Thank you Hartz Company

While shopping tonite at Walmart I went down the dog isle to get my Lottie Lab a special treat for being such a great companion.  I picked out a Hartz dental bone that said on the package dogs love them, real meat inside, many hours of chewing and helps keep your dog's teeth clean.  I got home and showed Ms. Lottie Lab I bought her a treat.  She started dancing.  I opened it with a knife and handed it to her.  After she pranced around the living roomwith it in her mouth she settled down to chew on it.  She destroyed the bone in 40 minutes.  I dont call this many hours of chewing.  I had to keep taking pieces away from her.  All I need is for a piece to block her intestines.  Oh great, shes pissed off I took the last piece from her so shes chasing the mini pigs around the living room.  I guess I better do a better job next time picking out a bone.

My Spudzy (white bull terrier) use to unwind rawhide and shove it down her throat in 1 piece.  I cant remember how many times I had to pry her jaws apart then put my hand far back of her mouth and pull these whole pieces out of her throat.  It was sad she got cancer at 8 years old, she was such a weird dog. 

Funny how in 10 years of owning dogs, I never had an issue with my dogs choking on anything. The funniest occurance (If you can call it funny) was when I bought and cooked 2 whole fryers and gave them to my dogs who ate them with no problems.

But the next day, I had a meal with "Boneless" chicken and guess who caught a bone in his throat?? Yeah, blood coming out from both nose and mouth and had to go to emergency (Which saw some damage, but couldn't really do anything) and so I recovered after 2 weeks...Go figure! 

Wow Genenco, what did u puncture to cause blood from nose and mouth???

Oh, please be careful with real bones for your dogs! We had the most wonderful Samoyed, Kaylo, that you would ever have met. He had some major bad luck throughout his life, any one of which could have been the end for him... one of those things was a huge bone with beef flavor that they sell especially for dogs. Kaylo loved it and chewed it all up in 1 day... but, then he got sick and went to the vet. Xrays revealed that he had holes throughout his intestines from shards of that bone... he was just shredded inside... he survived, but it was a close thing... I don't trust any bones for my dogs now... please be careful.

katt

        I have a Jack Russell and not only is she the world's most hyper beast, but greedy  too.  She's hungry even when she's full.  Anyway, soup bones always keep her occupied.  the grocery store butcher will usu. cut up long beef bones to more manageable sizes,  lasts for hours if you boil them then freeze them before you give 'em to her.  If they're kind of scant on the meaty side,  peanut butter works great  (inside the bones) and it's not bad for the dog.

I'm so sorry about your pets and what they have gone through, something to make them so happy can really hurt them, and we as their parents want them to be happy.. so we give it to them, but we don't know til it happens.. the chew toys we give them are like the books to human..it's something they can enjoy for hours, can't put it down til it's done, and never forget where they lay it down

Working in an Animal Hospital,(i don't work there now, this was years ago) i know first hand the damage bones can do, especially chicken bones, they sliver like d, they can cause nasty,mean internal damage and infections, along with external, like broken teeth, bleeding gums.. once a dog was brought in with a bone fragment stuck and protruding OUTWARD from within, another had one stuck through the roof of his mouth, if they have to have it, a natural rawhide flat if possible, do keep an eye on your pet while he knawls, rounds pieces left behind are fine, they usually go down and are digested easily,but you know your pet and what they can handle.. throw away any with sharp edges or slivered looking..