# Rawhide



## Dillinger

I keep reading mixed opinions about giving pups rawhide... A lot of people say that a pup could choke on a large piece, or the rawhide expands in their stomach with water. 

I gave my pup a compressed rawhide bone last night and he absolutely loved it! Do you think it is safe to give him these if I monitor him? I would never leave him alone with one.

I also got him a bullystick that he loves, but boy do those stink!

Any recommendations on other chews for him?

He is 12 weeks old.

Thanks!


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## crisp

I've always been wary of rawhides, but my dog thinks otherwise and loves them, so I still give her one once in a while, but as you said, the dog should be monitored. Keep in mnd that even though many raw hides are pegged as 'teeth cleaners' they don't do nearly enough in cleaning your dogs teeth. The best chews I've found, which my dog also loves are just bones. Knuckelebones, soup bones, beef ribs. The dog loves them, and they do wonders for her teeth. But the same as with rawhide, I monitor consumption, and steal any bigger pieces that she breaks off.


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## Dillinger

Are raw bones safe for a 12 week old?

Do I get them from a butcher? What exactly do I ask them for?

Sorry if these are dumb questions


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## mssandslinger

they are not dumb questions. i try to wait till my pups are at least 6 months old before i give them a whole raw hide bone. otherwise i would give them thing raw hide strips, to help with teething.


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## crisp

I'm not sure about the age. I didn't give my dog bones until after a year old but there was no specific reason I followed. Maybe someone else with more experiance can chime in. 

Also, the debate still rages about giving dogs bones so you should read up on the pros and cons. I'd hate to be the only source for your decision. I'm just sharing my experiances, but I've read plenty of stories about gastrointestinal problems and lacerating bone fragments. There are plenty of reasons to give and not to give bones.

As far as acquiring the bones, butcher is fine, stores should have them, and pet shops have the processed bones which I don't care too much for. You can ask for beef neck bones or soup bones. I started my dog with ribs. Would buy beef ribs at a store, use the meat for a stew or something.


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## Minnieski

I was pretty anti-rawhide until recently because of the harsh chemicals they use to process the hide and the countries of origin (Brazil, Mexico, China - all places where I don't trust the quality standards). Plus I've heard a lot about dogs swallowing large chunks and getting blockages, which scares the heck out of me. I love giving them bully sticks, but OMG do they STINK! Anyway, I decided to give rawhide a try yesterday when I came across some manufactured in the USA with the country of origin in the USA, claiming not to use so many chemicals in the processing (who really knows...). I carefully monitored the dogs to make sure they didn't break off any large pieces, and when they did I just threw those pieces away. Mostly the dangerous pieces came from the knots at the ends. They really liked chewing on them, and I may buy some that don't have the knots at the end. I would NEVER leaver a dog alone while they're chewing on these, though.


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## Stosh

I stay away from rawhide because of the potential for intestinal blockage. I give them bully sticks, raw bones, pig's ear on the rare occasion, cow hoof, raw bones with meat


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## liv

I avoid rawhide completely. I don't know about the made in the USA rawhide that Minnieski mentioned, but most rawhide is made by using lye to remove the hair from the hide, and then because it ends up an unattractive grey color, they bleach it to make it nice and white. Add to that is the fact that it can expand four times in the stomach, particularly if the dog drinks within a few hours of having it, which is what can cause the blockages. My girl loves her bully sticks (I buy the low scent ones), the odd pig ear, raw bones, cucumbers, PB Kongs... For me, I feel like there are enough things she likes out there to not need to consider rawhide. If you do give rawhide, I would restrict water for a while after (I don't know how long, as I don't know how long it takes to digest - if someone knows, that might be helpful), and watch them carefully.


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## roxy84

the gastric juices in a dog are not strong enough to break down rawhide once your dog injests it.....ie it is indigestible. yes, if the pieces are small enough they will pass through, but personally im only going to give my dog items that are not digestible when i know they are going to ingest some of said item.


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## Dillinger

liv said:


> I avoid rawhide completely. I don't know about the made in the USA rawhide that Minnieski mentioned, but most rawhide is made by using lye to remove the hair from the hide, and then because it ends up an unattractive grey color, they bleach it to make it nice and white. Add to that is the fact that it can expand four times in the stomach, particularly if the dog drinks within a few hours of having it, which is what can cause the blockages. My girl loves her bully sticks (I buy the low scent ones), the odd pig ear, raw bones, cucumbers, PB Kongs... For me, I feel like there are enough things she likes out there to not need to consider rawhide. If you do give rawhide, I would restrict water for a while after (I don't know how long, as I don't know how long it takes to digest - if someone knows, that might be helpful), and watch them carefully.


Pig ears are a good safe alternative?


