# My pup just swallowed a big piece of pressed rawhide- yikes!



## NewYorkDogue

It was about 4 hours ago, I gave him what remained of a larger stick of this stuff (it helps with teething and he has not had any issues prior), but this piece was about 6 inches long, so I wanted to keep an eye on him. Well, he was happily chewing away when I left the room for a short while. When I returned (not even 10 minutes) it was gone and he was just sitting there wagging his tail. OMG. He ate it- or swallowed it _whole. 

What should I look out for? Can his raw eating digestive system deal with this rawhide stick? He seems okay, a bit low-key, but then again he played a lot at the dog park earlier...

I am trying not to freak out. Any advice, please?_


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## minnieme

Rawhides can cause blockages...so I would keep a very close eye on him. Hopefully someone more medically inclined will chime in soon, but I'd get rid of those rawhides if he were mine. We find that bully sticks and deer antlers are great for when Minnie really wants to chew. The antlers can be pricey ... but they last FOREVER.


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## DaneMama

Usually they don't cause blockages, but they can. The likelihood of it causing digestive problems like diarrhea are pretty high though. Just keep a close eye on him. If you haven't already fed him tonight I wouldn't. I'd give his system like 12 hours before giving him a meal.


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## xellil

I think if he develops a blockage, he will probably start vomiting.


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## NewYorkDogue

Thanks for the replies-- usually I do keep bully sticks on hand, but he seemed to like this rawhide stick, so I indulged. Not a fan of rawhide, though, and will find other alternatives moving forward!

DaneMama-- well, I did feed him about 2 hours after (course-ground rabbit, some tripe, plus a good shot of coconut oil, thinking it may move things along). I will definitely keep an eye on him. If there is some sort of blockage, what would be the signs? Of course, I'm thinking positive thoughts; that everything is going to be ok!


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## xellil

Here is a page that has symptoms
Symptoms of intestinal blockage in dogs


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## xellil

I fed my dogs rawhides for years and nothing ever happened, so I'm sure all will be well.


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## hmbutler

Yeah I'm sure he'll be ok :smile: obviously keep an eye on him, but if it's causing him any troubles, he'll probably throw it back up. I fed Duke a chicken quarter that was smaller than usual the other day (I asked the lady for their BIGGEST chicken quarters and three of the four she gave me were TINY) and he must've swallowed it whole, because when I went to check how his dinner was going, he was trotting around all wierd, then he stopped and threw up the entire quarter, still whole lol. It was so gross. Thankfully he then took a long time making sure he chewed it all up :tongue:


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## NewYorkDogue

xellil- thank you for that info. It looks like vomiting in most cases would occur within a very short time- or up to 8 hours after ingesting the thing. Okay. So far, so good on that symptom. I don't know how much sleep I'm going to get tonight!


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## NewYorkDogue

hmbutler-- it would be great if he vomited up the whole thing. I would actually look forward to that for sure...


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## minnieme

Never fear; I apologize, I didn't mean to scare you -- there are many, many dogs who successfully eat rawhides and have no issues -- my mom's dog being one of them. I have always read, however, that rawhides aren't really digestible....and then with the scare of them coming from China and showing traces of lots of potentially hazardous things (pesticides, antibiotics, etc), I officially nixed them (I think this issue is more under control now, but it still made me leery). If he's eating, you likely don't have to worry. With a blockage, they'll usually refuse food, vomit, or they might have diarrhea. But it sounds like he is doing good! 

Other alternatives are dried tendons, trachea and tripe sticks....though as with any new food, proceed with caution to avoid cannon butt. :wink: Also, we got Minnie a tripe stick and good LORD did it stink. However, she would have signed up to become a circus dog just to get it. :biggrin:

Don't fret; it sounds like all is okay on the home front!


