Dog products that pose health risks

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#1
Due to a lot of recent health scares with products made for "dogs", I'm beginning to worry about anything I buy for my dog being a possible health hazard!

Here is a list of things I've been warned about recently

1. Hartz products (and I really do believe this is terrible for pets)
2. Any toys other than Kong or Nylabone products (I sorta doubt it)


Anyways, I just bought a few things for my dogs that I thought might be safe but now I'm worried they might be harmful.
One thing is Greenies, I bought a bag of them the other day and gave him one that night. He actually enjoyed chewing on it a lot and it kept him busy for at least 30 min, which is great news for me when I wanna take a break from playing with him.
The other thing is this off brand of a 'bitter apple' type product. It's called No Chew or No Bite and it's made by something called Enviro-pet. The main ingredients are Rosemary, Water and Sodium Bicarbonate and it claims to be All Natural.

So aside from wanting to know if Greenies and No Chew are okay, I'm curious if anyone has made a list of products that are proven to be unsafe for dog's usage or perhaps we should make one and sticky it!
 

Zoom

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#2
Greenies are unsafe; the vet techs I work with have told me a number of horror stories concerning blockages and necropsied intestinal tracts. Our board of advising vets has banned greenies from being given to dogs in our care, along with rawhides (which has been on the list for a while).

My dogs loved them too, but they love the raw bones more and the bones do a better job on their teeth.
 

elegy

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#3
i don't see greenies as particularly dangerous, nor do i see rawhides as particularly dangerous, to be honest. i've never seen either/or removed from the guts of a dog. not to say it doesn't happen, but we take out a lot more cloth/socks/underwear/plastic/sticks. we took out half a nylabone once. unraveled rope bones are another one we see occasionally.

we had a dog show up DOA after choking to death on a boneless chicken breast, too, but that's neither here nor there.

i think it depends very heavily on your dog and your dog's chewing style. neither of my dogs are gulpers. they're chew into tiny little pieces chewers. they're all about the destruction, but not so much about the eating. so the chances of them getting obstructed by a rawhide or a greenie are pretty low. they get raw marrow bones, though, anyway. they like them better, they're cheaper, they last way longer.
 

mjb

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#4
I have heard the problems with rawhide, and I can believe that a dog can get a piece down that they can't handle and would cause problems.

When my dog was having some problems, and the thought was that he might have eaten something that he shouldn't have, I mentioned to my vet that he has been allowed to chew on rawhides. The vet said that, while it could be the problem, he didn't think it was based on the fact that in his 25 years of practice, he had never had a dog come in with rawhide being the culprit.

That being said, enough people have posted about problems that, while I give my dog rawhides, I TRY to watch for when they need to be replaced!
 
B

Bobsk8

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#5
My dog was having soft stool issues for weeks. Turned out it was the **@# Rawhide Bones that she loved. Took them away and digestion returned to normal. I wouldn't giver her Greenies either......
 
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#6
Well, I've bought this bag of Greenies and so far he likes to slowly gnaw them down. He doesn't seem to eat big chunks of it, and so far he doesn't seem to have suffered any ill effects. Should I try to take the package back or just watch him in eat them and make sure he doesn't bite off big chunks. After I finish this bag (if I do) I'll probably avoid greenies in the future.
 

Lola.

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#7
I wouldn't give my dogs a Greenie, rawhide, pigs' ears, etc.. That's just me.

What's wrong with kongs?

WHAT IS RAWHIDE? Rawhide is literally the outside of a cow – the skin. It provides dogs with a satisfying chewing experience and it’s cheap and easy to find. So how can it be dangerous?

HIDDEN DANGERS

Dr. John Wedeking, an Iowa veterinarian, remembers hearing about rawhide in the news.

“Reports of arsenic contamination popped up in papers once,‿ he says, but adds that it came from another country.

Since rawhide is not regulated in any way, it could happen again. These foreign hides may also contain other detrimental things such as antibiotics, lead, or insecticides that could adversely affect the health of your dog.

Wedeking adds that dogs can easily choke on it when the original large rawhide object is chewed down to a smaller piece.

