I've heard that the greenies bag of dog treats are actually bad for dogs, does anyone know if that is true?

Answer 1

I have a dog (have three) that got sick and threw up from a large piece of greenie that she swallowed. I was glad she was able to expel it this way and never got any after that. For chew treats, I give them flavored Nylabones and they can't chew off chunks of them. I discard them when the ends are worn away. I also have a "Gladiator Bone" that is artificial and very hard. My Pit mix is chewing on it now. She exercises her teeth and gums on it a lot.
I give them hard biscuits for treats that are thick and take some chewing but even if they swallow a big piece it will just dissolve in their stomachs. No problems since then. I won't give them rawhides because of bacteria and some are made hard by using Formaldehyde. A lot of the compressed rawhides have this in them.

Answer 2

The whole Greenie hype was blown out of porportion. Now there is a new formula anyways, but really there wasn't much wrong with the original. ANY dog that gulps and doesn't chew bones up as much as they should can choke on ANYTHING, weather it be a treat or a bone or a toy. As for the obstructing bowls and puncturing stomachs, again if your dog is a gulper and does not chew throughhly this can happen with almost anything. They even advertised the little "pieces" for toy breeds as being better for dogs that gulp. Even so, with reports back that they did pose danger, they took responsibility and warned people and also developed a safer new formula. So Greenies aren't all bad. Basically, you can't sit there and say one thing is bad just because a dog chokes or it hurts them, you have to look deeper into the whole story.

Answer 3

I'll add to the bad stories about Greenies. This must have been before the company changed the formula so that they'd become more digestible - anyway, I had given Flop a Greenie several times w/o incident. The last time I did, he started throwing up big, undigested chunks of Greenie (awful - looked like plastic!) and had trrible stomach drama for 3 days after that. It's good that they've changed their formula, and my dogs like the new biscuits that they make, but I won't give them any kind of Greenie anymore. All of those plastic-y feeling chews aren't good, I think - too easy for them to shatter into indigestible chunks. Bully sticks for my guys.

Answer 4

About the Greenie question: I really don't know what a Greenie is, but from reading the answers I have a little story to tell you. I was feeding Little Bear (Springer Spaniel) those cowhide chips one day. I saw the chip was all wet and slimmy one minute and the next minute is disappeared. Well, it stuck onto the area where the food in the stomach starts down into the intestine. Little Bear vomited all food after that and was beginning to lose weight. I started feeding him baby cereal and did so for 3 months. I don't have x-ray vision, but I could just see this cowhide chip stuck in his stomach and in time I believed that his digestive enzymes would cause it to dissolve. Sure enough, after 3 months and some trials of regular dog food that still produced vomiting, the chip dissolved and Little Bear was all better. Meanwhile, the vet gave no advice only to have surgery. I'm really glad I chose my own method. Surgery has too many risks and complications.

Answer 5

I don't think the greenies themselves are bad for the dogs, but the dogs will chew them up some but swallow large pieces that they cannot digest and the dogs will die from an ovstruction. Personally I would never give them to my dogs.

Answer 6

I asked this question at the petstore. They told me that there was a problem with owners feeding their large dogs small breed greenies, which the large dogs did NOT chew thoroughly and thus created obstructions in the intestines/bowels. Also, small breed owners were giving their dogs the large breed greenies, and a similiar situation occured.

I avoid them all together and give my girls BullyStix. They love 'em!

Answer 7

Yes-they can splinter in the intestines which punctures the intestines-most of the time fatal for the toxins will poison the animal very quickly. Does not happen to every dog who eats but too many Dogs have died for me to take a chance with my dog-other products do the same but pose no danger. If you mostly give your dog dried dog food their teeth will be cleaned as they eat and dog bones also clean a dogs teeth-clean teeth means clean breath. Also You can finger brushes (go right over your finger-put tootpaste on and rub over dog's teeth)I do not give them to my dog

Answer 8

I have seen reports on the news that they have actually killed dogs by I believe causing the dogs to choke. There may have been something about them causing severe stomach problems too but I'm really not sure. Check with your vet on this one to make sure. They may know more.

Answer 9

They used to be very hard, and there were a lot of reports of dogs who ate them too fast choking or getting intestinal obstructions from them, but most dogs ate them with no problems. They have been reformulated and are softer now, but still probably not a good idea for dogs who eat things like that really fast. If they take their time and really chew them, they do help clean the teeth and most dogs really like them. Good Luck!!

Answer 10

Greenies are bad for your dog. Whatever binding agent that is used to bind the Greenie together is extremely hard for your dog to digest.