« Back

Safe Dog Chews

17/12/2019 - Your Questions Answered

How would you like to eat bleached leather? I’m guessing you wouldn’t but, that’s exactly what you’re giving to your dog if your feeding them rawhide chews, who knew?
We all want to give the safest and best treats to our dogs and when we walk into a pet store, we’re putting our trust in them that everything they sell will be ok.
Despite the research being readily available from leading industry experts about the dangers of rawhide, it’s still available in abundance in many pet stores. Never more so than at Christmas time when it is piled high inside the entrance in all its multicolour glory to entice unsuspecting dog owners.

Here’s the process of how rawhide is made

1. Cattle hide is taken from the slaughterhouse, and chemical preservatives are added
2. It’s transported to a tannery where all the fat and hair is removed in a chemical bath
3. The hide is then split with the top layer being used for leather goods, the bottom to make the chews
4. The hide is then washed and bleached to take away the rotten leather smell
5. It is shaped, moulded and glued into shapes for our dogs
6. If the colour is “off” it will be painted to hide this
7. Flavourings or dental chemicals are added to make it more palatable for dogs

If the process doesn’t fill you with dread, here’s the effects it can have on your dog

1. Choking or blocking hazard to the oesophagus
2. Contamination
3. Irritation to the digestive tract
 

Here’s the alternative to rawhide and there’s such a variety to choose from, some of our favourites are:

Yak chews

Bulls pizzles

Pigs ears and anything natural.
 

Like any chew, your dog will need supervising whilst having these as there are still risks but less so than giving your dog rawhide. Not so long-ago Bailey tried to swallow a piece of Camel chew without chewing it properly. It got lodged in his throat and I couldn’t remove it, so he had to go to the vets to have it removed. The vet couldn’t remove it either without sedating him, the funny thing was, as he was sedated, he swallowed it. It turned out to be a very expensive chew, but things could have been very different if I wasn’t supervising him.
 

Many of the larger chain pet stores are starting to stock more natural treats which is lovely to see but they still have the stuff that’s not so good.
 

Hopefully armed with this information it’s enough to put you off feeding rawhide to your dog and you know what to look out for in the shops that’s better for your dog.
 

Generally, dogs will eat most things which are put in front of them. They put their trust in us to provide them with safe foodstuffs, so I urge you not to buy rawhide for your dog and anyone who gifts them with this however well-meaning it is, it’s not given to them either.
 

All treats found in our hampers are 100% natural, contain no nasties including artificial colouring, or flavours. Just safe, wholesome yummy goodies that your dog will thank you for.

 

Look in our shop to see the safest treats for your dog.


If you enyoyed reading Safe dog chews, you may enjoy reading Soopa dental sticks review

---