“Choking is a hazard, and rawhide can cause gastric irritation when dogs chew on it often,‿ he says. Wedeking adds that gastric irritation can also cause vomiting and extreme discomfort in dogs.

'Tests on imported pet products made from animal hides by UK health authorities revealed many carried the salmonella bug, a common cause of gastro-intestinal infections in humans." "They found that one in three batches imported from Thailand and one in eight from China contained salmonellas that had survived processing and manufacturing"
 
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Bobsk8

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#8
Well, I've bought this bag of Greenies and so far he likes to slowly gnaw them down. He doesn't seem to eat big chunks of it, and so far he doesn't seem to have suffered any ill effects. Should I try to take the package back or just watch him in eat them and make sure he doesn't bite off big chunks. After I finish this bag (if I do) I'll probably avoid greenies in the future.
If he does have a problem with a Greenie, it will be one expensive lesson when the vet bill comes.......

This is what Smokey loves to chew on......


http://www.kongcompany.com/worlds_best.html
 
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#9
If he does have a problem with a Greenie, it will be one expensive lesson when the vet bill comes.......

This is what Smokey loves to chew on......


http://www.kongcompany.com/worlds_best.html

Yeah, I think I'll go ahead and try to take them back. I mean he has already eaten 2 and fortunately he seems fine so far, but I just read the Back of the package and it said it was meant for dogs over 6 months old. Well, he's only 3 months, so I hope I can take them back, but I don't know since he has already eaten some.

I have 2 kong toys so far. One is a cylinder shaped thing for teething and the other is Kong on a rope. He doesn't seem that interested in them anymore unless I fill them with peanut butter or something. How do you get dogs to be more interested in their toys?
 
B

Bobsk8

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#10
Find a really good treat and put it inside. I use the Natural Balance Rolls and slice them up so they will come out fairly easily at first and then make them a tad bigger to make it more of a challenge once the dog gets the hang of it.

http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/DFRolls.html

.. Peanut butter will work too ( Smokey is allergic to PB so I can't use that), as well as any other treat that your dog likes. Sign up for the Kong newsletter and they give you all kinds of tips...
 

dogsarebetter

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#11
good thread. i was wondering the questions too.
online i ordered a raw hide with chicken in the middle (bad idea?)
i also got a kong, and a squeeky fleace toy
 

moxiegrl

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#12
Every dog is different...you really have to do what you feel is best for your dog w/ the knowledge you have, and research any questions. A lot of people on this forum dont give their dogs rawhide, or similar treats. I give them to my dog...she has had greenies, but she loves bone marrow bones, and they are great for her teeth, last a LONG time, and definitly more cost efficient.

As far as Kongs go, a lot of people use them on here. Katie is not interested in them, even when filled with goodies. Im sure I could find SOMETHING to fill it with that would get her excited, but so far I've been SOL. Good luck!
 
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#13
I never gave 'greenies' because a) it goes against common sense to eat something that's green and yet not a vegetable (a green bone? Ew), b) I was a little put off by the relentless "best for you" ad campaign c) for a while there, they were so popular I felt like I'd be joining a cult if I started buying them. Then I heard the stories about them being a problem and I was very smug.

Rawhides make my dog very, very happy, but I'm much more careful about feeding them now. I very stupidly fed her a whole bunch in a short time (I believe it was around her birthday, and I was being all sentimental) and she got terribly sick. Hemoragic gastroenteritis. Ended up in the doggy ER, with an IV in her paw for two days. She's an inhaler of food, so I think she ate so many so fast, it bothered her stomach and triggered the vomiting. Scared me half to death.

The gross edibles like pigs ears and pigs trotters and various other parts of unfortunate farm animals I wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. Apart from the whole ew factor, I'm already uneasy with feeding my dog (and myself) meat, what with the horrible things I've read about the stuff they feed those animals. Hormones and steroids are bad enough, but the idea that some of them are eating feed made from ingredients that includes both other cows and dogs from shelters is beyond words disturbing. I still break down and buy her a burger from McDonald's, but I'm not getting in any deeper than that.
 

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