My dogs (Min Schnauzers) love getting stuck in to pigs ears. In fact they eat them by the boxful. I have been very wary of giving bones after my sisters lab had to have surgery (on two separate occasions) after marrow bone splinters perforated his intestine and nearly cost him his life. I thought pigs ears were safe until last week when I gave my three a pigs ear each to console them whilst i went out shopping. As I went to check the back door I noticed that Fritz ,my boy appeared to be acting unusually.... he was opening his mouth and making a funny facial expression I have never seen before. I thought it strange but thought no more about it. As I went through the front door something ..(womans intuition?) made me turn about and go back to check Fritz. He now appeared to be in distress and struggling as if he was choking. I could tell he was panicking and tried to calm him. He is a good boy and allowed me to open his mouth and check inside... the softened(through chewing) pigs ear had become lodged in the roof of his mouth between his teeth, with the thinner part down his throat causing the 'gagging' reflex. I duly pulled with both fingers and released the ear which was well and truly lodged in place: thank god I had gone back and checked or heaven only knows what would have happpened ... He could have choked to death or suffocated which doesn't bear thinking about. All was well in the end ,but I thought it pertinent to tell CD members/guests of the the unseen dangers of a seemingly innocuous doggy treat !!! Be warned !!!

Do a search on pigs ears, you will find out what we all think of them. I have never and will never feed this type of chew, or any other rawhide type treat. My dogs love raw pigs ears, If you want to give your dogs a treat ask your butcher :D

Glad he came to no serious harm

I had the same experience with Missy my ESS and a pigs ear - she would have scratched her face to pieces if I hadn't been in the same room and caught her - she just panicked! :(

However, we are big raw marrow bone fans in this house and have NEVER had a problem - were the bones you speak of from the butcher or pet shop?

i gave max a pigs ear once and once only he gagged on it and i nearly had a heart attack i think they are horrid things anway

Just checked and bones were from the butcher. V. surprised that this is a common problem as I have fed mine pigs ears for years as advised by the vet !!! You learn something new every day! I suppose this is what this site is about .... Shared exeriences/information etc....

Im sorry to hear that you had a very worrying and upsetting time after your boy choking on a pigs ear,i have two 5mth old blue merle collie pups and i gave them a pigs ear each they seemed to enjoy it but after a few chews with shiloh the one pup he started to cougth badly i checked his mouth and he had a piece jamed in his throat so i took both ears of shiloh and cheyanneanne and i said thats it never again i found it so destressing seeing him cougth in such a manner it frightened me senceless,so pigs ears are banned in my house.jen

Thanks taggartgolf for helping to warn anyone who uses these as treats - there are many people I'm sure who check this site and others like it regularly who will not be aware of the dangers so it's always good to bring these things to attention.   In the past I had a similar near miss with one of my dogs and a pig's ear so it taught me a valuable lesson and I had ALREADY banned rawhide treats a few years before that too :rolleyes: so I should have known better!

Marrow bones have only been allowed on rare occasions for my dogs with strict supervision and even so I had one that a large shard splintered off very quickly - I was lucky that the dog involved was one who didn't seem to prize bones any higher than toys :P 

So glad you were a good mum and that Fritz is none the worse for his ordeal.

{hugs 'n stuff}

Teri :)

Glad you dog was ok. IMO, all bones, chews and pigs ears, etc, should never be fed unsupervised. Many of these things carry a warning to this effect, but it is also common sense not to leave dogs alone with anything they could possibly choke on. Maybe you could try a stuffed kong instead if you want to keep them quiet when left alone.

HTH, Claire

I dont let pigs ears into the house either:( Had a couple choking incidences in the past,i know a dog who died from choking on one,he was left unsupervised :( I've lost count on the number of stories i've heard of the pig ears getting stuck in the roof of the mouth,it seems to be a regular occurence with these things!

However i have always fed raw bones to my dogs and have never,ever had a problem :) I seem to be hearing more negative stories about marrow bones lately,but there are hundreds of other bones out there that can be fed :)

Glad to hear Fritz is doing well :)

Thats why anything a you give your dog to eat must be supervised at all times.  Even down to their dinner they should be supervise.

Thanks for the warning, my dog loves pigs ears. Will have to find hime something a little safer to chew.

I have used pigs ears for years, but will be more carfull in the future - thanx for the warning.

I am so glad he is Ok

Jo
xxx

My last bullmastiff girl nearly swallowed one whole and stared to choke. I have never bought a pig's ear since. I also don't like rawhide for the same reason. I agree that dogs should be supervised if they are eating such items.

Lube

my dog also nealry choked on a pigs ear so i never feed them anymore.  I also dont like feeding rawhides tho she does get them occassionaly if shes in a destructive mood.

i also never throw sticks for my dog, did anyone see in the sun yesterday of a dog gettin one lodged down its throat and narrowingly surviving after surgery

I never give mine pigs ears.
My boy scratched his mouth with one and his pigment went pink where it had scratchedit.
His mouth was like a coal hole except for the pink scratch.
I heard a long time ago about a dog dying after gettting one stuck.
I also knew someone who's dog used to throw biscuits in the air and catch them.It got one stuck.They tried everything they could.The vet on the phone was telling them what to do.
Sadly the dog died.
Dog

Dogs can also choke on just about anything :rolleyes: I feed alot of raw meaty bones,some folk say "oh arent you scared of them choking?" But like the above poster said dogs can choke on just about ANYTHING. i've heard of dogs choking on a  bit of kibble too :(

This is true, but then again, kibble is too small to get lodged dangerously like pigs ears. Plus it is a case of limiting the possiblity of accidents by watching what they have. And, as I said before, supervising them while they have it.