Dog people of urban, what are your views on rawhide?

[lizzieloo]

We're about to become dog foster parents so we have to be more careful than we have before about the things we give any dog in our care. We've always given small rawhide chews to our dogs as a matter of course, they've always enjoyed them, I consider them to be a good part of a dog's diet using them and carrots as teeth cleany treats.

If you look at dog forums etc they all consider them tantamount to giving your dog poison-laced lit tnt.

Is this just an Instagram life thing IYSWIM or are they actually bad?

Tia lived to 18, I can't see the problem myself.

 

[danny la rouge]

Rolling rolling rolling.

 

[lizzieloo]

Rolling rolling rolling.

I has been in my head since posting

 

[a_chap]

I have always given our dogs the occasional rawhide chew. They've never complained to me about it.

 

[Looby]

I used them when Albert was a puppy (he’s 11) without any issues because I wasn’t aware of the possible risks. I don’t give them now because even if the risk is low, it doesn’t seem worth it.
We just buy Humphrey really strong toys for chewing and change them regularly.

 

[platinumsage]

I am signed up to Food Standards Agency alerts.

The amount of raw pet food contaminated with Salmonella is ridiculous.

 

[Saffy]

We have given them to Cassie before I knew they could be dangerous and I avoid them now. She was always fine with them but we buy other things now. Last thing she had was one of those yak milk chews. It kept her busy for ages and when it gets a bit too small, you can put it in the microwave and it puffs up into a big wotsit looking thing.

It stinks though, so I'm not sure we'll do it again soon.

 

[lizzieloo]

I used them when Albert was a puppy (he’s 11) without any issues because I wasn’t aware of the possible risks. I don’t give them now because even if the risk is low, it doesn’t seem worth it.
We just buy Humphrey really strong toys for chewing and change them regularly.

What are the risks? And do vets that aren't selling anything agree there are risks?

 

[WouldBe]

My dogs have always had them, apart from the youngest who has dodgy teeth and can't chew very well, and I've never had any problems with them.

 

[Dovydaitis]

Never really given them to any of my dogs. Never liked how they get soggy and don’t break up, then go hard again. There are plenty of other things out there that are safer

 

[Epona]

Don't have a dog (and sorry, this is a little off topic), but I saw someone on a (mostly US membership) cat message board post a list of hazards to pet cats that included socks.

I queried this, and apparently if a cat tries to eat a sock it could choke.

Okaaaaayyyy...

 

[pseudonarcissus]

Clarissa loves deer antler chews, and they don’t get soggy and disgusting

 

[kalidarkone]

I went for a walk with friends and 7 month old puppy ' Bear' today and apparently sticks are now an issue for dogs in case they choke.

Admittedly it's a very long time since I had a dog, like 30 years and a lot seems to have changed, I certainly gave my dogs, raw hide chews, sticks and chocolate and they both lived to a good age. But I could of just been lucky in my blissful ignorance.

 

[Dovydaitis]

Our dog loves marrowbone from the butchers and buffalo horns. When she was a pup, she had yak chews

 

[trashpony]

I don’t give them because of the risks. Ihave a really destructive chewer and he has yak milk things (never find it smells though I’ve never done the microwave thing) and bits of antler.

Raw pet food and rawhide aren’t the same thing platinumsage

FWIW my dog is raw fed. He has had the same brand for years and has never had salmonella.

 

[Epona]

I went for a walk with friends and 7 month old puppy ' Bear' today and apparently sticks are now an issue for dogs in case they choke.

Admittedly it's a very long time since I had a dog, like 30 years and a lot seems to have changed, I certainly gave my dogs, raw hide chews, sticks and chocolate and they both lived to a good age. But I could of just been lucky in my blissful ignorance.

Ah now the sticks thing - my parents' friend had a great big daft lurcher that was one day running around with a stick, caught the stick on something and tripped slightly, the stick broke and impaled it through the back of the throat and the end of it came out of the back of the neck just down from the base of the skull - thankfully just missed one of the major blood vessels in the neck and no spinal damage, had to have major surgery, did recover but I don't think they threw sticks for it after that. Equally unlucky that it happened, and lucky that it was survivable.

I think that probably comes under the heading of freak accident rather than everyday likelihood mind you, depends how you deal with risk really.

 

[Looby]

I went for a walk with friends and 7 month old puppy ' Bear' today and apparently sticks are now an issue for dogs in case they choke.

Admittedly it's a very long time since I had a dog, like 30 years and a lot seems to have changed, I certainly gave my dogs, raw hide chews, sticks and chocolate and they both lived to a good age. But I could of just been lucky in my blissful ignorance.

