{"id":2294,"date":"2020-01-10T16:38:03","date_gmt":"2020-01-10T21:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.smokymountaindoodles.com\/?p=2294"},"modified":"2020-01-10T16:38:04","modified_gmt":"2020-01-10T21:38:04","slug":"is-it-safe-to-give-my-dog-a-rawhide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smokymountaindoodles.com\/?p=2294","title":{"rendered":"Is it safe to give my dog a rawhide?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BY Dr. Marty Becker, DVM<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Chewing \u2014 it\u2019s what dogs do! And rawhides are classic chew toys for dogs. Made from the inner layer of cowhides that are cleaned, cut, shaped, sometimes flavored and then dried, rawhides can give dogs hours of chewing pleasure. Or they can be gulped down practically whole by dogs who are more eager for the eating experience tham the chewing experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


So when clients ask me if it’s safe to give their dogs rawhides, I have to say that it depends on the individual dog. Labrador Retrievers and Pit Bulls, for instance, tend to be heavy-duty chewers and gulpers. They are among the dogs who are most likely to bite off and swallow large pieces of rawhide. Those chunks can become stuck in the esophagus, stomach, or intestinal tract and may pose a choking risk or require emergency surgery or endoscopic removal. Other dogs, though, may be content to gnaw on them for hours or days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThat\u2019s\njust one of the reasons why everyone, including veterinarians, has a\ndifferent opinion on whether it\u2019s okay to give your\ndog a\nrawhide. I asked two of my colleagues, Tony Johnson, DVM, and Tina\nWismer, DVM, to weigh in with their experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nKnow\nthe Hazards<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\nThere\u2019s\na small but real risk of a blockage if a dog swallows a piece of\nrawhide, says Dr. Johnson, an emergency and critical-care specialist\nin Indianapolis. \u201cI have seen many esophageal foreign bodies in\nsmaller dogs with rawhides,\u201d he says. He\u2019d rather not give\nrawhides to dogs at all. In his opinion, the ideal dog treat or toy\nshould be either completely consumable in 30 seconds or as inedible\nand difficult to consume as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\nAt\nhome, though, his wife \u2014 who is also a veterinarian \u2014 gives\nrawhides to their three dogs with no problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\u201cStomach\nacid will break down small pieces of rawhide,\u201d says Dr. Wismer, a\nveterinary toxicologist and medical director of the ASPCA Animal\nPoison Control Center. \u201cThat\u2019s not a problem. The issue is if\nthey ingest a piece that\u2019s big enough to leave the stomach whole,\nand then it gets stuck in the intestinal tract.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\nSome\ndogs break teeth when chewing rawhides. There\u2019s a higher risk of\nthat with pressed rawhides because they are more dense, Dr. Wismer\nsays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nRawhide\nSafety<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\nThe\nway rawhides are prepared can also be a concern. In the United\nStates, rawhides are washed with degreasers and detergents,\nsterilized with hydrogen peroxide and then thoroughly rinsed. The\nhides are refrigerated until they are processed to keep them fresh.\nBut rawhides made in other countries may be produced under less\nstringent practices. Dr. Wismer notes, however, that there has been\nonly a single documented incident of imported rawhides contaminated\nwith toxins. \u201cThis dates to the early 1980s, when there was one\nshipment of rawhides that was contaminated with arsenic,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThe\nFood and Drug Administration does not regulate the manufacture of\nrawhides in this country. It\u2019s up to consumers to call U.S.\nmanufacturers and ask about their practices. That\u2019s a heck of a lot\neasier to do with a manufacturer in the U.S. than one in China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\nFor\nthat reason, I only recommend rawhide products made in the United\nStates. Dr. Johnson also prefers domestically made rawhides. Don\u2019t\nhesitate to call the manufacturer and ask if their rawhides are\ncompletely sourced and made in the U.S. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nLike\nany product from an animal source, rawhides can also be contaminated\nwith\nsalmonella,\nsays Dr. Wismer. The same is true for pig ears, cow ears and similar\nitems, she adds. Salmonella typically affects younger dogs and those\nwith compromised health, and healthy dogs tend to be less prone to\nsalmonella infection than humans. But it can be an issue for people\nin the household who come in contact with the rawhide. Young\nchildren, seniors and people with compromised immune systems are most\nat risk. Don\u2019t let little kids play with or chew on rawhides, not\neven long enough for you to snap a photo for Instagram. And wash your\nhands after giving your dog a rawhide or putting one away. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nSo\nis there an upside to giving your dog a rawhide? There may be.\nChewing a rawhide helps to keep dogs mentally stimulated and out of\ntrouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nWhat\nabout a rawhide’s rumored teeth\ncleaning properties?\nAnything that rubs against the teeth can help, but letting a dog chew\na rawhide is no substitute for daily tooth-brushing or a professional\ncleaning that gets under the gumline where bacteria lurk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nWhat\u2019s\nthe verdict? For the vast majority of dogs, I\u2019ve seen very few\naccidents from chewing rawhides other than digestive\nupset. If\nyou choose to give your dog rawhide treats, know his chewing style,\nselect one that’s large enough that he can\u2019t swallow it whole and\nonly provide it when you can monitor the chewing. If he\u2019s a gulper,\nnot a gnawer, keep an eye on him while he\u2019s chewing to make sure he\ndoesn\u2019t break off and swallow pieces. Put the rawhide away when you\ncan\u2019t supervise. \n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY Dr. Marty Becker, DVM Chewing \u2014 it\u2019s what dogs do! And rawhides are classic chew toys for dogs. Made[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[121,112,123,122,91,12,18,7,59,42,120,119,84],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smokymountaindoodles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2294"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smokymountaindoodles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smokymountaindoodles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smokymountaindoodles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smokymountaindoodles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2294"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.smokymountaindoodles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2296,"href":"https:\/\/www.smokymountaindoodles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2294\/revisions\/2296"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smokymountaindoodles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smokymountaindoodles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smokymountaindoodles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smokymountaindoodles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}