# Do You Give Your Vizsla Rawhide Bones?



## pippa31

I've been doing a lot of reading on this (Pippa has just been spayed and I have been reading up on things she can chew to keep her busy for the next 10 days or so! :) and am wondering what people think on this forum. Do you give your dog rawhide bones??? 

Our vet has said they prefer cow hooves, antlers, and bully sticks (currently we give Pippa bully sticks but have antlers on hand for this week!!) because rawhide can cause digestive blockage or cause a dog to choke, but that rawhides in moderation are okay. Just trying to think ahead as to how to get through the week. Thanks!


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## redbirddog

Neither of my dogs are much of chewers but when they were young we had 4 or 5 Kongs around filled with a lot of good tasting stinky items that were hard to get out treats. Liver bits, peansut butter, salami and mixtures of the above with maybe some kibble. I would get the large ones with the small holes, and not too many.

Then i would freeze them. The tighter I could pack the Kong the better. Each one might last a few hours.

Rawhide just doesn't do anything. A big cow knukle, now that's a workout and gives them some benefits.

Good luck.

RBD


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## jakersmomma

Jake loves his rawhides. Hes had antlers, bully sticks, Himalayan bones, Kong, and he always goes back to his rawhides. Hes never had a choking scare or digesting issue.


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## MAPLEBABY

Hi !

Hope pippa is recovering well from surgery. I have to admit that I tried to so hard to keep her busy after Maples spay surgery. I bought different chews and toys and stuffed animals were done within 15 minutes. 

My little maple is a strong chewer in general so I have tried pretty much everything to keep her occupied. Rawhides are one of them, I totally agree with the vet. I don't think they are all that bad but have to be given in moderation. Usually I take the rawhide away once a third of a big one is chewed but one day I fell asleep watching TV and had to pay for the price of not supervising her. She puked up everything in the middle of night.. Twice! I could hear her gagging from my bedroom and once I checked on her, undigested rawhide pieces and yellow bile juice was everywhere.. Yukkk! As much as disgusted by her vomit I believe it's way better than it getting stuck in her stomach and running to ER. 
I have a friend who actually had to have the dog's tummy opened in the middle of night and it cost her $1700. 
Having said that, every dog is so different. There are smarties like jake, mine swallows anything and everything as fast as possible.  

It's so weird she is not interested in dear antlers and cow hooves. Maybe I bought a wrong brand?? 

A little question for Redbirddog : how do u make a kong to last a few hours? I stuff and freeze too but my piggy maple successfully cleans one up within 30 min like it's fresh out of dishwasher.


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## redrover

One way to make Kongs last a little longer once they're packed full is to pour just a tiny bit of chicken broth or water in them, then freeze. That frozen mushiness can really help make them last. They'll be a little messier though, if your dog is the kind that leaves them alone for a while. Mine just keeps licking--doesn't miss a drop, the pig! 

You might also try soaking the antler in a little chicken broth--the cashier at the dog food outlet where I bought Jasper's antler suggested that. Also, if you find the antlers with more marrow inside, they seem to be a little more enticing.

A friend gives his dog cow hooves. They're stinky! He swears the white ones don't smell as bad as the black hooves, though.

I used to give Jasper rawhides. Then he started teething, and he'd plow through a big one in about 5 minutes. If I didn't sit there and stare at him the entire time, he'd gulp down a chunk at the end. He did this twice--one caused him to throw up the next morning, and the other passed without problems. Still, it scared me, so I stopped giving him rawhides altogether. I wouldn't hesitate to get the surgery, but if it's something that's easily avoided, I'm going to avoid it as best I can.

I now give him antlers, and those big cow knuckles--the ones with meat on them for special occasions. Knuckles, knee caps, and shanks are really good for aggressive chewers. The meaty ones keep him occupied for HOURS. They apparently still smell super yummy after all the meat is off, as he continues to prefer those bones over his other ones.


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## Ozkar

While I would love to try them with deer antlers, they are just not commonly available here in Oz. Our non indigenous deer are few and far between and we don't have enough deer farms to make antlers and affordable option either. Quite expensive when we do get hold of them.

Hence, I stick with beef and Lamb bones mostly, but they also get Pigs ears, chicken necks, chicken carcass', dried kangaroo tails, dried kangaroo, dried kangaroo tendons, dried liver and pork bones. They love the dried kangaroo tails. They smash them in no time flat. If only they knew when we were walking, that those odd hoping creatures have great tasting tails! Thankfully they don't and they leave the kangaroos alone. Despite the appearance of being a docile creature a kangaroo isn't so friendly and can rip a dog or a human apart with their hind legs and claws in seconds. I've seen the result of one of our farm dogs trying to have a go at one and the dog lost. 

As for Rawhide, Astro and Ozkar are not interested at all in Rawhide, but, Zsa Zsa loves it. She will smash one of those in minutes. But, thankfully, she chews them really well and has never thrown anything up. But, she does get a soft stool the next day.


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## born36

Rawhides are fine in moderation. The key is to get the rawhides that are pressed as the normal ride are the ones that can cause blockages. The pressed rawhides just break into small bits.

I also agree if you have a local butchers go to them they will sell you raw bones at a very low price. My Mac gets raw veal knuckles every week because my neighbour is a butcher. He is so lucky!!!


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## redbirddog

Interesting about what "will pass."



> "the following came from a great friend/excellent vet re things dogs eat and what gets them in trouble. We were discussing a piece of bone that a bull terrier ate, size of peach pit and it got stuck in the pyloric juncture = surgery.
> 
> You never know what will and won't pass. I had an old shepherd pass 18 inches of carpet once! And a young lab that got stopped up by a small leather glove.
> 
> In general, though, *round objects don't do well. * If they get out of the stomach, they tend to go about 2/3 of the way through the small intestines, where they got stuck because the centers of peristalsis are further apart--causing a round object to lodge just like in a chinese finger trap."


Rhoda

From Yahoo Vizsla Talk group 1/13/12


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## zigzag

My boy Rojo just had his surgery neutered at 6.5months. I wanted to go 9 months but we though he was ready 45lbs. He is on day 2 after surgery and completly un fazed, by it. It's going to be a major challenge to not let him do his daily exercise routine. We are focusing on back yard training for the next week. Going to rework whistle comands. I give him cow knuckles only, rawhide just doesint fill his cravings to chew. It gets all mushy and I think it encourages nawing. Think hard mouth.


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## finch

We've never given rawhide but we use stuffed & frozen Kongs and frozen marrow bones a lot. I get the long skinny marrow bones from the grocery store deli and it lasts Finch all day when I take her to the office with me. She can't easily get to the marrow that's more than 1.5/2 inches in from either end, so she really has to work at it.


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