Like lots of these things, they’re mostly ok but sometimes it goes very wrong.

I’m on quite a few dog groups and there have been a couple of dogs who have seriously hurt their throats with sticks.

I met a woman at the park who warned me against ball throwers. Her dog had jumped up to catch a ball, landed badly and broke his back. We still use ours but keep the balls low as we have a jumper.

 

[Looby]

What are the risks? And do vets that aren't selling anything agree there are risks?

Well it’s not just vets is it, it’s welfare organisations too.
Tbh, I trust my vet. They’re not trying to sell me anything and actually never have.

Surely you’re asking because you already know the stated risks? Blockages seem to be the main one but there are also lots of warnings about the really cheap chews full of chemicals and dyes.

 

[ginger_syn]

I did not know there was an issue with rawhide chews,but as patch looked at me with utter contempt when I gave him one and then promptly buried it in the settee , he's never gone back for it , I don't buy them anymore he prefers the chicken wrapped carrot sticks, hope they're fine.

 

[Callie]

I did not know there was an issue with rawhide chews,but as patch looked at me with utter contempt when I gave him one and then promptly buried it in the settee , he's never gone back for it , I don't buy them anymore he prefers the chicken wrapped carrot sticks, hope they're fine.

Sounds like you and patch are getting on just fine

 

[WouldBe]

Like lots of these things, they’re mostly ok but sometimes it goes very wrong.

I’m on quite a few dog groups and there have been a couple of dogs who have seriously hurt their throats with sticks.

One of mine picked up a stick while running full pelt, and must have caught one end of the stick in the ground. He yelped and spat the stick out. I checked him out and there was just a tiny spot of blood under his tongue. An hour later he was yelping his head off, down to vets who removed 1" of stick buried in the underside of his tongue. .

First thing he did in the park next day was to pick a stick up to play with.

 

[two sheds]

Yes I'm always wary of throwing sticks. You'd think it'd be too easy for the stick to errr stick in the ground for a closely following dog to be impaled on.

 

[Saffy]

Cassie is obsessed with sticks. We don't throw them but she will find one on a walk and carry it home. I have a pile of them by the back door.

 

[Looby]

Cassie is obsessed with sticks. We don't throw them but she will find one on a walk and carry it home. I have a pile of them by the back door.

It’s tennis balls here. Albert has a gift for finding any abandoned balls and brings them home.
We threw about 30 crappy broken ones away recently but still have a bag of around 40 more.

We used to let them have balls in the house but Lucy gets pissy if the others touch them.

 

[dessiato]

I’ve not had a dog for years. I used to give my Lab whiskey and red wine, she loved these, she would steal mine if it was within reach. She got chocolate, rawhide chews, chased sticks and balls. She lived quite happily and never seemed to suffer. Although a drunk Lab walking on ice is quite funny.

My family has five dogs at the moment. They’re all happy and healthy animals. They are very much pampered though. They don’t get chews, or chocolate, they never get alcohol, and are always fed the more expensive balanced diet products, or fresh meat. They don’t seem any better or healthier than mine were.

 

[two sheds]

It’s tennis balls here. Albert has a gift for finding any abandoned balls and brings them home.
We threw about 30 crappy broken ones away recently but still have a bag of around 40 more.

We used to let them have balls in the house but Lucy gets pissy if the others touch them.

I'm still finding tennis balls under sofas and chairs and things .

One thing I learned quickly was that tennis balls have to be proper ones of the sort that people actually play tennis with or they don't last past the first walk.

 

[Saffy]

Yep, balls too with Cassie. We used to have a ball thrower but we've had to give it up because she's obsessed with retrieving. We have a rubber ball on a rope which she's allowed because it doesn't bounce, but even that is a pain. It's such a shame because she loves it but it's not good for her joints.

 

[Saffy]

 

[Looby]

I’ve not had a dog for years. I used to give my Lab whiskey and red wine, she loved these, she would steal mine if it was within reach. She got chocolate, rawhide chews, chased sticks and balls. She lived quite happily and never seemed to suffer. Although a drunk Lab walking on ice is quite funny.

My family has five dogs at the moment. They’re all happy and healthy animals. They are very much pampered though. They don’t get chews, or chocolate, they never get alcohol, and are always fed the more expensive balanced diet products, or fresh meat. They don’t seem any better or healthier than mine were.

Hahahaha, drunk dogs, hahahaha.

Twat.

 

[WouldBe]

I'm still finding tennis balls under sofas and chairs and things .

One thing I learned quickly was that tennis balls have to be proper ones of the sort that people actually play tennis with or they don't last past the first walk.

With my alsatian cross they don't last beyond the first chomp.