Amusing Myself!

[youngandtired]

Sahara has learned to play by herself, she will throw her rawhide bones in the air and catch them, she will get down on her front legs in the play stance and throw and catch. It is so funny, sometimes she throws pieces of her rawhide that she has chewed off the bone and goes after it, and throws it over and over. She is such a character and smart as all get out, that's a southern saying, haha!!!!

[Bandit]

LOL…. Every morning and afternoon I play throw and fetch with Alfie the Lowchen. Bandit the Basenji runs from the sidelines grabs the ball and runs with ball into his tent kennel making this really funny sound from his throat... Alfie is in hot pursuit to try and get his ball back. It's the funniest thing!!

[Kiyamom]

My Sammy likes to play catch with himself as well. He tosses his kong in the air and catches it. Usually he only does this after failing to convince his crabby older sister to join him in playtime, but once he gets started he is completely content to play toss by himself.

[ChaseandZahrasmom]

Zahra just started doing this not long ago too. I love watching her toss her fleece stuffed bone in the air, it cracks me up. She usually does it in the morning while I am eating breakfast with them running around the kitchen.

[Duke]

Duke does it too! He started doing it when he was pretty little. He'll toss a ball, a notted rope, a rubber bone and this morning he was tossing an acorn. His game with the acorn is to watch it roll away so he can pounce on it. I love to watch him having fun and it's cute. I've never seen a dog play like that . . . Like another Basenji quirk.

[tlbuddy]

Cali plays with her bones and toys by herself all of the time. When she gets a new toy she runs around the house until she is tired and then rolls around on the floor with her toy or bone. She is very amusing. Of course she prefers that I join in on the fun with her.
tlbuddy

[DebraDownSouth]

I hate to be the glum one, but if something happnened and I had said nothing, I would never forgive myself.

One of the worse 3 things I have ever experienced in my life (I'll spare you the other 2) was at a friend's boarding kennel. Four of us adults… the kennel helper came running that a dog was choking. The dog weighed under 50 pounds, btw. Four adults and we could not restrain and get the rawhide out before the dog died horribly from a big piece of gummy rawhide stuck in throat.

1. Pet Health Info
FROM: >>Seaside Animal Care was recently awarded the 1999 National Practice of Excellence Award (click here for details) from Veterinary Medical Publishing and an educational grant from Pfizer. We are one of just over 50 practices ever to receive this honor!<<

WE DO NOT RECOMMEND GIVING YOUR PETS RAWHIDE CHEWS. They expand when wet and are the number one cause of intestinal obstruction at our hospital. They are poorly effective at "cleaning the teeth". Instead, we recommend chew-safe toys such as Nylabone and Kong products. Contact the hospital for additional information when selecting safe chew-toys for your loved one.<<

While I find it LUDICROUS that they first state they are harmless then say they have seen it ALL, this does indeed support that they are not uncommon as you indicate:
2. >>From the AAHA: American Animal Hospital Association
Miscellaneous Pet Care: Are raw hide chews safe?
Answer
Rawhide chews are pretty harmless. The problems come when they swallow them whole. They either choke on them, or the rawhide balls up in the stomach and causes gastritis or blockage. We've seen it all. Moderation is the key. One every once in a while is OK, but they shouldn't be included as a regular toy or part of the diet. In addition it's usually best to supervise or at least be nearby when your pet is chewing on any toy. <<

3. >> From Dr Mike:
Diet - Treats and Snacks
It is interesting to me that a number of veterinarians I have spoken with do say that they have seen problems associated with these toys. Their experience differs from mine. I practice in a rural area and sometimes I think that I just don't have enough patients to see all the problems that vets who practice in more crowded areas do. <<

4. OMG, they sell it yet their vets admit it is dangerous!!!
Acme Pet - Pet Health Questions Ask Acme Pet'sExperts

Q. I have a one year old mix JRT, she is a great dog. But the problem I have with her is that, whenever I give her a chewy like those basted sticks. I have to watch her because she will make it all soft, not bite a piece and eat it. She makes it soft and swallows half while she is still chewing the other end. She has almost choked on me twice. This happens with the square chewees too.

A. I would suggest you not give them to her anymore. Many dogs die of intestinal obstruction each year due to rawhide. Find something else, which is safer, to give her.<<

5. petcare
Okay, this is a petstore, not a vet but thought their concern worth noting!

In addition, we don't carry rawhide chews in order to assure the safest play experience for your pet. Rawhide chews, when gobbled or eaten in large quantities, can cause choking or possible obstruction in dogs. <<

6. vet@dog - Holidays - Chocolate and other dangerous goodies
FROM:
Dr. Lucy L. Pinkston, D.V.M.

Rawhide chews can lodge in the throat and cause choking, or a large piece may be swallowed, scraping and irritating the throat and esophagus on the way down. Once in the stomach or intestinal tract, a large piece of rawhide can also create a physical obstruction. An additional danger that is less widely known is the practice, in some countries, of using an arsenic-based preservative in the processing of rawhide toys. We recommend that, if you do
purchase these products, stick to brands processed in the U.S. There has also been a recent FDA alert about the risk of Salmonella accociated with dog chew products made from pork or beef-derived materials: refer to the FDA advisory or call 1-888-INFO-FDA. See below (discussion on pigs' ears) for more details.<<

I could go on, to me, the bottom line is, if it is SOMETIMES dangerous, and it isn't NECESSARY, why do it? Your choice, but I did want to share the dangers.

[JazzysMom]

You know, everything can be dangerous. I think that's why you just need to watch them.

Our vet's office/training facility recommends that people use ONLY blue Kongs because the pieces show up better on X-rays, and they've had a LOT of dogs come through which have managed to chew off chunks of Kong that have gotten either lodged in the throat or were obstructing bowels.
The recommendation is not that no one use Kongs, but that you buy blue and watch the dogs carefully.

Gypsy gagged on the squeaker that she pulled out of a stuffed dog toy. Fortunately, she got it out on her own, but it could have gotten ugly.
Jazzy chokes on cow hooves. She chews them down to a certain point and then chokes on the end. I still let her have them, but I have to be watchful of how much is left so I can take it away when she reaches that point.
I've had a few friends whose dogs have needed medical attention from bones {raw and cooked}, sticks, rocks, etc. Anything can be a problem.

I've had/been around dogs all my life, and I have never had a problem with the rawhides.

I'm not saying that makes them "safe", it's just that they are no more "safe" nor "dangerous" than anything else. Bottom line, watch your dogs no matter what you choose to give them.