Rawhides aren't as bad as lets say the chicken wrapped rawhides that have killed around 300 dogs in the last year, but they do carry some risks. (These have finally been taken off the market. The main risk associated with rawhides is that they can cause a intestinal obstruction. The problem with intestinal obstructions is that they can produce gangrene in the intestines, before you even know that there is a problem. Now any chewing stick can cause a throat obstruction, and you must use supervision, but it's safer to use a chewing stick that's 100% digestible. Millions of dogs eat rawhides with absolutely no problem, but smaller breeds are more lightly to have an obstruction when a small piece won’t digest. I use bully sticks, and have been very happy with them. They are 100% digestable. |