First, there is the EPA investigation into spot-on treatments. Then there are the photos of what look like burns on pets from the treatments. Then there is my own personal experience. I have painted floors in my house and a single drop of the spot-on solution will eat a hole right through the paint which begs the question: if it will eat a hole through paint, what must that feel like on my pets’ skin? As a matter of fact, some of my pets do run like they are on fire after they get a dose of spot-on flea treatment. So I am always interested to I read about other solutions. I found some personal recommendations that I want to share with you.

MORE NATURAL FLEA REMEDIES

• I use brewers yeast. Sprinkle it over their food. I agree with you that the chemicals are bad. I used to use the drops on my dog, then I relized he was getting horrible bumpy hard things under his skin in the exact same place I had put the drops. My theory is, if you wouldn’t put it on your skin, why put it on your dog? go to www.onlynaturalpet.com.

  They have alot of nautural products. I use the Doc Ackermans sprayand shampoo, it is for fleas and ticks. Works great. We have been chemical free for 2 years now.
  By jeannie_brim

• My wife and I use food grade Diatomaceous Earth (DE) on our dog and carpets to kill fleas and ticks out. Diatomaceous earth is a remarkable, all-natural product made from tiny fossilized water plants. Diatomaceous Earth is a naturally occurring siliceous sedimentary mineral compound from microscopic skeletal remains of unicellular algae-like plants called diatoms.

  Diatomaceous Earth, also known as Silicon Dioxide, is not a poison. DE is EPA labeled as GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) in food production, water and the environment.

  Dust Diatomaceous earth is a mechanical insect killer. Insects cannot become immune to its action. When insects come into contact with diatomaceous earth, the sharp edges lacerate the bugs’ waxy exoskeleton and then the powdery DE absorbs their body fluids causing death from dehydration. DE kills insects by drying them up.

  To use it for flea and tick control, apply a light dusting over the lawn, in dog runs, around pet bedding or favorite resting spots and sprinkle a little on your pet between baths of a mild herbal soap. We buy a large 20 pound bag of it (about $20 at the local feed or home store) and dust her by filling a sock with the earth (looks like chalk) and shaking it above her every other week.

  It’s completely [harmless] and does an excellent job.
  By Dr. Brian

• Place one cap full Avon “Skin So Soft” in a spray bottle with water shake well. Mist dog, massage in. Repeat every 2 weeks or so. Dogs skin will be less dry, smell nice, and keeps fleas away.
  By aussie
• This is the only one I know. Get some honeysuckle leaves and put them in a blender with water. Chop it all up until its mushy. Strain the mixture to get all the pulp out. Put the remaining water in a spray bottle and spray your pet. This mixture works on garden pests too. Have you ever seen a bug of any kind eat honeysuckle leaves? Not even Japanese beetles!
  By sumrtanman

I can endorse Diatomeous Earth because I have used it and it works very well. If you apply it indoors be careful because it can irritate your nostrils. I really like the sock idea for putting it on the dogs. And we know Skin-So-Soft has been used for years to repel mosquitos. But the honeysuckle leaves is a new one. I have honeysuckle growing along the fence, so I will have to give it a try. I have never been consistent enough with the Brewers Yeast to say one way of the other, but I may re-visit it, too.

Good luck. And let me know if you have any remedies that work.

“Certain types of Clay contain natural antibacterial properties that serve as an excellent remedy to bleeding gums and decaying teeth,” states Haim Zion, president, of Zion Health. “Our clay toothpaste is an exceptional gum healing remedy for humans, however, pets can also receive the same benefit.”

ClayBrite Natural Toothpaste consists of a unique type of clay called calcium motmorillonite. NASA research reported calcium monmorillonite is healthy to eat, and helps absorb harmful bacteria inside the body.

Calcium Montmorillonite Clay has been used for centuries as an effective detox remedy for stomach bacteria and intestinal ailments. Indigenous tribes commonly used a similar type of clay to help absorb poisons from foods, heal wounds, and clean their teeth.

Pet lovers will soon be able to purchase ClayBrite Natural Toothpaste at their local pet store or veterinarian office.

ClayBrite is currently available at local health food stores, select Whole Food Stores and online at www.kanwaminerals.com.

