Dog owners across the country are turning to healthy alternatives and avoiding giving their dogs rawhide chews. A lot of this awareness has come from recent recalls in rawhide chews that included several brands of rawhide products containing toxic chemicals.
Dogs that consumed these contaminated chews became very sick. However, even without contamination, the choice of rawhide chews may be putting your dog at risk of digestive problems, blockages and choking risks.
The choice of providing a dog with alternatives to rawhide is a wise one for any dog or puppy of any age. By removing rawhide completely, you feel great about giving your dog a healthy, safe chew that can be 100% consumed and will be 99.9% digested.
In choosing the best alternatives to rawhide, there are some considerations. By making a few comparisons of the different options, a pet owner can find a healthy alternative to meet their exacting standards.
Ingredients
Ideally, look for alternatives to rawhide made from real, natural ingredients you know your dog loves. Real chicken, peanut butter, and milk are great examples of healthy ingredients to choose. Baked pork skin, which is similar to pork rinds many people enjoy, is also a top ingredient. Through the baking process, 70% of the fat is removed, but it still has the great pork flavor.
Other ingredients can include vitamins and nutrients such as manganese, thiamine and Vitamins, E, B-5, and B-2. These will typically be listed by their chemical designations such as d-Calcium pantothenate (B5), Riboflavin supplement (B-2) and thiamine hydrochloride and manganese sulfate.
Manufacturing Process
Look for no-rawhide chews made in a GFSI certified facility. This means the processing plant meets the same requirements as plants producing human food. This GFSI certification includes the actual raw materials through to the distribution of the product for complete processing safety.
