Is giving my dog rawhide chews daily or every other day too much?

I would not recommend giving this to Bruno every day. That's because too many treats will cause him to gain weight, which is not healthy. When dogs are overweight, they are at risk of diabetes, heart problems, and excess stress on the joints among other health issues. In addition, I am not a fan of bones for dogs, even uncooked ones. That's because they can break teeth when a dog is chewing on them, and can cause GI obstruction. If you would like to give Bruno a chew bone, I would make it a very rare treat to protect his health.

Daisy is super cute! The decision to give a dog rawhide is always a tricky one. Some dogs never have any problems with rawhide while others get bad stomach upset from them. Some dogs can even swallow a piece that's too big and end up with an intestinal obstruction. Intestinal obstructions are serious and require surgery to correct. I'd monitor Daisy to make sure she doesn't bite off a large piece of rawhide and swallow it as this would make her prone to intestinal obstruction. Remove the rawhide when it gets small as she may swallow it. I'd also watch to make sure she doesn't develop any vomiting or diarrhea. If you see this she should be examined by a veterinarian and rawhide should no longer be given If you want to err on the side of caution then I wouldn't give Daisy rawhide in the future. A Kong or another type of safe chew toy may be a better option for her. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and good luck with Daisy!

I do not recommend giving rawhides to dogs at all. In my opinion, they are not safe at all due the risk of GI obstruction. If your dog got a GI obstruction from one, surgery would have to be done to remove it. I know colleagues who have had to perform surgery on dogs who've gotten obstructions from rawhides, and many of them do not recommend them for this reason. I would not recommend giving them to your dog.

This is indeed a true fact. Some raw hides have more of a tendency to cause intestinal blockages. A quick google search can help identify which ones to stay away from as you have already done. I would recommend the ones from your vet which are usually easily digestible. I really like the Virbac or CET dental chews personally and have never seen an issue with blockages from these. I hope this helps! Take care.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I recommend daily teeth brushing with dog toothpaste daily. Groomers only brush a dogs teeth when they are groomed- likely every 6-8 weeks. That would be like us brushing our teeth once every 6-8 weeks. It’s not a bad idea but it’s not going to do a whole lot in the long run. I also recommend a professional teeth cleaning by a veterinarian every year- to remove plaque, polish after (very important after plaque removal), and to check for problems/bad teeth before they cause other problems. Rawhides are not bad but they will not take the place of daily dental care. Also, they can cause intestinal upset so I do not recommend them frequently. They also have a lot of calories so you have to make sure Scooby doesn’t gain weight when feeding them. Kisses to Scooby!

I feed greenies to my own pet. As long as your pet chews the greenie and doesn't attempt to swallow it whole, it shouldn't cause any issues. Just remember they can add significantly to caloric intake so you should probably limit the number fed to once daily or every other day.

As long as the pieces are small, it is fine if they are ingested. He will digest them without any issues. Larger pieces pose a risk of gastric or intestinal obstruction. To be safe, remove the rawhide chews once they can fit entirely in Kai's mouth. Monitor for lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite or abdominal pain. These are symptoms that should be addressed by your veterinarian.