Media Contact:
My Sung
650-877-7330 x251
Email: info (at) zionhealth (dot) net
www.zionhealth.net
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Source: PRWeb

There are plenty of flea control products in the market today, but unknown to majority of pet owners is that most of the products are harmful to both the pet and the people around them. It’s a good thing there are ways to control these pests without poisoning pets, people, plants and environment. Here are some steps you can take:

• Stop the flea population from growing. The backyard is one place where fleas thrive. There’s a natural way to eradicate fleas; apply nematodes to your lawn via a sprayer. A nematode is a tiny worm that preys on flea larvae. This biological type of pest control has no adverse effects. Once the entire flea population is gone, the nematodes will naturally die from lack of food. It is recommended to wet the soil prior to application to give the nematodes a good start.
• Be sure to keep your pets healthy. What they put in their mouths is important in flea control. Flaxseed oil, available in most health food stores, is a good way to maintain your pet’s healthy skin. You can also buy whole flaxseeds, grind them, and add to food. Vitamin C and B-complex are also important to keep your pet healthy. Nutritional yeast adds B vitamins to your pet’s diet. As with all parasites, the healthier the animal, the less attractive it is to the flea. To repel fleas, very small amounts of garlic may be added to food (from one small to several large cloves of garlic daily, depending on the weight of the animal) Even easier are treats containing garlic and yeast.
• If your pet already has fleas, use a fine-toothed comb. When combing your pet, keep a bowl of soapy water nearby. Dip the comb in the water after each sweep through your pet. Once you’re done, put the water into a container and freeze it to kill the fleas.
• Food-grade diatomaceous earth is a powder you can rub onto your pet and sprinkle on bedding and carpets to kill existing fleas. Sprinkle the powder on your pets and on your carpets. The silicon-based microskeletons of tiny dead critters rub the exoskeletons of the fleas and go into their respiratory holes, blocking and damaging them, so the fleas can’t breathe. It also works by damaging the exoskeletons so that they lose water and die of dehydration. If you also sprinkle a little on food, this also works on worms in the digestive tract.
• During flea season, vacuum the rugs and furniture often. Flea eggs are gathered by vacuuming but they will still hatch in the bag. The bag must be sealed immediately and thrown away or frozen. Also, wash your pet’s bed covers at least once a week.
• There are gentle herbal shampoos specially formulated for flea control which can be used as often as once per week. (Shampooing too often will dry out your pet’s skin.) Anything that makes lather will drown fleas if you leave the lather on for three to five minutes. So you don’t need to use a toxic shampoo! When shampooing your pet, it is best to use warm water and start with a rich lather around the animal’s neck. That way, fleas can’t go up the face.
• Herbs that repel fleas are St. John’s Wort, rue, neem, basil. Use these externally. External applications of the essential oils of rose geranium, eucalyptus and tea tree may be sprayed on the fur and bedding of dogs, but not cats.
• If you want to give your pet herbs in their food to help repel fleas, the result may be that their little bodies will start to eliminate parasites, such as roundworms, hookworms, heartworms, tapeworms, etc. One way the dead parasites will exit the body will be by way of the kidneys and bladder, so these must be kept in good working order with fluid flowing freely. For this purpose, Hulda Clark recommends that you feed your pet parsley water for a week before starting a parasite program. Just cook a bunch in a quart of water for three minutes and throw away the wet parsley. Pour the resulting parsley water into ice cube trays and freeze, then store in zip-lock bags in the freezer. Thaw out a few cubes each day and feed to your pet, who will probably come to love it.
• Once your pet has had his parsley water for a week, you can start feeding him (green) black walnut hulls, which repels fleas due to the tannic acid juglone. This is available in liquid tincture or capsule form. Be sure it is pale green, not black, to be sure the hulls were harvested at the right time. Be sure to give only the minimum effective dose , since too high a dose is toxic. Cats should get 1/2 to 1 drop, twice a week, depending on size. For dogs, start with one drop each day. Work up to 2 drops a day if the dog weighs twice as much as a cat, and so forth for larger dogs. If a dog weighs ten times as much as a cat, work up to 10 drops. Your pet may vomit or have diarrhea with worms in it. If so, disinfect the mess before cleaning it up. You can pour salt and iodine on it and let stand for 5 minutes. Wash your hands carefully, preferably with food-grade alcohol, and scrub your nails.
• As part of an overall parasite-ridding program, you can add the smallest pinch possible of wormwood and clove to dry food, after your pet has had walnut for a week.

These are just some of the methods of non-toxic flea control. Pesticides commonly used by humans may be hazardous to pets. With these methods you can be sure that you are not adding a toxic load to your beloved dog or cat.
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reprinted from Non Toxic Living website

Many turn to the internet to post a message, but WHERE? Sure PetFinder is an obvious choice, but what if the person who lost their pet has never heard of PetFinder… or they do not have a computer and an internet connection? What if the owner is checking a local “lost/found” board online or different vet clinics than you? It’s so easy for owners and rescuers to just miss each other. And signs… where do you hang signs?

Coming home late one dark night, I found an old, sem-blind, deaf, dark-colored dog standing on a narrow wooden bridge. Wow, an easy-to-miss dog in the wrong place. So I scooped him up and brought him home. The next day, I hung signs starting at the bridge and working outward in several directions. A woman jogging saw my signs and was reminded of signs she had seen earlier in another neighborhood for a similar dog. So she saved my phone number and once she returned to the other neighborhood, called the number on the LOST sign and gave the woman my number.

Long story short, the dog had disappeared seven days earlier from his yard and apparently gotten lost in the woods. It had rained pretty hard while he was lost, so there was no scent for him to follow home… and he just wandered until he came out of the woods by the bridge.

This is an example where the owner and the rescuer did the right thing, but without the jogger, we could have just missed each other.

So what if you could put a tag on your pet’s collar that would provide the rescuer with access to info 24/7 and would get your pet back home?

Pawtags has come up with just that by developing a tag that comes with:

1. Pawtags Membership allows you to register detailed information that will assist in the event your pet is lost. Our process provides for listing up to ten emergency contact phone numbers, microchip, rabies vaccination, city licensing, medical notes and veterinarian detail.

Finder of your lost pet calls our toll free 24/7 Live Operator Rescue line and provides the Pawtag ID number.

2. Your pets profile and all contact information is used by our operator to start the rescue process. Our technology provides for Google mapping of finders location to better assist in coordinating the rescue. All personal information is kept confidential.
3. Our 24/7 Operators call your posted contacts, leaving messages until a live connection is made with someone who can retrieve your pet. Then a three-way conference call is made between your pet’s Finder, our Operator and your Contact to complete the retrieval process.
4. In the event no live contact is made, messages are left and the Operator coordinates plans with the Finder to either hold the pet or deliver it to a safe location. Our extensive nationwide animal control facility database searches out safe locations or your posted Veterinarian office listing as location options. Our main emphasis and commitment is to get your pet off the street to safety!

The price is fair, too: $9.99 for a one-year membership or $29.98 for a lifetime membership. You can also buy the one-year membership now and upgrade to a lifetime membership later for $19.99.

Visit the Pawtags website for more info.

Back in the olden days (OK, before the 1980s!) shelters that took in lost pets wished for a system of permanent identification. A pet’s collars and tags could fall off or be removed—but what if all the lost animals arriving at a shelter had something more lasting, an I.D. that could help the shelter staff find the owner? That would make for a lot of happy endings!

The development of the implantable microchip seemed to provide a solution: A chip the size of a grain of rice can be placed under an animal’s skin, usually between the shoulder blades. The chip contains information about the animal, so when a lost cat turns up at a shelter, staff use an electronic scanner to retrieve the information and use it to locate the animal’s owner. It was a leap forward that has led to happy reunions for thousands of lost pets!

But microchipping has been complicated by the realities of business. There were competing manufacturers. Some chips operated at a different frequency. Some were encrypted.

Many of these issues have been resolved and there is a strong movement toward a universal standard. But there is still the possibility that a lost, chipped animal could be scanned with a device that will not recognize his chip. And even if the chip is read correctly, it’s only as good as the information on it : Pet owners must ensure their contact information is updated with various microchip registries; there is still no single database for microchip information. If you move and fail to update your contact information, your pet could be returned to your old house rather than finding you at your new one!

What does this all mean? It’s simple: Microchip your pet with the chip recommended by your local shelter or veterinarian. Make sure to update your database information if you move. But don’t rely on the microchip as your only method of identification! While your local animal control agency may have a scanner, your next-door neighbor doesn’t — and when your cat or dog gets loose, the people in your area have the best and earliest chance of finding her. Should your beloved pet get lost, a collar and tag are still the most reliable way to make sure she gets home again.

You can download this poster for FREE to use with your organization.

