Rawhide Dog Chews can be Dangerous

Rawhide dog bones and chews can be a great treat for your pet. However, there are dangers you need to be aware of. The past few weeks have shown me that these products can be dangerous to your pet’s health.

Last month, our 3 year old Sheltie was happily chewing away when, suddenly, he began to choke and gag. He came to me heaving and nothing would come up. I tried to find what was lodged in his throat, but couldn’t reach it.

Upon calling our vet, we raced him over and she sedated him and probed for the cause. I knew it was a piece of rawhide. After he came awake, he tried to vomit but couldn’t. He was given an inducer and threw up a little.

That night, he started vomiting blood. He was restless all night and I sat up with him and held him so he could get some rest. In the morning, he was resting comfortably, when he suddenly went limp. His gums were purple and breathing ragged.

We raced to the vet; she put him on fluids, sedated him and took x-rays. He almost died.

The problem was a large chunk, the size of a golf ball, stuck in his small intestine, just below the opening of the stomach.

When he was stabilized, surgery was performed, the obstruction removed and he was sewn back up and kept for observation for a few days.

He seemed to perk up, was sent home with pain meds and antibiotics and a bland diet. The next day, he was listless and running a temperature of 106, very dangerous. Back to the vet, more x-rays and the vet had to go in and remove 3 inches of his small intestine. The blockage of the rawhide had caused necrosis, or rotting, of that part of his intestine.

Another few days of observation and he was sort of back to his old self. He was sent home with more pain meds and antibiotic, bland diet and to be watched carefully with frequent temperature checks.

I can happily say that now, 3 weeks later, he is back to his normal self. He is eating regularly, drinking, playing and alive. But 2 surgeries, thousands of dollars later and weeks of recovery, just because of a piece of rawhide, have shown us that we will not be using it any longer.

Large dogs seem to swallow and digest rawhide better than small dogs. Their stomach and intestines are larger, therefore allowing larger pieces to pass through. However, there is always a chance that it can become an obstruction.

If you give your dog rawhide, natural is easier to digest than man-made. And small dogs should not be given large pieces of rawhide. There are sticks available that are sufficient for the small dog to chew instead of chips or bones.

Our vet suggested an alternative to rawhide chews. Give your dog dental sticks or bones. These are made to break up when chewed so no large pieces are ingested and they break down without problem in the system. They are made of natural ingredients so there is nothing foreign in the body.

So, if you are giving your dog rawhide, please monitor him carefully. If the piece he is chewing gets too small, take it away from him. If your small dog is trying to swallow a large piece, again, take it away.

Rawhide is a popular toy/treat for dogs. I have shared my experience with you to show you the risks that are involved. I really hope that you never have to go through what we did these past few weeks. Proper use and monitoring of this product can save you a lot of problems.

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Two-year-old boy smoking at 18 months

This is the two-year-old Indonesian boy who throws a tantrum when his parents refuse him a cigarette.
Ardi Rizal was given his first cigarette by his father when he was just 18-months-old. The smoking toddler was witnessed by a reporter who recently visited his home in the fishing village of Musi Banyuasin, in Indonesia's South Sumatra province.

Two-year-old Ardi Rizal, who was given his first cigarette when he was 18-months-old, throws a tantrum when his parents refuse him a cigarette  'I'm not worried about his health, he looks healthy,' shrugged the boy's father Mohammad Rizal. He cries and throws tantrums when we don't let him smoke. He's addicted.'

Ardi's youth is the extreme of a disturbing trend. Data from the Central Statistics Agency showed 25 per cent of Indonesian children aged three to 15 have tried cigarettes, with 3.2 per cent of those active smokers. The percentage of five to nine year olds lighting up increased from 0.4 per cent in 2001 to 2.8 per cent in 2004, the agency reported. A video of a four-year-old Indonesian boy blowing smoke rings appeared briefly on YouTube in March, prompting outrage before it was removed from the site. Child advocates are speaking out about the health damage to children from second-hand smoke, and the growing pressure on them to smoke in a country where one-third of the population uses tobacco and single cigarettes can be bought for a few cents.
Seto Mulyadi, chairman of Indonesia's child protection commission, blames the increase on aggressive advertising and parents who are smokers. 'A law to protect children and passive smokers should be introduced immediately in this country,' he said. A health law passed in 2009 formally recognizes that smoking is addictive, and an anti-smoking coalition is pushing for tighter restrictions on smoking in public places, advertising bans and bigger health warnings on cigarette packages. But a bill on tobacco control has been stalled because of opposition from the tobacco industry. The bill would ban cigarette advertising and sponsorship, prohibit smoking in public, and add graphic images to packaging. Benny Wahyudi, a senior official at the Industry Ministry, said the government had initiated a plan to try to limit the number of smokers, including dropping production to 240 billion cigarettes this year, from 245 billion in 2009. 'The government is aware of the impact of smoking on health and has taken efforts, including lowering cigarette production, increasing its tax and limiting smoking areas,' he said. Mr Mulyadi said a ban on advertising is key to putting the brakes on child and teen smoking. 'If cigarette advertising is not banned, there will be more kids whose lives are threatened because of smoking,' he said. Ubiquitous advertising hit a bump last month when a cigarette company was forced to withdraw its sponsorship of pop star Kelly Clarkson's concert following protests from fans and anti-tobacco groups. However, imposing a non-smoking message will be difficult in Indonesia, the world's third-largest tobacco consumer. Tubagus Haryo Karbyanto, a member of the National Commission of Tobacco Control, said Indonesia must also address the social conditions that lead to smoking, such as family influence and peer pressure. 'The promotion of health has to be integrated down to the smallest units in our society, from public health centres and local health care centres to the family,' he was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Globe on Friday. Health Minister Endang Sedyaningsih conceded turning young people off smoking will be difficult in a country where it is perceived as positive because cigarette companies sponsor everything from scholarships to sporting events.'This is the challenge we face in protecting youth from the dangers of smoking,' she said in a statement on the ministry's website.

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