[Cha Cha]

Originally Posted by karen24

I, too, are always in search of just the right chew "toy" for my Jack. I ran into a Blue Buffalo rep in Petsmart who really gave me the "hard sell" on the antlers. I didn't buy one because I wasn't sure enough, seemed too hard to me, and too expensive for something I was questioning. Yesterday I went into a little pet shop and talked to the owner, asking what she would suggest. She showed me little pencil thin rawhide sticks. When I pointed out the antlers there, she said, "oh, no, no they are are hard, your little guy could break his teeth." I wasn't thrilled with the rawhide sticks, but I did buy a few to give them a try. My little guy chewed one end til it was very soft. Not wanting a piece to be bit off and swallowed, I snipped that soft end off and discarded and gave the stick back to him. Continued like that, supervised chewing and I guess, from what I read, when it gets to about 2 inches long I will pitch it.

It sure is difficult to figure out what is just right and safe, isn't it!

Be very careful with rawhide. Rawhide is not digestible and can cause serious GI problems such as blockage and binding. I'm not sure what the pet store attendant told you about rawhide that sold you on it, but is one of the few items that generally most agree on as being unsafe for our pups. In any case it is good you cut the gooey parts off. Perhaps you picked up some bully sticks instead??? They are considered a safer alternative to rawhide as they do digest if a piece is swallowed.