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MouthPieces is a new department of the Humane Society of the United States designed to help you communicate your messages to the public. We’ll be running pieces that you can use; just add your organization’s contact information and hang them in your lobby or hand them out at the front desk. And you don’t need to tear out the page: Just go to animalsheltering.org/mouthpieces to download and print a clean .pdf copy.

If you are like me, you read the labels on your pet food. Especially in light of all the pet food recalls. Who doesn’t look for “gluten” these days. But so often, I find myself reading the labels and thinking, “So? What am I reading?” I know that the order of ingredients is based on how much of each ingredient is in the food. For example, if chicken by-product is first and chicken is sixth, I can be sure there is more chicken “stuff” in the food than actual chicken. And what is “by-product”? I am glad you asked. “By-product” means those animals and parts of animals unfit for you and I to eat–unfit for human consumption. That can include animals in the 4-D category.

What’s the 4-D category you ask? Animals that are Dead, Diseased, Dying, or Disabled when they arrive at the slaughter house. It can also include meat that has spoiled. Or even pets and horses who have been put to sleep!

So when I came across this article about reading pet food labels, I felt I had learned even more about what pet food labels really say.

You may find it confusing with all of the choices to select a brand of food that works for your pet. The choices are infinite not to mention the mind boggling labels that can lead you to believe the wrong thing. If you understand the pet food labels, you can buy the food that is best for your dog or cat.

There are two sections to a label: the information panel and the main display panel. The main display panel shows the names such as the brand, the manufacturer, etc. The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) governs a product’s name and what ingredients it contains.

It is crucial to focus on how things are worded on pet food labels. If the product name includes things such as ‘beef platter’, ‘beef entree’, ‘beef dinner’, etc., it only has to contain 10% beef. However, if it is worded as ‘beef’, it must contain 70% beef. If a label reads ‘with beef’ it must only have a 3% beef content, and believe it or not, the words ‘beef flavor’ means the product must only contain less than 1% of beef!

A key to finding high quality food for your particular pet is to be sure to check the bag for the AAFCO statement that tells you this food has passed its feeding trials.

The other portion section of the label is the information panel, which must include an ingredient statement and a guaranteed analysis. The ingredients on the analysis will be listed in order of weight. The analysis will tell you the percentage of crude fat, proteins, fiber and moisture in the product. Even though the percentages are listed, the quality of the ingredients is not stated.

Pets are very sensitive to changes made to their food. Before making a change, pay attention to their coat, eye clarity and how they are acting. If he looks healthy, you may not want to upset his system by changing his food. Any pet nutritional information or concerns can be answered by a qualified veterinarian based on your specific pets needs.

Also when considering a new pet food take the time to consider what you will put the food in. Elevated dog bowls are considered an excellent selection, especially for taller dogs. There are many dog bowls and cat bowls to pick from, but whatever pet bowl you do decide on please stay away from using plastic bowls for feeding. Plastic bowls can hold onto germs and create a potentially unhealthy eating situation. Many pet owners opt for having two sets of pet feeding bowls to make sure that one set is always clean. It is so tempting to just keep reusing the same bowl without washing but do not fall into this trap, your pet’s health may depend on it. Look into pet supplies online for a wide selection and free shipping.

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reprinted from Dog Nutrition website

You always hear about the firehouse dalmatian who gets to ride along in the engine. And Snoopy gets to play the World War I fighter ace against the Red Baron. We think it’s about time the felines got some of their own vehicular activities. Introducing the Cat Play Fire Engine, Plane, and Tank. If you’re thinking that your cats ain’t gonna go near any of those objects in the real world, you’re right, but they will go near cute models of those objects made out of the downy comforter of the cat world — cardboard! Cardboard’s mostly for sitting on and sleeping in, but it multitasks for shredding and gnawing on. And, if your cat’s fond of the latter, you’ll be glad to know that the ink is certified as non-toxic. So eat away, crazy kitteh!

Each of these vehicle playsets comes flat-packed with Ikeaesque instructions. Putting them together requires five minutes and opposable thumbs. When you’re done, though, you’ll have the ultimate kitty hideout. The tank’s turret and gun move. The propeller on the airplane spins, and the ladder extends on the fire truck. Don’t be surprised, though. if you find your cat attempting to head for the closest drive thru for a cheeseburger.

