nylabones and other chews

[iloveamlet]

what would you guys say are the best chews for a little four month terrier. he loves to chew, as does any puppy and i am stocked with chews until he chews through them all. i have healthy edibles by nylabone now, and he basically chews them and eats them in one day...they are a smaller bone. i had these velvet gnarley things, and he gets through one of those in two or three days. is there something that will last longer that is good for him? i dont want to be giving him these bones if they are gonna fatten him up cause he's going through them so fast!!! he really loves having something tastey to chew on...and it keeps him busy when i need it. i heard i shouldn't give him rawhide cause he still has his puppy teeth, so i just need something good, long lasting, and good for him.
thanks

[anna]

3[font=Comic Sans MS] I have a 41/2 puppy she does the same thing we have tryed eveything too. we gave her the hard rawhide and it seems to work . The vet said it'll keep from chewing on our things . You could try it . Hope it helps you out oh we got her the big ones that way it last longer . Let me know how it goes.

anna

[calgal]

Buy the nylabone that he can't eat, only chew. Don't give him things he can eat, especially rawhide, which is not the best treat for dogs because they can bite off pieces and they can swell in the throat and choke them to death.

[kazkirkpatrick]

As calgal said, get the other type of nylabone, the one they dont eat, just chew. Those are the BEST!

[Jamilupine]

Originally Posted by kazkirkpatrick

As calgal said, get the other type of nylabone, the one they dont eat, just chew. Those are the BEST!

If you dog will chew them! Lucy doesn't really seem to like them! What about raw marrow bones? Those take a while!

[flyndog]

Nylabone!

[Jamilupine]

Originally Posted by flyndog

Nylabone!

In your experience, which ones do puppies prefer? The flavored ones? Harder or softer? Ones with bumps or ones without? I really can't get lucy to chew them for very long! Actually, I guess we have been using booda bones.... but she had a nylabone and she wouldn't chew it (and now it's lost somewhere....). Anyways, I'd like to get some nylabones, but I want her to spend time chewing on it if I'm going to spend my money on it!

[Gerald]

Rocky chews on the nylabone, but sometimes we have to coax him to chew it. He loves to chew, but he prefers the rawhides, however we have stoped giving those to him. We had a consoltation with a trainer and she advised that he not have those for reasons mentioned above in this post. In addition, she said puppys should not have to many toys and to "keep it simple".

In addition the Kong seems to be a crowd pleaser. And to keep their interest you can put treats in it along with Kong stuffing or peanut butter.

[Carrie]

I stay clear of rawhide, pigs ears, even greenies, etc. They can break off and cause intestinal obstruction and choking. A pigs ear is so sharp that it can scratch up the intestines. That happened with my Chi and she had bloody diarrhea for 24 hrs. I was very worried.

So I stick with Nyla bones, but still....make sure they stay in relatively good shape. My dog had the end of one almost off, so I tossed it. That would be bad news to get that in a dog's intestines. I also like Kongs. My dogs like those Nyla bones with the nubs. It seems to massage the gums. Just inspect these things from time to time.

[Gypsy's Mom]

So you all think Rawhide is bad? I was going to ask about that. A guy at PetCo said that rawhide was bad for puppies (then why do thye sell it there I ask?). Gypsy has a rawhide but it's so big she hasn't been able to chew on it very well. She loves greenies, she will go through one in one sitting. A gave her a genaric brand of the non-edible Nylabone but she never chews on it. I also give her the type of rawhide bones that are ground up and put into shapes of bones and rings and stuff, is that bad for her? She loves those things.

[Jamilupine]

Search the forum for "rawhide", you will find VERY disturbing information about them. I stay away from ALL rawhide. Just my opinion based on what I read here from people who did thier homework.

[Carrie]

(then why do thye sell it there I ask?).

So they can make money.

I've talked to too many people who have had problems. This from Dane Angels Network.
Google "rawhide danger" and you'll find a ton of articles on it.


A lurking danger to your pets
From Raw Hides to Rawhide Treats
By Dusti Summerbird-Lockey


I am an Oglala Lakota artist and craftsperson. I have been doing Traditional work such as making rawhide, tanning leather, beadwork and quillwork for over 30 years. It is because of my knowledge of making rawhide and my deep love for all four legged creatures, most especially my Great Danes, I felt compelled to write this article for you. Hopefully it will help save lives.

We see them in all the pet stores, the grocers, the feed stores. Everywhere. So we assume they are safe for our pets. They must be, they are sold everywhere. Right?
Think again.

