I used to give my dogs each one rawhide chew strip per day, in the morning, after their walk and following their morning meal. Like a diligent pet parent, I feed my dogs two smaller meals per day, to avoid bloat and possible tummy torsion, particularly since Leo is a deep-chested breed. I've kept myself educated on the symptoms, and am careful not to feed too soon after activity, and also not to be too active after feeding.
After a one too many times of the cheap, sticky, tacky, gummy rawhide strips I used to purchase getting lodged in the backs of the dogs' throats, or stuck to the roofs of their mouths, I quit buying them. I switched to a pricier brand of the "compressed" variety. These were lighter, less durable, had the consistency of Styrofoam or rice cakes, dissolved quickly, broke apart nicely and we never again had any of the aformentioned issues.
What we did have was Leo breaking off big hunks and swallowing them whole, sometimes resulting in the reappearance of said chunks (plus his breakfast), and defeating the purpose. If he wasn't chewing it, it wasn't helping his teeth. The time he blew chunks when I was trying to get ready for work was the last time I bought any rawhides. It was turning into nothing but a waste of money (in terms of rawhide AND dog food).
Also, I knew that the process of making these chews was questionable, and that many varieties had been treated with toxic chemicals, bleaching agents, etc... Supposedly, if you can secure the "American made" variety, you're in the clear, but for the most part these products, even if the label says " 100% American Beefhide" are still processed in one of a few South American countries.
When I realized my new preferred brand was processed in such a country although the box bragged "100% American Beefhide" I quit buying any at all.
Today I screwed up.
The dogs were gifted with several large, rawhide rolls. I debated making use of them or not, since we'd never had any of the usual illnesses, blockages, or other risks associated with these "treats". Ultimately, I let my husband read the labels and give his opinion. We decided last night to give each of the dogs a chew, but to only allow them to enjoy it for a little while, watch for big pieces, and remove them before the dogs had a chance to ingest any of them in their entirety (which would have been way too much). Everything went well. Kansas, of course, downed half of hers easily- she's the big chewer in the family, which is surprising considering Leo is the largest, the most in need of heavy duty chewing to keep his teeth maintained (and they have gotten rather bad since discontinuing the use of chews, even though we provide plenty of Nylabones and antlers- he's just not a chewer). We took Kansas' away at half, we took Leo's away at the same time, though his was mostly intact, just nicely chewed on and mushy, and we took Airlie's away a bit later. She was enjoying it and her tiny teeth hadn't really reduced her chew at all.
Everybody was fine, nobody even had any tummy upsets in the night.
Today, I was thinking about how I used to give the dogs their chews right after breakfast, so that's what I did- not realizing that Kansas now gets 1/2 cup more food than she used to when we last used rawhides; not thinking about how they'd all just come back from a walk, had eaten and had slightly full tummies; not realizing that the excitement caused when the electric meter-reader rang the doorbell would be a contributing factor.
I monitored everyone's pace of chewing and amount, and things were going just fine.
Kansas finished her other half of the rawhide, then began pacing, licking her chops like she does when she's about to vomit, and so on. I checked her mouth to make sure the last piece she had been working on wasn't stuck. She didn't want to drink a bunch of water like she always has once she's finished a good chew. I let her out in the backyard where she looked about frantically for the types of green vegetation she normally ingests if experiencing tummy upset. I also watched her belly, symptoms of bloat and torsion on my mind.
She did vomit a bit- not as much as I was expecting. Normally if either dog ingests a piece of anything too big to be digestible, their body just rejects it, along with the entire morning meal. Not so this time. Just a few bits of kibble, some watery rawhide residue. Her belly was getting more firm, and her ribcage was expanding. She was panting, and restless. Her gums were becoming pale. I already had the phone in-hand, debating calling the vet and brining her in, asking hubby for a second opinion. He was in a rush of his own and not exactly listening to me, just got really ticked off.
She did eventually drink a bunch of water, and kept it down, and then let out a great belch. She's been improving ever since. She's alert, interested in what's going on in the backyard (as usual), resting comfortably, not being as active, but her belly and ribcage has returned to normal, as have the pinkness of her gums. She's still being watched and encouraged to rest, and obviously we had a near miss in this case. I should have been thinking more about overfilling an active, excited tummy (not to mention one that had already ingested rawhide 12 hours prior), rather than lapsing into old habits and using the treats as a distraction from the meter man traipsing through the backyard.
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