Rawhides - What Are They Really?

I've been getting rawhides for my dogs for quite some time and never gave it another thought. Everyone gets them for their pups. Right? I never gave it another thought about what they are. They're just fun for my pup.

But then one day I came across a piece describing what goes into a rawhide.

Yikes!

Rawhide chews come from the inner layer of the hide from any split hoofed animal. The hides themselves will become shoes, luggage and other goodies while the byproducts of manufacturing those products go into creating the rawhide chew.

But by the time the byproduct arrives at the facilities, DogTube says the product is often black and rotting, having not been refrigerated during transit.

The hides are then soaked in a sodium sulphide liming concoction.

They're then treated or washed with hydrogen peroxide.

They are then chemically enhanced with flavors.

During the description of the process, DogTube tossed out catch phrases like "toxic chemicals," "carcinogenic food coloring" and "toxic contaminates."

They say that the FDA has issued warnings about rawhides produced in China but that if a labeller does not reference nutritional value, they do not have to follow specific AAFCO rules.


They also mention the choking hazards of rawhides, which we can attest to, as Amy has had to reach down the throats of our dogs on plenty of occassions to pull out the gooey mess that was choking our dog.

DogTube seemed aggressive about being dour on rawhides so I started looking around to find other resources.

Pets Web MD says there are trace amounts of toxic chemicals in and on the treats, and humans could be at risk of Salmonella and or E. Coli contamination from handling them.

They also say to watch for sign of bacterial contamination from rawhides, and give a list of symptoms to look out for.

Over at Vet Info.com, they say that there is no oversight on the production of the chews and that they can contain elements of mercury and lead.

They also suggested that since it came from an animal hide, there's the risk of pesticides and other things that the animal was exposed to when alive.

They indicated that it is not uncommon for dogs given rawhides regularly could develop diarrhea and vomiting due to the chemicals in the chew and suggest safer treats like Nylabones, natural dog chews, Boonda Bones and the like.

Their big concern is because there is no regulation over the chews, the risk outweigh the convenience.

DOG CHEW TOYS on Amazon

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We've eliminated rawhide treats from our dog's night time routine a long time ago and after reading over these resources, I'm glad we did.

But you can make your own choices and I have provided resources for you to review for your own decision making.

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dogtube

pets.webmd

.vetinfo

And a Google Search, if you want to pick your own resources: