Rawhide and Rawhide Chews

Rawhide is one of the most popular chewing devices and dogs enjoy it. Rawhide comes in a variety of sizes and shapes, some are even colored. But, rawhide can be dangerous for your animal – for various reasons.

I had a very scary experience over the weekend with my little dog. He likes to chew, as every dog, and normally gets the rubber and dental chew bones. We have also given him rawhides that are shaped like a bone and come in various sizes before.

A friend of mine came to visit and brought a bag of the chip-like rawhides that are very thin, and about 3 – 4 inches in size. He happily chewed on it, bit a piece off and that piece, measuring about ¾ inch by 2 inches got stuck in-between his molars and wrapped itself around two teeth as he kept biting, trying to get that thing out. That poor animal was rubbing his head everywhere and used his paws to get rid of it. As it came to my attention, that dog was already so hysterical that he was unwilling to cooperate with our efforts to help. It took 3 people for a 7-lb. dog to hold him, open his mouth and try to remove that piece of rawhide. It was so slippery that it stuck like glue on his gums on both sides of the teeth where it was wrapped around. In addition it still stuck in-between them and a third one. After several tries, even with tweezers, we finally got it out. No need to mention that these chips all went into the trash immediately.

I don’t know what would have happened if he would have been home alone. Judging by his hysterical behavior, it was not a pleasant experience at all.

Please, let this be a warning and never leave your dog unattended when chewing on rawhide. Rawhide, mixed with salvia gets so slippery and sticky; your dog can easily suffocate on small pieces! And if you give rawhide, chose the larger, thicker bone-shaped version, not the chips and throw it away as soon as you see that the pieces are chewed down and already small.

As I did some research about rawhide – understandable after this accident – I found more interesting facts I think every dog owner should know about.

For the highlighted products mentioned here you can find more information by clicking on them or go to >> Product Reviews Chew Toys for more information.

Keep your animal safe, and protect yourself from hefty vet bills!