Ordering info

As ridiculous as it might be, the pet oral health product C.E.T. AquaDent lists as the third ingredient Xylitol; well known to be toxic to pets. AquaDent is sold by many pet retail outlets including 1800PetMeds.com. The 1800PetMeds website states “C.E.T. AquaDent is a drinking water additive formulated by veterinary dental specialists to help freshen your pet’s breath and maintain oral hygiene in conjunction with regular home dental care for your pet.” The ingredients in AquaDent are listed as follows: Purified water, Glycerine, Xylitol, Polysorbate 20, Potassium sorbate, Emilgase (enzyme), Zinc gluconate, Sodium benzoate, FD&C Blue No. 1, FD&C Yellow No. 5, Chlorhexidine gluconate.

According to Dr. Eric Dunayer, veterinarian and toxicologist for the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, there appears to be a strong link between xylitol ingestions and the development of liver failure in dogs. It was previously thought that only large amounts of xylitol could result in problems for dogs, however recently even small amounts of xylitol can result in severe illness in dogs (and believed to effect cats and other animals as well). http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServe…

Snopes.com states that just three grams of Xylitol can kill a 65 pound dog. “Because the amount of sweetener used in sugar free chewing gums varies by manufacturer and product, the number of sticks of gum that would prove fatal to a pooch of that size can’t be stated with precision. As a general rule of thumb, between eight and ten pieces of gum might be deadly to a 65 pound canine, but a smaller dog could easily die after ingesting far less (perhaps as few as two sticks of gum).”

The 1800PetMeds website provides the following warning regarding AquaDent Pet Oral Health Product: “Prepare fresh C.E.T. AquaDent solution every day and discard any treated water not consumed within 24 hours.” The website provides no warning of Xylitol toxicity to animals.

To make matters a bit worse, not only does this pet oral health product contain the known dangerous ingredient Xylitol, it also contains dyes linked to cancer and numerous other health risks.

C.E.T. AquaDent is made by Virbac Animal Health. Virbac Animal Health produces a long line of pet health products; from antibiotics to heartworm preventatives (Iverhart) to pet vitamins (Pet Tabs). Virbac Animal Health was on the FDA warning letter list (December 10, 2008) for violations of current Good Manufacturing Practice regulations; “the documented violations cause drug products manufactured at your facility to be adulterated.”

Virbac Animal Health’s Heartworm Preventative, Iverhart Plus, was recalled 2/11/2004. From the FDA website “The firm is recalling 4 lots of IVERHART Plus Flavored Chewables due to contamination of Minocycline, a FDA approved human drug which has not been approved in species other than humans.”
“VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
1,179,840 tablets.”

Why would a pet product, formulated by “veterinary dental specialists”, contain an ingredient that is known to be toxic to dogs? It’s illogical and reckless. The moral of the story is this, read the ingredients of every single product provided to your pet. Just because a pet product is “formulated by veterinary specialists” doesn’t mean its safe.
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by Susan Thixton, citizen journaliston

Normally, in small doses, Ivermectin has little to no side effects. Ivermectin is commonly found in most heartworm preventative medications. However, the dosage necessary for treatment of mange (using 1% Ivomec, the dosage is 1/10 cc per 10 lbs. of dog weight) causes issues and possibly death, especially in certain breeds of dogs including Collies, Shetland sheepdogs, Australian shepherds, Old English sheepdogs and other herding breeds. Plus it tastes very bad so you need to mix it with something like apple juice, yogurt, cottage cheese.

A few months later, Moto’s (short for Motor Mouth because he talks all the time and always has), it returned. I think part of the problem is that Ivermectin does not treat the bacterial infection that accompanies mange. From what I understand, you want to beat down the mange to the point that the dogs suppressed immune system can kick in and do it’s job. I searched the internet for a solution. And here’s what I found: Pets’ Best RX has created a great program for the treatment. It includes three parts — medicinal Pet Wash to clean debris from the coat and begin the healing process of the lesions on the skin. The Pet Wash will also begin relieving the itch. It even smells good. After he is dry, I spray him with Mitacin Spray which essentially asphyxiates the mites through a blend of surfactants and essential oils. It also eases the itching and irratation. Again, no unpleasant smell.

On day two, I rub on Sulfinex Cream. The main ingredient in the cream is MSM — also known as White Sulfur — which elimintaes mites on contact and relieves itching immediately. It absorbs quickly, does not smell bad and can be left on.

