Many people grew up giving their dogs rawhide bones. In the past, rawhide was the only option that was sold in department store pet sections, in pet stores or even at farm and garden or feed stores.
However, with ongoing research and education in canine nutrition, vets, pet food manufacturers and animal nutritionists no longer recommend the use of rawhide for dogs. They now recommend safe, healthy rawhide alternatives for dogs made out of baked pork skin, which has more flavor and none of the issues associated with rawhide consumption.
Digestive Blockages and Upsets
The option to fee rawhide alternatives for dogs completely eliminates the digestive upsets and digestive blockages that are a very real issue with rawhide. Rawhide is not the full thickness of the beef hide; rather it is just a very thin inner layer of the hide removed at leather tanning facilities.
It is then processed, formed and baked, with the need to add flavorings, stuffing, and coloring to make it palatable to dogs and visually appealing for the people buying the treats.
In reality, rawhide is highly indigestible. Most of it turns into a soggy mass, as anyone feeding their dog rawhide will quickly recognize. This mass will remain up to 15% undigested in the stomach even after 24 hours, and it can result in digestive problems and blockages, some of which can be life-threatening and require surgery to remove.
Choking
Feeding highly digestible rawhide alternatives for dogs that are crunchy and break apart as the dog chews, the risk of choking decreases dramatically. It is still important to supervise the dog, but he or she will simply chew through the baked pork chew with obvious pleasure.
Rawhide, on the other hand, comes off in long strings and chunks. These chunks and strings can be swallowed whole, resulting in a potential choking risk.
