just wondering what views people have about feeding there dogs rawhide, as a kid our dog always had a rawhide bone to chew and never had any problems at all, my partner has strong feelings against rawhide, i know most of them are bleached to change the colour and sometimes chemicals are used to take away the hair on them and that theres always the chance of splinters and chocking, has any one had ploblems with rawhide??????? thanks

Would never feed it, it just goes soggy and horrible and has a big risk of choking. (Have had to pull it out of dogs throats many a time.) Raw meaty bones are far better and safer. :)

During puppy training stages I use a flat ribbon rawhide strip (a bit like a 6" ruler) for the pup to chew on whilst I'm getting him used to me doing other things like nails, grooming, ear checks etc, or whilst we're at training class and I'm keeping him amused whilst trying to listen to instructions!  The pup is never left alone with it and doesn't get it to eat, just to chomp on.  After sessions like this, even if very soft on one end, I put it away and it dries out so I can give it again another time.  You can sometimes get a bit of calm time with a lunatic puppy by sitting and holding one end of the strip - my youngest would gradually nod off mid chew :)

In this way I find them very useful but I'd never feed them to a dog or leave a dog alone with one.  The other revolting aspect is that the munged bits are like glue and weld themselves to your carpets!

> views people have about feeding there dogs rawhide,

Dog chewing gum, revolting.

Would never use it. It just goes soggy and horrible. Also had a dog who used to try to swallow it and choke. Have never bought it since for any of my dogs.

sorry just read my reply and seen other responses. I have just said the same as Goldmali.

Never have bought it and never would, wouldn't touch it with a bargepole, far too many risks of choking.  We even put it in our new puppy info booklet to remind the new owners never to use rawhide chews.

I use them - the dogs love them - I get the flat or cigar ones though - no daft shaped ones that have bits they can choke on. Never had a problem and they rarely chew anything else

My dogs have a small cigar type one every evening with no problems but they are never left unsupervised with them. Many, many years ago I gave my big dog, half GSD and quarter Great Dane, one of the giant bone ones on Christmas morning. He ate half of it straight off and brought it all up on the kitchen floor while we were cooking lunch! Never again.

Spud will try to swallow the end bit of them whole, I've had to stick my fingers down his throat a few times as he was choking, don't feed them now.
One of my friends lost her dog due to a pigs ear which he'd eaten, it had stuck to the inside of his trachea and caused poisoning as it rotted. Because it didn't show up on any x rays this wasn't found out until the vet did an autopsy and found the piece of ear.