones - smell like death (for obvious reasons) good for outside, and once they eat the marrow out you can stuff the big ones full of peanut butter or something gross that they'll like 
Kong - haven't used one, I think it wouldn't get played with much...
Rubber tire chew toys - last a long time, don't come apart...flip side sometimes they get bored with it.


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## ozzy (Sep 29, 2007)

I let Ozzy have rawhide once in awhile. He usually chews it for about an hour and then gets bored and never touches it again. I don't think he is swallowing much and since they are so cheap this works out ok. Sometimes I give him a chewed one later in life (like a few weeks) and he shows new interest, so they get rotated.

Greenies he gets once in awhile as well. I have heard about the blockage problems but I think if the dog is supervised and doesn't gulp it's ok. Ozzy doesn't gulp so I don't worry too much.

He loves bully sticks. They last a long time here too. I am not sure who said they don't last long but maybe it depends on the dog. I know it keeps his interest longer than a rawhide and since they are natural they are my fav choice. They are smelly though.

The kong is great for stuffing with stuff. If you then freeze it it will take awhile for the dog to get everything out. I know mine cleans his out and then keeps coming back to it looking for more. He likes to toss it around and get every last bit out.


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## brigitesmith1 (Jan 13, 2008)

There is an increasing trend in feeding dogs a raw diet that consists of uncooked meats and vegetables. One popular version of this diet is known as the bones and raw foods (BARF) diet. This diet places an emphasis on feeding your dog only natural foods that have not been cooked or otherwise processed.

Here's an articles that will give you some pretty sound advice.

http://www.HealthyHappyDogs.com
http://www.Dog-Health-Care-Information.com 
http://HealthierDogs.com


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