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Author
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Topic: choking on rawhide bone
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gypsy
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Member # 932
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posted June 11, 2004 11:23 AM
Hello all!!
My question is in regard to bones, hard rawhide bones. I used to give them to my dog Darla, and everytime she had one she had this bad habit of breaking rather large pieces out of them and choking on them. It scared me to death! Another strange thing I disliked was that there was always blood left in the bone. Even on her favorite ball when she chews on it too much! She used to have a cracked tooth, and I at first thought it was the reason for all this, but I had it removed about three months ago. The few times she had a bone after that the same thing hapenned, bleeding in her mouth, and choking on large pieces of the bone. To make a long story short I have stopped giving her bones for good. Now I only give her the rawhide sticks or strips and she has not choked, or bled. But, people I know keep telling me that she needs to chew on bones to clean her teeth, that all dogs need to chew on bones. I do brush her teeth every two days, and I think this is enough to keep her teeth clean. My question is, is it true that I should be giving her bones for her teeth?? I rather be safe and not have her choke again on them. Aren't the sticks and strips enough??? I am specially skeptical of it also because she has another cracked tooth!!
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gypsy
Posts: 43 | From: New Jersey USA | Registered: Apr 2004
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gypsy
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Member # 932
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posted June 11, 2004 11:24 AM
don't know how that voting thing got in there, sorry, guess I made a mistake, disregard it
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gypsy
Posts: 43 | From: New Jersey USA | Registered: Apr 2004
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DaxAriel's toy
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Member # 740
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posted June 11, 2004 11:46 AM
How old is Darla? I stopped giving rawhide bones as I found both my dogs swallowed big junks. From my reading, they also warn that undigest rawhide in the guts can cause blockages. The worst were the processed ones. Now I only give pig ears (very rarely) and knuckle bones raw with meat on.
The blood could be there because there is mild gum disease (if she's older) and the s******** acts just like dental floss on the tooth. Or if she's teething it's helping the new tooth break thru.
Posts: 748 | From: Edmonton AB Canada | Registered: Mar 2004
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gypsy
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Member # 932
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posted June 11, 2004 01:51 PM
Doglover,
I was told by my vet that Darla is between the ages of 3 and 5. Unfortunately I don't have her birth date as I adopted her from a shelter. It's good to hear, so it's OK that I don't give her the bones. Great! I've never tried the pig ears, I'll get some next time I hit the petstore! I've been giving her the smoked pighide sticks and she goes crazy over those.
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gypsy
Posts: 43 | From: New Jersey USA | Registered: Apr 2004
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ellierat
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Member # 612
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posted June 11, 2004 03:07 PM
Try one of the large marrowbones, you can get them from your butcher, they really have to munch on them and pieces don't break off as such, your dog will actually try to chew it to get the soft marrow out of the middle. She does need it for her teeth, you will notice them start to go yellow near the gums after a few months, then plaque will attach, and the gums become a brilliant red, with intermittent bleeding. Pigs ears are ok, but only for a treat, they are very salty, and make your dog extra thirsty.
Her bleeding now I would guess and I say guess, would be from the broken pieces of bone, they may have cut her gums.
Open her mouth, check her teeth out, if there is plaque attached it could be that breaking away, causing it too.
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I love my labs.
Posts: 880 | From: australia | Registered: Feb 2004
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lou3
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Member # 343
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posted June 11, 2004 04:47 PM
the best and safest thing for cleaning teeth is a toothbrush. You can also buy denta rasks (pedigree i think) that wont make their gums bleed and some brands do a tooth diet (although i dont recommend the Hill's one). If your dog has existing plaque on their teeth then invest in a dental scraper and remove it with that to start with. You can get toothpaste that you dont need to use with a toothbrush if your dog objects strongly.
Hope this helps
Lou
Posts: 461 | From: uk | Registered: Nov 2003
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sambucca/whiskey
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Member # 989
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posted June 11, 2004 04:57 PM
I give Whskey marrow bones and knuckle bones from the butcher he loves them, they are healthy adn you dont have to worry about breaking pieces off nut you should still supervise.
Posts: 246 | Registered: May 2004
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lou3
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posted June 11, 2004 05:03 PM
bones can cause intestinal impactions and should not be given on a regular basis.
Lou
Posts: 461 | From: uk | Registered: Nov 2003
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sambucca/whiskey
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Member # 989
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posted June 11, 2004 06:59 PM
marrow bones cause impaction? all he eats is the marrow and it is reccommended daily if you do BARF
Posts: 246 | Registered: May 2004
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lou3
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posted June 12, 2004 06:43 AM
There are a million and one problems i can point out with BARF and this is just one of them.
Its ok to feed him the marrow so long as he doesnt eat any of the bone, but i wouldnt let him chew it either in case it splinters (which it can do even when not cooked)
[ June 12, 2004, 06:44 AM: Message edited by: lou3 ]
Posts: 461 | From: uk | Registered: Nov 2003
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ellierat
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Member # 612
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posted June 12, 2004 03:45 PM
What on earth are you two talking about.
If your dogs were in the wild they don't go and buy themselves a toothbrush to clean their teeth, they eat an animal, Rabbits are good, and they certainly don't leave the bones.
Over here with have a problem with wild dogs, they are eating sheep and cattle, bones and all.
So long as the bones are not cooked, not too small, and you don't feed pork, they are not going to cause any problems.
BARF?
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I love my labs.
Posts: 880 | From: australia | Registered: Feb 2004
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sambucca/whiskey
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Member # 989
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posted June 12, 2004 04:10 PM
That was my point exactly? I dont follow Barf it is basically raw meat, veggie etc.
All vets and trainers here recommend giving dogs large marrow or knuckle bones to clean teeth and keep entertained however you do need to watch for splinters as they can choke, get stuck etc.
This however rarely I mean I have never known anybody who has had this happen to as long as you give raw if your not comfortable with raw smoked or boiled to kill bacteria for 30 min will do.
Posts: 246 | Registered: May 2004
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gypsy
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Member # 932
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posted June 19, 2004 08:53 AM
Hello, thank you for all your responses. I had a really bad injury and am not able to go online, a head injury, and my vision got messed up. It's very disturbing to read. So, thank you all for your responses. I guess I won't be coming here too much for a while. Take care of your beloved canine friends and I'll be speaking to you rarely but surely.
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gypsy
Posts: 43 | From: New Jersey USA | Registered: Apr 2004
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