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## NewYorkDogue

Thanks, minnieme-- all seems to be well this morning: no vomiting, no loose stools, and he seems absolutely fine. Yea! We went for our first walk and he had a normal, firm, PMR stool (couldn't tell if the rawhide was in there or not.) Amazing. It's been 17 hours since he swallowed the thing, so maybe I can relax about it all 

Moving forward-- no more nasty "mystery" rawhide. I'll stick with raw hooves, bully sticks and maybe a tendon or two. By the way, where would I locate antler?


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma

We have a store here in Kitsap County that only carries the good kibbles, natural things, and all sorts of other fun stuff. They have yak chews, hooves, antlers, etc. They have a big freezer full of raw food too like turkey necks, beef bones, etc. They are one of those... natural type dog stores.

See if you have any around your area. They are great. Ours is called Naturally4Paws. Other than that, I think DaneMama has a great link for antlers. Or it could have been Northwoods... Anyway, they posted the link on one of my very first threads. Maybe the first one. I have them bookmarked for when I finally get to order them. I'll look it up for you and post the link here. My guys also do really love the yak chews.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma

Well.. It is quite simply and obviously:

Wholesale to the Public: Antler Dog Chews |

How could I not remember something so simple?!


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## HappyPuppy

A lot of dogs swallow the last few inches... my dog will do that - like the last 4 inches of a rawhide or bully stick < I mostly just buy bully sticks now but occasionally get raw hide (compressed is better IMHO). I recently got a bag of what I thought were sliced and flattened bully sticks but when I re-read the bag, LOL, it was flattened pigs ear strips (rectangles) SPRAYED with bully stick juice ?!?!?!?!? I never give chewies when I'm not home due to fears of choking and I was watching/listening as Ruby kind of had the chewed end down her throat while still chewing on the less-chewed end. Then, she started pawing at her face, so I had to reach in there and pull it out. I did give it back to her and it eventually went down but that was another lesson for me to watch while those are eaten.


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## eternalstudent

I have been using rawhides with my pup since she was little, other than a few problems with different brands the hide itself does not seem to cause a problem. At the end of the day it is nearly 100 % protein so most of our PMR fed dogs should be able to digest it without to many problems. 

I know they are not ideal but the do work well sometimes to keep the pups occupied. I find that bully sticks last moments so are not a lot of good for a powerful chewer, i am also undecided how much meat the would make up of the diet compared to rawhide.

I hope that you boy has had no issues  and everything is back to normal.


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## xellil

i have not bought antlers but I got some cow hooves once. The whole house stunk like urine (very strong) and it took me two days to figure out it was the cow hooves. I kept sniffing rugs trying to figure out what dog was peeing and where. One day I happpened to stick my nose on the rug next to the cow hoof. Yikes.


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## KittyKat

I like antlers because they don't stink....


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## NewYorkDogue

The good news is that my pup's okay (it's been 24 hours)--- How his digestive system dealt with this big, un-chewed object sort of boggles the mind... But then again, he eats bone, so maybe I shouldn't be so surprised!

So, antlers it is. Thanks, Dude and Bucks Momma for the link- very cool! (By the way, I love your new sig pic- awesome.)

HappyPuppy-- Seriously? Sprayed with bully stick juice?! That is just beyond weird...

xellil-- yeah, cow hooves stink. But I recently ordered some raw hooves and they don't stink nearly as bad as the dried ones, for some reason.

Well, I'm just happy that Mateo has survived this potential scare-- live and learn!


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## minnieme

NewYorkDogue said:


> Well, I'm just happy that Mateo has survived this potential scare-- live and learn!


Indeed! Good words to live by. Never fret about coming here for help..... Read 99% of my posts and you'll find out how I annoyed the hell out of everyone for my first month or two here. Probably still annoy a few! :wink: 

But you're absolutely right about the 'live and learn' thing... just remember that you are doing the best possible thing for your pup... and we've all been there -- fretting just means we love them A LOT...which is more than I can say for a lot of dog owners.


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## KittyKat

My dog ate half a pencil once.... just jumped on the bed, grabbed it and.... well... ate it. ;;

Not sure what possessed her to do so, but she was fine. They are pretty hardy.


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