What about giving rawhide treats?
I only buy the premium style as I read somewhere that's better for them and a couple of times I gave EL D the thin kind but I didn't like the way they shattered - I was afraid they'd get stuck going down. My previous basenji used to either throw up afterwards or would act like it got stuck and just scream like crazy (I quickly stopped giving them to him).
I only used compressed rawhide…the kind where it is rolled thin, then compressed into bone shapes. And even then, I use it sparingly, and not with dogs that will eat a whole six inch bone in an hour (I have two like that!)...I prefer to use smoked real femur bones, or sterilized bones stuffed with cream cheese, or cheeze whiz, etc.
I never use the white or knotted rawhide.
It's not a popular opinion, but I give my dogs rawhide. Never when I'm not home, however. I give them the rawhide strips, sticks, and pressed rawhide bones. I have never had a problem giving them to my dogs.
We allow raw hides, pig ears etc. I have never had a problem. I have heard some horror stories so I would keep an eye on them when they do chew them. My dogs have them in their crate as well but don't usually chew on them when we are not home. I think Dash is to busy bending the wires on the expen and planning his escape!:rolleyes:
We allow raw hides, pig ears etc. I have never had a problem. I have heard some horror stories so I would keep an eye on them when they do chew them. My dogs have them in their crate as well but don't usually chew on them when we are not home. I think Dash is to busy bending the wires on the expen and planning his escape!:rolleyes:
I used to give pig ears, but stopped when I realized they give Jazzy TERRIBLE, room-clearing gas!! :eek: LOL Poor Keoki has never had them.
I give Sahara rawhide, rolled up like a bone, or Merrick's Bully Sticks or other Merrick chew treats. I have pulled rawhide out of her throat when I was home once. She was chewing away (retangle shape) on rawhide and squealed real loud, I pulled that thing out of her throat real quick. I don't buy those anymore. If I see her chewing on a piece I think is too big I will retrieve it (she doesn't mind me going into her mouth) and hold it for her to bite it into a smaller piece. I know she is spoiled but I don't care, I don't want my little girl to choke.
I use bully sticks or compressed rawhide only…. I never give the pig ears....
I only use Bully Sticks
@WBL:
I only use Bully Sticks
I know, I know, I KNOW it's completely childish, but I can't bring myself to buy those. :o
I do give the dogs beef tendons though.
I don't give Deke any rawhide. I only use the fully digestable stuff like the cornstarch Booda Bones. It doesn't last very long, I get the large dog if I want it to last longer. I limit him to one a day at the most or we can get a mess(at the other end). He likes nylabones also. He's not a big chewer anymore. Not in a destructive way…but when you give him a bone it's gone quick so I don't trust him with rawhide. I also worked for a vet, too many horror stories w/rawhide. I want to try the femur bones with him but I had a Great Dane that only got aggressive when he had one of those so I keep putinhg it off.
We only give bully sticks. 36" long! Fun to watch him drag it around to where he wants to go with it.
She-ra gets rawhide and we've never had any real problems. I prefer to get the compressed rawhide like Quercus was mentioning, but we've also got a bag of the rectangles around…she'll usually get one at night, bury it (in the couch) wait until it's bedtime and go dig it out. She's not too interested in the ones shaped like a bone (the rolled ones), but we've never had a choking incident with the rectangles. There too, she's a very methodical, slow chewer so that may help.
She has a pig ear that she'll bring out on occasion and gnaw on for awhile. The other day at the store I showed her one of those big massive real cow bones that are like a foot and half long and her eyes lit up. Don't think that's gonna happen... 
We only give bully sticks. 36" long! Fun to watch him drag it around to where he wants to go with it.
They can be 36 inches long???!!! Do they put 2 together?
I know, I know, I KNOW it's completely childish, but I can't bring myself to buy those. :o
I do give the dogs beef tendons though.
From what I understand the bully sticks are the tendon "down there" and pizzels are the other part
Tucker goes through 3 or more rawhide 'bones' or the flat rolled 'bones' in a week. He loves them and has never had any problems. The vet told me that there's no reason that he can't have them as long as they don't cause him any problems, most of which would be noticable (choking, intestinal blockage, etc). He's never had any problems. I gave him one of those dark colored pig ears once and he bit it once and it shattered into tiny needlelike pieces. Never did that again.
