Problem dog "treat"?

[Rich P]

We were going to get some of these for our new pooch and the wife ran across this CNN story. I'm sure dogs swallow stuff all the time but this does not sound good. We used to give our rottie beef bones but that is probably not PC today. At least the bones were "natural".

What do the folks here think of this problem?

[cabinetman]

We never gave "Greenies" to our dogs but they regularly get the pressed bone as a treat. They are supposed to be safe, but they get chewed to a golf ball size and are fairly together. We keep an eye out for when they get that small and remove them from the dogs. There has been many times that they get swallowed causing us to follow them around the yard...if you know what I mean.

It's a matter of keeping track of what the dog can, and will, swallow.
.

[Uncle Cracker]

Dogs can, and will, swallow things they cannot digest or "pass" safely. They have no common sense. I have a friend who has been a vet tech for many years, and the horror stories she has accumulated make me wince. It is up to the owner to regulate what they are given, and get rid of what becomes a potential problem.

[MikeMcCoy]

I had a dog named BD (for brain dead) that ate so many walnut shells that it I finally cut the tree down to save on vet bills.

[Rich P]

Too funny!

[Richard in Smithville]

We gave my King Shepherd an Iams treat that was suposed to last two hours. She took 20 minutes.

[Ed62]

The article said they were being sued for five million dollars for the death of a dog. Come on! That's a little off the deep end. While some people feel their dog is worth that, there would be very few who could command that price.

It also said "He says feeding Greenies is far safer than putting a dog under anesthesia to clean teeth." I'm not saying Greenies are safe, but he might have a point. Animals do die from anesthesia. Not routinely of course, but it does happen. Our vet recommended that we not have our dog's teeth cleaned because she would have to put her to sleep, and that can be dangerous. She recommended that we try giving her the basted (rawhide?) bones you can buy at pet centers and grocery stores. We've been giving her those things for about 6 months. They really do clean the plaque off the teeth. They are not advertised as dental bones, but they do the trick.

Ed