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## doggiedad

starting at 9 weeks old my boy
had center cut femur bones (beef).
i've never used raw hide for my dogs.
some people say femur bones are to
hard. some people say don't cook them
(boiled or baked). i've cooked them and given them raw
and there's never been a problem. i give my dog
the shank with the knuckles cut off. each piece
is normally 6" to 8" long.


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## roxy84

roxy84 said:


> the gastric juices in a dog are not strong enough to break down rawhide once your dog injests it.....ie it is indigestible. yes, if the pieces are small enough they will pass through, but personally im only going to give my dog items that are not digestible when i know they are going to ingest some of said item.


duh. should read "only going to give my dog items that are digestible"


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## shannonrae

I feel it depends on the dog. If your dog is the kind that swallows them whole then they may not be the right choice for your dog. However if your dog takes the time to chew slowly then they may work for you. I also try to space out the rawhide bones to reduce chances of blockage. If you give say, one rawhide every 3 days there is a good chance you are giving enough time for each rawhide to pass without causing a blockage. I have been using rawhides for years with no problems.


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## Deuce

shannonrae said:


> I feel it depends on the dog. If your dog is the kind that swallows them whole then they may not be the right choice for your dog. However if your dog takes the time to chew slowly then they may work for you. I also try to space out the rawhide bones to reduce chances of blockage. If you give say, one rawhide every 3 days there is a good chance you are giving enough time for each rawhide to pass without causing a blockage. I have been using rawhides for years with no problems.


This sounds like good advice to me. I've never had a dog that liked Rawhides so it was never an issue for me.


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## bravo25

my dog chewed on one a got sick barfed all over and verry loosE BM ,


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## kiya

I don't give raw hide, I prefer to give my pups pigs ears when they are little. Supervised of course. When the pups get older I get the bigger cows ears they last much longer. Always buy from a trusted source. Any processed dog treats/toys made outside the USA can be questionable. Raw marrow bones once in a while.


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## wolfstraum

Used to let Kelsey and Kyra have these as youngsters (10-12 years ago) - they would just plain eat them....a couple of hours and they were history - so they did not get them often...then Kelsey showed signs of constipation, and started passing white slime instead of stool.....they went in the trash and dogs have never had one since....pups can have a chip or two when teething as long as it gets chewed, not eaten. The big dogs get nylabones which has a life expectancy as long as the dogs! Pups and big dogs get raw beef bones, but no knuckles with cartilege and gristle, and elk antler as chewies...no pigs ears, no greenies, no rawhide, no bully sticks....

Lee


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## Jax's Mom

Dillinger said:


> Pig ears are a good safe alternative?


A co-worker recently had a dog pass away because of an intestinal tear caused by the pig ear.
I think, like anything, rawhides depend on the individual dog. I'd never give my boxers a rawhide under any circumstance because they'd turn it into a big wet towel then try to swallow it whole... with our GSD and Lab you could probably give it to them unsupervised and they'd be fine... they start at one end and chew off small bits. 
Every once in a while I read too much and stop giving them rawhides but their teeth start to get dirty after a while so I give them another one without any problems. I fed them into our GSD like a woodchipper when he was teething and he was fine.


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## cassadee7

Saber is 12 weeks. I give her rawhides only when I am watching her. She chews but doesn't get pieces off to eat. I throw it away when it gets too chewed. I won't give her rawhide anymore when she gets big/strong enough to chew them up more.

But her favorite thing is ODOR FREE bully sticks, the thick ones from bestbullysticks.com. They last forever and don't stink at all.


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## CassandGunnar

I also agree that it depends on the dog. We have always given our dogs rawhide (I only get made in the USA) and have never had a problem.
They only get about 1 rawhide every month or so. We mostly use knucklebones because, for the money, they last way longer.


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## GSD Momma

My pup loves rawhides. She just gnaws on them, not trying to actually eat them. I'm not worried about it all. All of the dog's I've owned for 30 years have chewed on rawhide and haven't had an issue. I have had issues with bone fragments though so I won't give a real bone. I'm also not a fan of nylabones (too un-natural) or animal ears, hooves, or "sticks"... lol

I guess everyone is different and has their own point of view which is great. But I am pro-rawhide personally


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## smdaigle

We give rawhide but only pressed rawhide bones which last much longer and are harder to destroy. They are made from many layers of rawhide that are pressed together under tremendous pressure. Generally the dogs can't pull off more than a very tiny bit at a time. I found these after Retta demolished one of those huge holiday rawhide bones in less than a day. I looked all over the house for that bone and all I could find was one of the knots. We finally concluded that she had eaten it. Fortunately she was fine but I got worried about all that rawhide in her gut at one time.

I limit how much time Ridley spends chewing on one and I also throw them out when they get small. My husband was handing them out like candy canes so I currently have a basket full of partially chewed bones (I think my husband is now clear on the concept!) I probably limit him to one every 2-3 weeks so I only pull it out when I need to keep him occupied (like when we watch a movie).

Rennie isn't a big chewer so she doesn't usually care for them.


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