Rawhide chews are not Christmas gifts; they are unplanned ER vet visits just waiting to happen!

They are terrible for dogs but stores sell them because people keep buying them.  Rawhide is harmful from (1) processing with irritating chemicals, (2) the small choking hazard pieces, and (3) the swallowed pieces that sit in the stomach and irritate your dogs stomach for months or possibly forming a complete blockage from a big piece or several smaller pieces clumping together in the dogs intestines.

Canine intestinal blockage or foreign body surgery costs about 2-3k in this area to treat an obstruction.  That $7 candy cane rawhide doesn’t look so cute now, does it?

These are the most common rawhide risks:

Contamination – As with pet toys, rawhide chews can contain trace amounts of toxic chemicals. And, as with other pet (or human) foods, Salmonella or E coli contamination is possible.  Even humans can be at risk when coming into contact with these bacteria on rawhide treats.

Digestive Irritation – Some dogs are sensitive or allergic to rawhide or other substances used in the manufacturing process.  This can cause problems, including diarrhea and vomiting.

Choking or Blockages – Rawhide bones and other edible chews can pose a choking a blockage risk.  In fact, this is a much bigger risk than contamination or digestive irritation.  If your dog swallows large pieces of rawhide, the rawhide can get stuck in the esophagus or other parts of the digestive tract.  Depending on its size and where it is located, a local vet may be able to remove these pieces fairly easily thru the throat.  But sometimes abdominal surgery is needed to remove them from the stomach or intestines.  If it isn’t resolved, a blockage can lead to death.  It doesn’t take much.  Similar to the way small pieces of hair clog a drain, the small pieces of rawhide can clump and block your dog similar to the various items pictured in the first photo.  This is usually a hard thing to diagnose because rawhide is skin.  X-rays don’t show skin very well so usually a contrast study with barium is needed.  A typical  barium study runs $500-$900 in this area.  Once the blockage is found then the surgery or endoscopic retrieval can be done.  The best case scenario is that your dog is puking and pooping out the pieces.  This can be painful if there is a pointed piece that injures the tissue on its way out.

Please save you dog some pain and  yourself waiting hours at an emergency clinic spending thousands of dollars

Don’t buy rawhide.