Are rawhide bones bad for dogs?
Dogs love rawhide bones, but are they really safe for them? Rawhide bones are readily available at your local pet stores and dogs love to gnaw or chew on them. They can also help your dog maintain healthy teeth and gums. Most people will tell you that they are safe if you carefully monitor your dog while he is chewing but even then they can be dangerous to your dog. How so you may ask? Rawhide bones are bones made from animal skin, typically cattle. They are sometimes made by mixing cattle skin with pig skin. They can easily splinter when dry, and if your dog is a fast chewer and especially of larger size, he can bite off larger pieces that are sharp and that can perforate your dog’s throat, stomach or bowel. It is very important that when giving your dog a rawhide bone, that you buy one that that is larger than the dog’s mouth to prevent ingestion of whole pieces that had not been chewed properly and choking. Rawhide also expands when wet, so if your does not properly chew the rawhide
