Other Beef Trachea, anyone?

[cali baker]

I went to the feed store today where the store clerk suggested a bag of dried beef trachea. Hmmm...never knew there was such a product and of course, I was immediately skeptical yet curious about it. The clerk said they are nothing like rawhide, "safe" he said, and he gives them to his own 4 dogs which included 2 Boxers and i can't remember what else he said...Anyways, I asked if they were like bully sticks which many of us here know are potentially dangerous for our bullies. He wasn't familiar w/that product. So, I ended up purchasing a bag of the trachea because I wanted to check it out for myself.



I gave one each to Tate and Finn. They were looking at it a with a perplexed expression at first. After a few sniffs and licks, they started chomping on the trachea. I was watching them like a hawk b/c i wasn't sure what to expect. Crunch, crunch, crunch...they're very noisy snacks...and about 15 minutes later...all gone! They both seemed to love it. And they did well with it...no signs of gagging or anything that looked even remotely dangerous. So, in conclusion, I would give the trachea to them again, under supervision, and with plenty of water to drink afterwards.

 

[DudleysMom]

hmm....never heard of that! Thanks for sharing the experience!

 

[Marine91]

Interesting. Never heard of them either. I am going to my local pet health food store tomorrow and will ask them about them.

 

[Davidh]

Never heard of them either, very interesting. You are braver than I am Henny.

 

[cali baker]

What i liked about the trachea is it's not a messy snack...like the himalayan cheese stuff for instance, gets all "gunky" , but this doesn't get all gelatinous, just crumbly so it's easier to clean up the leftover pieces. (sorry for the run-on sentence)...

 

[LaurenA]

Oh! I saw those at my favorite pet food shop in a glass jar, and was wondering what they were - thanks for the recommendation.

On a side note... I have some duck feet I won in a gift bag ... I haven't decided if I'm going to let Rook try those yet.

 

[Marine91]

Ok here is the scoop I got when I talked to the people at the natural pet food place we frequent. They said that these are a safe replacement for rawhides as they are 100% digestible by dogs. However, they also said that while these are not the choking hazards rawhides are that the pups should still be supervised while eating them because they could accidentally inhale a small piece but otherwise they should be fine.

 

[cali baker]

Ok here is the scoop I got when I talked to the people at the natural pet food place we frequent. They said that these are a safe replacement for rawhides as they are 100% digestible by dogs. However, they also said that while these are not the choking hazards rawhides are that the pups should still be supervised while eating them because they could accidentally inhale a small piece but otherwise they should be fine.

I totally agree...definitely supervise while they're chewing on these. Overall, pretty pleased with these treats and it occupies them for a good 10 minutes or so now, so that's an added "bonus"! They're also reasonably priced--for the pack of 5 trachea, it cost about $5.00.

 

[Becky Zerkel Heft]

If not chewed well they are not very forgiving on the way out.

 

[cali baker]

Just wanted to update a little on these beef trachea treats since I last posted. Last night I gave the boys 1 each--pretty large sized ones, i might add...like close to 6 inches long maybe...anyways, I was watching them as usual as they gnawed and crunched on these. After about 10 minutes, I became a little concerned as I could see Finn taking a rather large chunk of it into his mouth and chewing as quickly as he could, then Tate started coughing a little. Went over to Tate and saw he looked uncomfortable and was trying to cough up some of the trachea so I quickly took away whatever was left.
Then went over to Finn and reached into his mouth to take out the chunk he was trying to swallow (he wouldn't let me do this easily tho...had his mouth clamped shut but eventually i got him to open it). It wasn't as if they were choking but it looked like there was a definite potential of choking if they kept chewing the tracheas. So, I just wanted you all to know that if you do decide to give your bullies these treats, watch them ever so CLOSELY. I mean, sit right beside them as they try these. Even though they are "digestible', doesn't mean they don't pose as a choking hazard. The first time they had them, things went swimmingly and the trachea treats got glowing reviews from me. But last night...a little too scary and concerning...and that's the reason for this updated review.

 

[cowsmom]

oh thanks for the update as i think i may have saw these at my pet store and may have considered giving to sarah. so scary what to feed them anymore.