Rawhides OK, or is there an alternative?

Question

My 2 dogs LOVE, I repeat, LOVE, to chew on their rawhide bones. They are both 7months old. One is a husky one is a boxer. Never had any problems until recently. My husky has thrown up a few times, and I see there is a piece of rawhide in her throwup. I did some searching and people say they can cause intestinal blockage. I always thought they could easily digest them.

So I'm wondering, what is a SAFE alternative to rawhides? My husky pretty much tears up and eats any kind of bone we give her, weather its a rubber or rawhide bone. I've taken away the rubber ones.

I hear of people giving beef bones from the butcher. Sounds good, but wont that be messy? I'm looking for something that WONT stain the carpet and will be OK for my dogs to digest. Something that will keep them busy for a while, not just take 2 bites and its gone.

Answer 1

Bones from your butcher are fine...as long as they are raw. Cooked bones are more likely to splinter and cause inner damage.
Most pet stores sell what are called "sterilized" bones. They are not cooked therefore not prone to splintering as are cooked bones. They generally sell what are considered "long bones" that have been sawed into random lengths. They are generally hollow, and can easily be filled with things like dry kibble mixed with a spoon of peanut butter, then freeze it solid. Getting the food out serves to occupy the dog and also will satisfy the "chew" need. You can just pop the bone into your dishwasher to get out any leftover PB before it goes rank. Te bones also come pre-filled and are available in many flavors. My dogs love these. I usually buy the pre-filled ones than just refill them with my own mix. The thing you will want to check when buying these is the thickness of the bone wall, since you have larger dogs, you'll want the bone to be as thick as possible. If the opening is small though, you may not be able to fill them because they won't be able to get the food out and you'll have a rough time getting it out yourself, even in the dishwasher.

You can also try a Kong, just make sure to get the right size, it you get one thats too big just because you think it will be harder to destroy, your dog may not be able to chew on it properly and will not even bother with it. Kongs can be filled the same way.


If you HAVE to resort to rawhide, look for ones marked "compressed". Thats rated for more aggressive chewers. They also have a harder time getting strips if it loose to "scissor" off. I (which is what sounds like your guy did before he threw up. Just be glad he threw it up. I'm always happy to clean up rawhide strips in vomit, because I know my vet won't be doing surgery to locate that strip!) The compressed rawhide is also thinner than the other types so if it does get swallowed, it dissolves a bit more.

Hope this helps some.

Answer 2

You can do what I do for my boxer, I give her a really large rawhide or bone and I monitor it . When it gets close to the size that she may gulp it down I take it from her and throw it away.

When people are talking about easily digestible they are usually talking about things like pigs ears which are mostly fat and are easier to digest. Rawhides do cause intestinal blockages, so you need to be careful.

I'm sorry that i can't suggest an alternative. I give my dogs raw bones in the summertime;they can eat them out in the yard and if i do it in the wintertime I put up a baby gate on the kitchen and wash the floor afterwards... It needed a washing anyway..:)

Answer 3

The marrow bones from the butcher/supermarket aren't as messy as you'd think, so I wouldnt be concerned about that. The dogs love em and they last for a while. The only thing Id be concerned about is sometimes they can bring out the worst in a dog (possessiveness) this may become an issue since you have two dogs. Id stay away from the rawhide. The other thing to try is Nylabones. I beleive theyre digestable and they last. They take for ever to wear down, especially the giant ones, but the cost around 15-20 a peice. The marrow bones are 2 bucks for a pair.

Answer 4

Yeah, same probs here too. Sometimes the rawhides are rancid cause they sit out in the pet shops all day. I tried the beef bones too, boiled them first, but they can break and splinter so I would stay away, and they seem too hard for their teeth.

There are some brands that are made of a compressed type of bone by-product that seems to last longer and be fresher. But they do come in various colors, so I stay with the white.

The rubber ones or Kong toys never interested my dog either.

Answer 5

I have a dog that swallows such big pieces of rawhide I'm too afraid to give them to him anymore for fear of him choking. Nylabone makes some great products in extra big sizes for big strong chewers like yours probably are. Try that, or you can get real beef bones that are cleaned up and sterilized at most pet stores. My only problem with them is that sometimes my dogs bite off really sharp shards of bone which we then step on...ouch!

Answer 6

No Bones! Try pig ears..any good pet store should have them

There are people who will tell you that feeding bones is natural and healthy for dogs, and that feeding bones promotes clean teeth and aids the nutritional status of the animal. Well, mushrooms are natural, too, and certain kinds will kill a dog if eaten. Pine trees are alive with vital cellular nutrients of all kinds, but does that imply that we should grind up pine trees and feed them to our pets in order to provide their "vital nutrients" to our pets? I will share with you just a few examples of many where a dog has been very seriously harmed by ingesting bones...YES, EVEN RAW BONES!

It is my belief that feeding bones to dogs is not perfectly safe to do. Many experienced and knowledgeable veterinarians feel the same. Yes, there are some veterinarians who encourage the feeding of raw, whole bones. Pet owners must decide for themselves what really makes sense and what just seems like a good thing to do.
will have them......

Answer 7

I buy frozen bones for my dog. You can get pretty big pieces that they can chew on for a while. I haven't noticed any staining from it, but my dog is smaller, and I only let him chew on it supervised and for a little while at a time.

The benefit to frozen is that it does take them longer to chew on it and thaw it out before it could start to make any mess. You might want to get the ones from the butcher and freeze them yourself if you cannot find pre-frozen ones. They are probably cheaper at the butcher too!

Here are some bones from Dr.Foster and Smith that are all natural and do not stain:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=340&cm_mmc=PPC-_-Google-_-Dog-_-dog%20bones&ref=3928&subref=AA&N=2001+113238