I used Orijen for a few months. Our boy seemed to like it, but sometimes he would skip a meal. But then we switched to Nature's Variety and he seems to like it even better, hasn't missed a meal in over a year! Both great dog foods though!
My B almost died last night, and I didn't know what to do…..
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We used to give flat rawhide to Chance and Kiya under supervision. I saw Chance choking a couple of times on it and we now only give them long pressed rawhide sticks. Once they are half done with them to the point where they could put them in their mouth we throw them away.
Those are the kind I use too… I don't use the "flat" ones either... but I prefer the bully bones to rawhide mostly...
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Kongs come in 4 "strengths" of rubber. They have a soft rubber for teething puppies, the red "regular strength", the black "extreme strength", and they now have blue that is supposed to be for the strongest chewers and will also show up on an x-ray if the dog does manage to chew a chunk off. At the animal shelter we have been using the blue ones with our most aggressive chewers, the ones that were destroying everything we gave them, and have had very good results with the blue ones.
I don't like rawhide because I have also had a near choking incident because it swells and becomes so gummy. I like the bully sticks but have to watch because they will still sometimes attempt to swallow to large a piece, which has never caused a choking problem but does mean that 24-48 hours later they will be barfing it back up.
Sophie is my one dog who loves to chew but she will also just lay down with a Nylabone Galileo bone and chew. She is the only dog I have that likes Nylabones.
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Thank you for the link. I'm so glad your dog is ok. I have given our a lot of rawhide over the years, and I guess he's been lucky!
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My B has had times when I have had to pull a piece of rawhide out of her throat. I use to give her the triangle flat ones, not anymore. I now give her the rolled ones that are shown here by another poster. She has not had any problems with those, but I still watch her whenever he is chewing rawhide. I really don't like it but she is a chewer and bully sticks can do the same thing. She does get bully sticks as well but they are so expensive and she can chew them up in record time. I give her pigs ears now and then, watch, watch with those as well. And the scream when they are having trouble getting the rawhide down is so scary, I almost panic, but I know that I have to save my dog.
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Well, this really wakes ya up when it happens. That night that he choked we threw out all bones. There was nothing we could do to prevent it except not give him the bone. He was sitting right next to me when he choked. It could have been part of his blanket or play toy, anything. I just know I'm completely paranoid now and I don't know what to give him to play with. The poor thing sat outside this morning on his lead with a bowl of water, no play toys, bones, or blankets. Will I get over this? When we leave for work and he goes in his crate is it ok to give him toys in there? Probably not right???? Oh my God am I losing it or what???? HELP!
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Kongs come in 4 "strengths" of rubber. They have a soft rubber for teething puppies, the red "regular strength", the black "extreme strength", and they now have blue that is supposed to be for the strongest chewers and will also show up on an x-ray if the dog does manage to chew a chunk off. At the animal shelter we have been using the blue ones with our most aggressive chewers, the ones that were destroying everything we gave them, and have had very good results with the blue ones.
Jazz is not even my serious chewer, but it was a blue KONG that she got the chunk out of.
I just don't give them anything rubber any more.
She never had any interest in the nylabones; Keoki ate them, so I don't buy those for him any more either.
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Well, this really wakes ya up when it happens. That night that he choked we threw out all bones. There was nothing we could do to prevent it except not give him the bone. He was sitting right next to me when he choked. It could have been part of his blanket or play toy, anything. I just know I'm completely paranoid now and I don't know what to give him to play with. The poor thing sat outside this morning on his lead with a bowl of water, no play toys, bones, or blankets. Will I get over this? When we leave for work and he goes in his crate is it ok to give him toys in there? Probably not right???? Oh my God am I losing it or what???? HELP!
What IS safe to leave them crated with? THAT is the $64,000 question, isn't it?
I always left mine with stuffed animals – well, usually they were already de-stuffed by the dogs -- but realize there's a risk there also. I would also give them treats to consume, like Pedigree Dentastix or Jumbones and/or other brand of similar nature. They are to be eaten but take longer than just food and I don't see a real risk of choking.
I don't give them anything food-wise now because they are crated together and would probably kill each other, LOL. Just their beds, but they just sleep anyway.
You just have to determine what you think is safest and go with that. I imagine you will "get over" this, but you will always second guess yourself and always worry a bit.
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Thank you! Today I feel better. I have taken into consideration ALL your advice and suggestions. I appreciate the support. You guys are great.
xo
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Thanks for sharing this story, to remind us how vulnerable our little curly tailed ones are and that we need to remain alert.
And, thanks for posting the doggie CPR - going on the fridge tonight!
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JazzysMom said "You just have to determine what you think is safest and go with that" and that really is the best advise.
My previous beastie that had problems with rawhide was always swallowing things too large to swallow; my current beastie chews things up pretty well. So each dog has to be evaluated on their own - of course we all have experiences to share so no one has to do this blindly – that's what's so great about this forum
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Pet First Aid/CPR is usually offered by your local Red Cross. I took it a little over a year ago. It is well worth taking.
