Rawhide Problems!

[Morganesary]

So last week my Willow, who is a 7 month old 45 pound female English bulldog, started puking and doing these dry heaving type of coughs until eventually she would get herself to puke... She has NEVER done that before and I freaked out, I sat up with her all night and she would occasionally start the coughing than puke at first it was just mucous than food started coming up.. I was up all night with her and as soon as it hit 8 am I rushed her to the vet ( it was a new vet for us, we just moved so had to just find a new one) I took willows folder with all her shots breeding info etc. she is only 7 months and has had no other health problems, I mean not even diarrhea she's always been a healthy girl! So as soon as she started this I new something was wrong. When we got there I told him her symptoms he listened to her heart and checked her lungs everything etc. he than pretty much shook me off and said that it was just a upset belly....he gave us a prescription that helped her to just not puke he told us and she'd be fine..I accepted the vets thoughts paid and left carrying my 45 lb dog child both of us were crying the whole way home lol ( can anyone else relate when their baby gives u those sad bully eyes.. I MELT!) when we got home I could tell she still didn't feel good. As the day went on she ate , peed and pooped, 2 days passed and she started acting all normal! YAYAYAYA! I was ecstatic and she was standing at the treat container looking at me for treat, I gave her one of these mini rawhide bones that were wrapped in a chicken and fish string thing.. ( they were purina brand I found them at target the a couple day before) and she ate that up and we got into bed. Everything was fine until 4 am I heard the coughing-dry heaving sound than came the puke! It was only a couple pukes she passed back out that was that.. Called vet he said to just monitor her and it wouldn't be worth coming in over (grrrrrrrrr) irritated I tried to just take it easy and everything's was fine until again the next night the same thing happened again but not until 4am AGAIN! She acts fine all day being her crazy rowdy hungry thirsty playing bulldog self! Completely normal until 4:00am the last 2 nights!!! So I started getting wacky and my fiancé Ian and I started going over everything she had eaten, and anything that had been new, and the only thing were these mini wrapped rawhides.. I took them away to try and see if things would change and a few days later she didn't wAk up puking in the middle of the night anymore! Sooo long story short I think my willow might be allergic to those rawhides? Has anyone else had these problems? Again she acted fine all day until the ,idle of the nights and would puke. Since taking them away she's been fine so that's why I think it's those, however she's had other larger rawhides and has never had problems.. So I'm just curious if anyone else has had this happen with their bully?? Sorry for such a long story!

 

[Marine91]

Good thing you took the rawhide away as bullies and rawhides do not really mix and can be a choking a breathing hazard for them. For treats for your baby look to give her more healthy treats like carrotts, plain yogurt, bananas, bell pepper and stuff like that. For somethi g to chew on look at getting an elk or moose antler for her. They are expensive but they will last a very long time and not be a big health hazard like the rawhides.

 

[cali baker]

Yup, just like what [MENTION=8859]Marine91[/MENTION] said, NO MORE RAWHIDE!! Here are the risks of rawhide (and I'm SOOOO glad Willow's doing much better now):

• Contamination. As with pet toys, rawhide chews can contain trace amounts of toxic chemicals. And, as with other pet (or human) foods, Salmonella or E. coli contamination is possible. Even humans can be at risk when coming into contact with these bacteria on rawhide treats.
• Digestive irritation. Some dogs are simply sensitive or allergic to rawhide or other substances used in their manufacture. This can cause problems, includingdiarrhea.
• Choking or blockages. Rawhide bones and other edible chews can pose a choking and blockage risk. In fact, this is a much bigger risk than contamination or digestive irritation. If your dog swallows large pieces of rawhide, the rawhide can get stuck in the esophagus or other parts of the digestive tract. Depending on its size and where it is located, a vet may be able to remove these pieces fairly easily through the throat. But sometimes, abdominal surgery is needed to remove them from the stomach or intestines. If it isn’t resolved, a blockage can lead to death.

 

[Erinbarin]

No raw hides for bullies!

 

[Rural mystic]

Glad your pup is doing better. I just wouldn't give any rawhide period. I use to let Ace chew on the hard pressed rawhide bones only with supervision and not let him alone with them, when he chewed the ends to the point where they were like sinew and tendon I would cut them off and let him chew some more. I had probably two bags of these. And then I just thought this is not worth it there is too much a risk involved even though he enjoyed them. So with the suggestions of others [ probably from this forum ] I substituted those with antlers. He likes those too and they are less risky. So for me no rawhide

 

[DudleysMom]

So sorry you had such a time! I know what you mean about those bully eyes! Dudley LOVES his antlers...and they do last a long time, even with a bully chewing on them. I can't recommend them enough! Here's hoping Miss Willow stays healthy!

 

[cali~jenn]

As the others said, raw hides r not good for any pup, let alone bullies. They r a HUGE choking hazard for all dogs let Lone what they r made with. My hubby had a St. Bernard back in the day who tore his esophagus on a raw hide and had to have his food puréed from that point on.

 

[Davidh]

Glad your baby is doing better and as you have found out, NO rawhides, pig ears, bully sticks or anything like that for your baby. Only nylabones, and Kongs for our babies. As far as treats go we buy "Fruitables"

 

[Lisabear123]

So glad she is ok now! I agree w the rest, no rawhides! I gave Brie an edible veggie rawhide-like thing which she enjoyed n then threw up pieces of in the middle of the night. So I don't give her anything that is even remotely similar to rawhide.

 

[KMARINO]

Glad to hear she is doing better and like every one else has stated, for treats I give only fruits and veggies or plain yogurt. I too used rawhides before I found this site and Vegas would get sick from them.

 

[2BullyMama]

So glad your baby is OK and you knew to identify what was new and causing the issue..... now as others have said -- no rawhide or bully sticks for Bulldogs... very bad for them for several reasons.

 

[Morganesary]

Thanks for everyone's comments!! I had no idea how bad rawhide could be for her, thanks for the heads up! I'm going to try plain yogurt bc I know she will go crazy for that! We thank u!

 

[Marine91]

Thanks for everyone's comments!! I had no idea how bad rawhide could be for her, thanks for the heads up! I'm going to try plain yogurt bc I know she will go crazy for that! We thank u!

You can do all kinds of thing with the yogurt. Harlea loves it when we chop up apples and bananas mix it with the yogurt and freeze it in qubes for her. She goes crazy for them.

 

[mbd963]

I was never planning on giving Ramsay rawhides, but my boyfriends mom gave him one one day and he LOVED it. It was pressed rawhide so less likely to break off and cause blockages, so I took one home and used to let him chew on it all the time. What I found was that he could not digest it at all! It would cause very runny and very smelly farts. In the past 2 weeks I've stopped giving it to him and he is doing much better!

 

[amelson19933]

Glad to hear she is doing better. We had a similar issue with Tank. He will do the dry heave/cough/throw up mucus whenever we give him a treat that does not agree with his stomach (even the all natural ones) we've come to the conclusion that we just cant spoil him with any treats. Strictly kibble for our little guy.