Edible chewing sticks

[marieke]

Does anyone know if you can give your dog too many chewing sticks? Guus loves to chew but prefers his blankets or edible chewing sticks (the tough ones made out of cow hide). Since i don't want him to chew up his blankets I give him quite a lot of the cow hide ones. I don't think they have much calories but Guus does tend to get a little heavy easily.

 

[Jean Cote]

Are you talking about rawhide?

You should limit the amount of rawhide you give to about 2 pieces a week. There is also a risk in giving a dog rawhide, if they swallow too big a piece it may get stuck in their throat and expand instead of dissolving.

 

[marieke]

And that is why I love this forum: I didn't know that! Guus gets about 2-3 a day. They're only small ones but I will definately limit the amount he gets. If only he liked chewing on his chewing toys...

 

[leema]

Here are some other chewy suggestions...

A frozen bone
Or just a big bone (no marrow bones)

A frozen kong
Or a very entertaining kong... Try stuffing a chicken wing inside!

Doggy ice blocks - frozen chicken stock with rice, carrot, dog food, mince or any other yummies


For entertainment (not so much chewing:
A buster cube
Throwing food all over the backyard and letting them to find it all

 

[marieke]

I should get him a kong and those ice cubes sound good too!

 

[heidib860]

I should get him a kong and those ice cubes sound good too!

Kong's are great. Max loves his. My vet told me to use peanut butter in it but Max didn't like the peanut butter. My sister told me to get the Kong stuffing and I used that along with mixing in his dog food and he couldn't get enough of it. Spent atleast a hour trying to get the filling out of the kong.

 

[fletcher]

Hi Leema, why not the bones with marrow? Is it more of a food saftey concern?

 

[leema]

Marrow is fine, it's just the packaging. "Marrow bones" (typically cow femurs) are too strong for dog teeth and can shatter them! Painful and expensive to get fixed. The marrow is fine if you want to scoop it out, but I believe it is quite rich and can cause the trots.

Marrow bones of lamb is okay. It's cow and deer where the marrow bones are not recommended as these are very strong.

 

[jeepdog]

We mix Grady's food with water and peanut butter stuff it in a kong then freeze it. This usually lasts a couple of hours.

 

[szecsuani]

There is also a risk in giving a dog rawhide, if they swallow too big a piece it may get stuck in their throat and expand instead of dissolving.

This is how Pami almost died once.
I gave her a rawhide only once, and while she was chewing it, it broke in half, and got stuck on her throat...
That was thefirsttime I had my whole hand in her mouth... Poor dog...

 

[lotuslily]

here's an alternative to rawhide..

Kiera loves her bully sticks, they're healthier (made almost completely of protein) and are less dangerous than rawhide. As with all chewing 'toys' you should supervise your dogs!

If you can get over the fact that they're dehydrated bull penises..they actually keep your dog busy for quite a while. Kiera loves the smoked version Most pet stores carry them these days. Or you can order them online!