rawhide chew safety
 

Do any of you give your yorkies rawhide to chew on?? Our 15 month old began chewing on things in the house so I gave him the little bone (dingo) ones. I take them away from him before they get too small becasue I worry about him choking. He 3.7 pounds. ( we thought he would be bigger but I guess this is waht is normal for him). Anyway the other night he kept gagging and vomitting up foam. I called the vet...it was in the middle of the night and we decided to watch him longer before taking action. About an hour later he vomitted up chunks of the rawhide. After that he was his normal self again.

Soem background, he does not like kongs. HE is not allowed to have any sort of chew that might break...basically ANY chew because he had one lodge itself in his esophagus, get infected and leave a scar in an already narrow opening.

So , I may sound like an idiot to give him the rawhide, but i noticed it softens up and practically disolves into tiny pieces. ANy since he becan chewing everything , I felt he needed soemthing. I also noticed that despite my toothbrushing efforts, he teeth had become much more discolored that i had expected at such a young age. I was thinking these thinng may be due to all the month he had been with out chew things anymore.

So now I am not giving him any chew items and wondering what else there is to satisfy that need. BUt also , I am still wondering if others give thier yorkies rawhide, even if I never do it again. When I told the vet , who is a small dog owner...he didnt think it was strange.

I really need to find something for Kirby to chew on that doesnt break down.
I tried a chicked flavored nylaabone without success.

Thanks for any responses & suggestions.:aimeeyork

My vet suggested giving Nolee rawhide chews b/c of a little tartar build-up on his teeth. I was a little weary about giving him this, but it seems to be ok. I have the same problem finding approiate chewing things for him. He does like his kong and I am glad for this. You can order Yorkie Yummys for here and they are great! Nolee loves them! Sorry couldn't be of more help!
:animal36

Ellie gets zero chews of any kind.
She only gets raw veggies.

I used to give her chews and feed her kibble.
It just did not work.
She ended up with stage 3-4 periodontal disease.
She had 9 adult teeth pulled.
She now eats soft food (homecooked), gets no bones, has teeth brushed everyday and has OraVet once a week. Her teeth are fine now because of the brushing and OraVet.

How often do you brush?
What toothpaste?
Do you use something like OraVet?

Oh geeze I appologize for asking for help and then not responding....IT wasnt by choice!! I am really in need of advice

I brush with Pet Dental once a week IF I am lucky. I attempt it on this regular basis. Clipping nails and brushing teeth are two things I never blended well with my KIrby despite his cooperation and good behavior in most areas.

Now coincidentally , I think KIrby has a painful tooth. I will be calling today. Poor kid, he cant catch a break!!

Rawhide chews can be very dangerous. The tiny pieces that break off can obstruct or puncture the bowels. The chemicals the rawhide is prepared in are also very toxic. One of these chemicals is arsenic.

Danger Rawhide

Dog Bone - LoveToKnow Dogs

Rawhide, Nylabone,Cow hooves, Pig ears-The hidden dangers

Merrick flossies are a much safer choice.

Flossies Spiral Chews for Dogs by Merrick

The flossie still scares me as it might get caught in his tiny esophagus like the raw hide and his allnatural holistic chew did.

I do have this neat twisted rope...it is kinda of made out of an absorabant material, yet strong. HE mouths that and whips it around. That is about the only "tooth activity" toy that he can really sink his teeth into.

I give Joey, Merrick Bully Sticks, which are 100% digestible, and he loves them more than any other chew stick. Besides the sticks, I brush his teeth every couple of days and use Petzlife Dental Spay and gel. The vet said that Joey's teeth are remarkably good.

I buy C.E.T chews... they're like rawhide material but coated in something that smells like chicken broth. They also have something in them that the back of the bag says is good for cleaning teeth. Lily loves them!

I stopped giving rawhides because they say it is hard for them to digest. I give mine bully sticks now and they love them. They are always supervised when they have a treat.