Day 1 and Day 2 are repeated. A week later, I shampoo him and start the process again. The instructions that came with the products said bad cases of mange could take 4-5 weeks to respond. But Moto responded within a week. I am continuing his treatments for couple weeks just to be sure we are finally out of the woods.

I know this sounds like a commercial and the Pets’ Best RX web page looks like one of those hokey, neverending scrolling web pages I tend to associate with junk, but this stuff really works.

They have a couple options: The Mitacin Spray and Sufinex Cream in a couple sizes ($40-70) or the Shampoo, Mitacin Spray and Sulfinex ($80). And larger versions of these packages. You might think the price is high, but compare it to the vet visit with skin scrapping, meds and lotions.

UPDATE: These products are available on a website called Bonanzle which allows you to negotiate a lower price with the seller. Just look for the letters OBO beneath the product name. Then click CONTACT SELLER and send them your offer. They have been pretty quick getting back to me. The prices shown on the site INCLUDE shipping.

They also offer a cat version.

This stuff worked very well for Moto Man. It also worked faster than the Ivermectin, so I am passing it along to you. Good luck and I hope you get the same results.

A couple notes:»
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Another possible solution:
I recently read on the web where a woman successfully treated her dog’s mange with Neem Oil. One caution to this is the possible reaction your dog might have to Neem Oil. If you find redness where you have applied the oil, you can wash it off. Another thing to be aware of is that the outside of your dog now has oil on him/her which will be transferred to wherever the dog lays.

Rawhide is made from dried animal skin. The tough outer layer is used for shoes, upholstery and other products. The inner, softer layer is made into rawhide chews for our dogs. Commonly the hides come from cows, pigs, sheep or horses.

Imported chews may contain toxins left over from the processing that include arsenic, lead, titanium oxide, formaldehyde, chromium salts, mercury, cadmium and bromine as well as harmful antibiotics and bacteria. Because less developed countries lack efficient methods of transporting the hides to processing plants, various preservatives are used to prevent molding and rotting of the hides. Even with the use of these toxic preservatives, Salmonella has been detected in some imported products.

Once at the processing plant, the hides are processed. The meat and fat is scraped off, then the hide is soaked in a lime or lye solution. This solution removes the remaining tissue. The hides are then treated with bleach to remove the caustic lime/lye solution. Afterwards, some countries use titanium oxide to make the rawhide white – white rawhide has market appeal to consumers.

In the US and Canada, refrigerated trucks are used to transport the hides so there isn’t the need for chemicals and the hides are processed in hydrogen peroxide, then rinsed with water.

Rawhide chews that are labeled as U.S. Beef products are safest and the best quality. Chews made from Canadian and South American cattle are usually considered good quality, too.

Unless you want to spend the money for organically produced rawhide chews, chews are frequently tainted with antibiotics, pesticides and growth chemicals that are used in the production of the animal, no matter what the country of origin. North American manufacturers are aware of this problem and are making efforts to change this.

All of the above info aside, all chews are controversial among vets and other experts. Chewing makes the rawhide soft and mushy with the combination of the dog’s saliva and the mechanical action of chewing, but dogs can bite off and swallow large chunks of the rawhide causing choking or intestinal obstruction. Since the rawhide is tough, it isn’t easily digested. Deaths have occurred, however the larger problem has involved milder digestive upsets like vomiting and diarrhea. Especially in dogs who chew rawhides often.

Supervise your pet while they are chewing rawhide. Don’t use rawhides as a treat for the dog when you are leaving the animal alone. If you notice pieces hanging loose from the rawhide, cut them off. When the rawhide gets small enough that it could be easily swallowed, throw it out.

Many chews are basted with a flavor coating. While dogs love the flavoring, the color can stain your carpeting or your furniture.

Newer products on the market grind the hide and “glue” it together with a gelatin base in various shapes. The compressed chews aren’t as likely to cause problems, but overall, rawhide dog chews may be more trouble than treat.

Choose rawhide chews and other shapes in proportion to the size of your dog to prevent choking.

There are also many alternatives to rawhide including vegetable and meat-flavored bones made from potato starch, bones made from extremely strong rubber infused with flavorings, and corn-starch based bones also infused with flavor. All of these but the rubber ones break apart into tiny pieces while being chewed. Once they are chewed down to a small piece that your dog could swallow, discard it. All of these bones except for the rubber-based ones are easily digestible.