Edible Chews? Are they safe?

[Tiffany0204]

Hi! Yet another question for all you doggie experts out there.

I've read that Greenie bone warning thread, and have tried to research some other stuff myself, but I'm not really getting anywhere. My question is how safe are Edible Chews? I know that rawhide, pig's ears, etc are considered "unsafe", but what about the Booda Velvet Bones or the Nylabone edibles?

I was at Petsmart today looking for the Nylabone Teething ring (they didn't have it ) and saw all the edible chews. I had a Nylabone edible from before I got Gizmo but had never gave it to him. From what I could reasearch it said it was alright, but even though he didn't get through alot of it, barely even scratched the surface of it, but he got sick to his stomach not even 4 hours later, and he hasn't gotten sick in quite a long time. The Nylabone is the only thing different that he's eaten.

I'd like to have him have a chew, but not too sure about them. Instead of the teething ring I got him the Puppy Kong, I might look into some recipies for that instead of chews altogeather.

Are they really that unsafe?

[kazkirkpatrick]

I give my dogs pigs ears, I didnt know they were considered 'unsafe' and I would like to know why they are. They dont get slimy and they break down easily. Now rawhide, thats another story. I dont like those velvet bone things, but I recently tried the nyla edibles (first time) and I think they might get another one for christmas (I refuse to buy them on a regular basis, too much money for too little entertainment!)

[Carrie]

One of my dogs almost died swallowing a piece of pig's ear because it has sharp edges and it's hard. The dog broke of a piece of that and swallowed it and it scratched up her little intestines. She had bloody diarrhea and vomitting for 24 hours straight. Anything that is hard, sharp, difficult or impossible to digest can cause blockages or injury to the tiny intestines. I don't like rawhide, greenies or anything else that is hard that they can break off a chunk and have it get stuck somewhere along the alimentary canal.

If it's not food, my dogs don't get something which is apt to be swallowed. They get Nyla bones....the really hard ones that don't break easily or Kongs because they last for my dogs. I've heard of some dogs ruining Kongs even. Hard to believe. I do keep an eye on the Nyla bones after a while because even those ends have been known to almost break loose with my dogs. So at that point, I toss them. I know lots of people give all this stuff to their dogs with no problems. But there is a fairly good chance of having a problem...or at least, more of a risk than I'm willing to take. They can do without these things.

[Jamilupine]

I use the edible nylabones, but she is always supervised. when I hear chunks breaking off I watch her extra closely to make sure that they aren't too big and that she's chewing them adequately. I personally don't have a problem with them and I feel comfortable giving them to Lucy. However, if you feel safe with them, don't use them.

My favorite chew treat for Lucy is raw marrow bones. They have to be raw because if they are cooked they can cause splintering and damage the dogs digestive tract. I feel safe with marrow bones and Lucy LOVES them even after all the meat and marrow is gone.

[iloveamlet]

i haven't heard anything bad about the nylabone healthy edibles, and i used to use them all the time. i've decided to stop giving them to him as much because his stool tends to be kind of hard, and look a lot like the bone he ate (color wise). plus, i've been getting more and more nervous will all the edible treats. i'm gonna get him some marrow bones eventually.

[sharona1973]

Jami, where do you get raw marrow bones? At the petstore? I guess I have never looked for them...do they stain the carpet?

Carrie, I got Mocha a pig ear the other day and it was soft...well, not soft like the imitation kind, but it wasn't hard like the ones I used to get for Mishka. Mishka loves pig ears and used to chew them but I had to get rid of them because she would cut her gums on it and bleed. But the pig ear I got recently was gentler on her for some reason and they both enjoyed it and didn't have any trouble.

iloveamlet, I didn't know greenies were bad. I have to go look for that thread. I gave the dogs a Booda bone...they didn't do well on them...had really bad diahrrea and funny looking stools....not good. And I think Mishka threw it up too. For some reason they just don't like the Nylabones.

[Jamilupine]

Originally Posted by sharona1973

Jami, where do you get raw marrow bones? At the petstore? I guess I have never looked for them...do they stain the carpet?

I buy mine at the grocery store. Others have suggested going to butcher shops or slaughter houses. I let her have the raw marrow bones in her crate, then once they are cleaned off (which happens fairly quickly) she is allowed to have then on the carpet. But yes, they can stain the floor.

[Gerald]

Rocky has Greenies, the natural eddibles, and booda bones. We were giving him beef flavored rawhide, but took that away after reading some stuff on the forums and web.

The Greenie and eddibles he has under our supervision and we limit his amount. It's a special treat usually for night time. The booda bone however I leave with him in the crate. I buy one size up, and he knaws on them a little and sometimes will chew them on our laps. In addition we also give him a busy bone once in awhile.

The only problem I noticed with Greenies is his poo would be green, which they say is okay on the package. The eddible and booda bones I have noticed no problems with stool or upset stomach.

Probably the safest way to go is to not let them have those kind of chews, or if they do watch them like a hawk. Otherwise all the Kong toys are great, and Rocky really likes his puppy kong w/ a little bit of peanut butter. He will even chew on it after most of the food is out of it ... I can only assume b/c it still has that peanut butter smell/flavor.

There are also many different kind of nylabone flavors in the hard plastic variety. Those are probably the safest chew for the crate or without constant supervison.

I hope this helps