Rawhide treats are a danger to your pets, and to your children if swallowed.
Rawhide is just exactly what it says, a raw dried out animal hide. This includes not only the rawhide bones & chews but also pig ears, pig snouts, bull tails, cow ears, lamb ears, choo-hooves, etc. The vast majority of rawhide pet treats are not made in the United States. But even those marked "Made in the U.S." are a hazard.
A piece of rawhide purchased as a treat for your pet is a hide, usually bull, cow or horse obtained from slaughter houses, that has been scraped clean of all vestiges of meat, fat and hair. Rawhide, however, can be made from just about any animal. For Native Americans and early Europeans, it was the sheet metal, nails and binding material of the day. Rawhide was used to repair items such as horse gear and broken gunstocks. It was used in cabin construction as door hinges, windows and truss bindings and Mandan Indians used rawhide in the construction of their boats. As you can see, rawhide is a very strong, durable, heavy-duty item that does not easily break down.

Still want to give it to your pets?

How is it made? Rawhide is made for commercial use from bull, cow and horsehides obtained from slaughterhouses as a byproduct of the meat industry. The flesh side is scraped clean of all remaining meat, membrane, fat, etc. Traditionally this is done by hand, using a drawknife and scraper. Modern day tanneries use a form of a band saw to speed the process up and make a nice clean piece of leather. Commercial manufacturers of rawhide products have machinery to do this. Once the flesh side is cleaned, the hair must be removed. There are two traditional ways of doing this. One is to "dry scrape" by hand. This is extremely time consuming, not to mention the amount of good ol' fashioned elbow grease! Commercial makers of rawhide do not use this method.


The other method is to soak the fleshed hide in either an Ash-Lye solution or a Lime solution. The Ash-Lye involves covering or soaking the hide in a mixture of wood ash and water, which creates Lye. The hide soaks for approximately. 3 days in the Lye solution, then as much of the hair as possible is scraped off. The process is repeated until all hair is removed.

The Lime solution is the quickest and most often utilized by manufacturers. This utilizes ordinary builders powdered (hydrated) Lime. The hide soaks for 1-3 days and the hair is scraped off. This process is highly caustic but the most efficient for mass production.

To remove all traces of the Lime solution and to sanitize the rawhide product, commercial makers then rinse the hides in a bleach solution before creating whatever shape is to be used. The bone and other shapes used to attract you and your pet are created while the hide is still wet. The "treats" are then either dried or sent for "smoking" to further entice the unsuspecting owner and pet. A processed rawhide can shrink up to half its original size when dried.

If the chemicals used to make these "treats" haven't convinced you to stop, please consider this:
When rawhide is again wetted, usually when your pet salivates over this chew you have provided, it will slowly regain its original size. When your pet tears off and swallows a piece, that piece then has the potential to swell inside your dog's stomach. Your dog's gastric juices WILL NOT break down the rawhide. Once swollen, the piece then has the potential to cause anything from mild to severe gastric upset, to death.

Been giving rawhide treats for years with no problems?
My friend, you have been extremely lucky. But your luck WILL run out one day.
Are you certain that you want to gamble with your beloved friend's life?

Don't believe me?
Take the rawhide challenge. Cut varying sizes from different rawhide products and set them in a bowl of water to soak before going to bed. In the morning you will see the sizes that they have grown to. They will vary, but the increase should be noticeable.

What should you give as a chew treat?
The following products are all digestible and safe for your pets.
Greenies- the original smart treats. 100% edible and digestible, helps clean teeth and freshen breath too!
Budda Chew Products- all digestible chew bones and treats
Muscle Chews- all digestible, contains no hide product.
Bull Pizzle Chews- all natural alternative to rawhide.
Healthy Edibles- all natural health chews, completely digestible and contain no sugars or fillers. Available at www.drsfostersmith.com
Raw shank or knuckle bones- these should be given only under your supervision and with some knowledge of RAW or BARF feeding methods. Contact Jacque Jordan at
214 529 8355 for more info on RAW feeding or visit www.barfdiet.com to learn more.


Distributed as a courtesy by Great Dane Angel Network Enterprises, Inc.

(I've heard of problems with Greenies too)

[sharona1973]

My dogs don't like Nylabones....they prefer rawhide. I've read that it's bad for them (see above post), but my dogs just don't care for the Nylabones. They'll eat the edible ones, but I don't want to get them fat on that either. I don't know what to do because they do love to chew....especially the puppy.

What should be the schedule? An edible bone every other day? I try not to give them too many treats. They get one at bedtime every night. Is an edible bone just like a cookie?

[Buddy_DaMutt]

Buddy likes nylabone. We got a pack of the flavored ones. We also got him a streile bone with Beef stuff in it. He's had that about a week now and he's not gotten to the stuff in the middle. I stay away from raw hide too.