# rawhide..



## iheartchanel (Mar 22, 2009)

A friend of mine just told me that rawhide can cause stomach problems in dogs. Is this true? I've never heard that before and the pups love their rawhide chews.


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## xxxangelxxx (Mar 9, 2009)

well im not sure but ive read that they should not have rawhide chews which i though was because of choking but ive also read other people on here do give them to their chis so bit unsure as the people on here do know what their talking about. m afraid to give them to lexi so hopefully someone will post to let us know x


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## Rosiesmum (Oct 14, 2007)

If a dog eats a large amount of rawhide it can swell in their stomach or bowel and cause irritation and at worse obstruction. Of course some dogs can have a sensitivity to it and just like anything even a little will cause an upset tummy.

Barbara x


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## rcj1095 (Mar 4, 2009)

It's kind of like anything, you can get lucky and never have a problem, but talking with my vet and other people, it can be dangerous to your pup. Even small amounts can get digested and cause problems. That's why a lot of people on this forum do the bully sticks. They are 100% digestible, and while they still should be supervised while chewing, for possible choking issues, they are very safe and give them all the chewing outlet they need. I will not and do not do rawhide and I'm not good with statistics and often end up on the "rare" side of things. Better safe than sorry, in my opinion.


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## huskyluv (Oct 24, 2008)

You should know that dogs cannot digest rawhide. So any rawhide they ingest will go right through them...hopefully. Problems with rawhide are that since they are indigestible if they swallow a piece that is too large it can get lodged and cause intestinal blockage resulting in expensive surgery and possibly even death. I give my husky rawhides because he's a major chewer and rawhides are an inexpensive chew. I know it is a calculated risk but it is one I am aware of and willing to take and we've never had a problem. I just make sure to throw away small pieces of rawhide away that are about the size that might cause blockage. 

I'm not saying not to use rawhides or trying to frighten people but I think everyone should be aware of and weigh the risks and benefits before they decide to use a product. I don't give my chi rawhides, I would only give her bully sticks due to her small size and taking into consideration that a small piece of rawhide can do a lot more damage to a chi than to a larger size dog.


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## rcj1095 (Mar 4, 2009)

Yea, I agree. I have zero experience with big dogs but my sister has a beagle mix around 50 lbs. that has had no bad luck with rawhide. I did start ordering her bully sticks and she loves them. They are a little pricier but seem to offer peace of mind. It's like with anything, do your research and decide what you are comfortable with. With the little ones, I am just a bit more cautious. The bestbullysticks.com has great prices and 3 of us order together now which makes the shipping like 3 bucks a piece. I always used rawhide until I found out that they aren't digestible. Plus, my friends poodle ingested a chunk and had to have surgery to the tune of $2,000. He is perfectly fine but what an expensive lesson to learn, huh???


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## iheartchanel (Mar 22, 2009)

yeah, i had no idea that they couldn't digest them. If Chanel doesn't have something to chew on constantly, she'll drag tissues, paper towels, paper cups, etc under my roommates bed and tear it all to shreds. So I try to keep her occupied. I think we'll have to invest in bully sticks.


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## rcj1095 (Mar 4, 2009)

iheartchanel said:


> yeah, i had no idea that they couldn't digest them. If Chanel doesn't have something to chew on constantly, she'll drag tissues, paper towels, paper cups, etc under my roommates bed and tear it all to shreds. So I try to keep her occupied. I think we'll have to invest in bully sticks.


You won't be sorry. I am so thrilled after being turned on to them. My doxie is no longer looking for anything to chew other than his bully. Even the new addition is getting "hooked" on them. It's 8.95 for shipping no matter how much you order so grab a few things. They last a while too with these little ones. Good luck!!!


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