Whether your dog is a 6-month-old puppy or a six-year-old adult rawhide chews are a popular treat for your pet friends. But if your dog eat rawhide chew toy. Do you know, how long does rawhide take to digest in dog?
As a veterinarian I examined in 99% cases, what food your pet eats, it takes 9-24 hours to digest properly. But if it’s decent food like rawhide, it can take up to a month to be absorbed. If the rawhide doesn’t get digested, it causes the risk of bowel obstruction.
Well, in this post, we will give you the answer to these questions, and Judgment will be left up to you whether or not you will feel comfortable feeding your dog rawhide in the end.
What is Rawhide?
Rawhide comes from the inner soft hide or skin of an animal. It typically originates from the surface of cows but, technically, can also be made from horses, pork, cattle, buffalos, or deer too.
Rawhide chews sticks, or rawhides bones are also produces from rawhide. It is given to dogs as treats with hopes of cleaning their teeth, fetching action and giving them something to chew. Then they go away from their keep sharp teeth from posh furniture.
Rawhide: How Is Made?
Rawhide chews are prepared from the next (internal) coating of dried an animal’s hide. The external coating goes through a manufacturing process to build skin, which is used for furniture, purses, and belts.
After slaughtered an animal and the skin is detached from the carcass. After separating the inner and outer layers, then it is scrubbed with cleaner and degreaser. To remove the tint and odor, then it cleans with using hydrogen peroxide or bleach. To remove the hair, fat, and any other tissues that are attached to the hide, it is soaked in an ash-lye solution.
Once the rawhide is separated, finally, here, the hides are flattened, cut, and shaped into a variety of rawhide styles of its natural or smoke state. Other artificial flavors and colors are coated or painted on rawhide to make it more appealing to dogs.
Does Rawhide Dissolve in the Stomach?
No, basically rawhide doesn’t digest in dog’s stomach. Usually, the dog swells up the rawhide and passed out in poop
But if the dog swallowed rawhide huge pieces, sometimes rawhide stuck in the throat or further portions of the digestive system and causing the risk of bowel obstruction. Hopefully, things don’t get wrong, and it’s a slight stomach ache.
On the other hand, a significant blockage in their bowel could become very serious, life-threatening. It’s not just those foods that don’t be digested, but it harms the bowel wall, leading to the death of tissue and severe sepsis. Symptoms of bowel obstruction include-
- Continuous vomiting.
- Tiredness and paleness.
- Collapse and
- Sudden death.
Honestly speaking, if this obstacle is detected early, then your dog may have a chance to fight. Although diagnostic work-ups and surgery to get your dog back to health are expensive and risky. Sometimes, however, dogs end up with complications like peritonitis even after the successful operations.
How long does rawhide take to digest in a dog?
Sadly, rawhide is just as digestible as shoe leather. So, in summary, it isn’t edible. If the rawhide doesn’t get digested in your dog’s gut, it can last for months in the stomach, causing very gastrointestinal issues.
The digestion of the rawhide can differ from canine to canine and chews to chews. Before the dog ingests the chewed-up rawhide, it is best to remove it manually; otherwise, ultimately, a blockage is creating because of an esophageal or abdominal difficulty. The sign of obstacle differs from dogs to dogs. Depending on the position of the obstruction it can lodge in the Dog’s Bodies –
Trachea
The rawhide first gets stuck. If rawhide stuck in the trachea, you would notice the signs of – choking, slobbering, distress, and often desperate to remove the stuck piece with its paws. This is a severe condition; don’t ignore it. Seek out for immediate emergency treatment from veterinarian expert.
Esophagus
The hide may get jammed in the dog’s esophagus. Causing the dog’s vomiting, slobbering. Eating rawhide regularly may causes cushing’s disease.
Gastrointestinal and Intestine
Next, the swallowed rawhide sticks can also get stuck in the stomach and intestine. You will notice the symptoms of – vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhea, and straining to expel. Your pet friend will feel severe pain in the abdomen, as well as keep pressing you repeatedly to remove it.
What should I do if my dog swallowed a rawhide?
Well, you can’t remove all the probable risks. This is why you never leave your dog alone with a rawhide. While providing your canine rawhide, it is crucial to select the most appropriate rawhide chews for the dog’s size and weight.
But when you are suspecting the symptoms of blockage or intestinal obstruction, then you can protect your dog only by attempting these preventions to a certain extent.
Home Treatment
If eaten rawhide is little, then you can use home treatment to let out the blockade passage effortlessly. Even be watchful after that to find out the significance of the difficulty.
You also have to check the feces of your dog, bathroom schedules. Sometimes the swallow’s rawhide is likely to expel through the stool. Again, vomiting is also a symbol of stomach obstruction. In certain cases, vomiting often causes hide to leak out. However, if you find that the food is not being removed by vomiting, consult with the pet doctor without further delay.
If your dog eats a large rawhide, then it’s impossible to swallows. It definitely goes throughout the digest system, creates a blockage, and can simply build a hole. Then you may see symptoms of vomiting, abdominal pain, excessive diarrhea, weakness, lack of appetite, then immediately take your dog to a veterinary.
Apart from these, also check if your dog has bloating and dehydration. If that’s the case, it’s an extreme hazard. It would also act to seek the help of a dog specialist right away.
Veterinary Treatment
If you suspect that the rawhide is stuck in intestinal obstruction, then take the dog to the vet for getting veterinary treatment. In the meantime, don’t forget to monitor the heartbeat and the breathing rate of a dog. But if you realize that the hide is not passing across your pooch digestive system till now, go to a specialist immediately. After performing an X-ray or ultrasound, he can control the obstruction.
Once the veterinary doctor decides the blockage, he has to procedure old-style operation to remove the blockage. There is no worry about your dog having surgery. Before operation has begun, the treatment and solutions will aid to stabilize your pet friend.
Care of your pet: After Treatment
After having the procedure, your pet friend needs special care. He needs special attention to diet and different routines for his daily life. What your dog needs most is your love and care, which will help him feel safe.
Safe Rawhide Alternative
Many vets recommend safe, natural alternatives of rawhide for dogs. Your dog loves a rawhide chew, and you don’t want to deprive them of a good chew. But with a number of replacements, how about considering smart, healthy chew alternatives rather than dangers of rawhide chews.
Here you go with some widespread suggestions:
- Sweet dehydrated potato chews.
- Kong toys or Chew toys.
- Yak chews.
- Rice chews.
- Crunchy-munchies vegetables such as carrots, green beans, apple or cabbage.
- Puzzle feeders.
- V-dog Breath Bones.
- Nyla bones.
- Dental chews.
- DIY frozen treats as peanut butter, bisque, or harvest.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Is it OK to give dogs rawhide every day?
Still, risks associated with rawhide can be severe, but giving your dog rawhide chewing activity also beneficial. Rawhide is not a food; instead, it allows your dog to spend unspent energy into the right solution rather than chewing up your shoes or furniture. It is sufficient to give your dog one or two hours of daily rawhide chewing. But always ready water available during and after the chewing activity.
Is Rawhide Digestible?
Most dog owners ask this question to the veterinarian that, can dogs digest rawhide? The simple answer is no. Rawhide does not contain digestible in the dog’s stomach.
Generally speaking, when your pet starts chewing rawhide, they soften it and swallow it. As a result, these well-chewed rawhide travels through the digestive tract and is passed out in their poop. But if the chunk is not digestible, it can find its place in some regions of the dog’s body.
What are the benefits of rawhide?
It’s an instinct that dogs love to chew things. Chewing can provide your dog’s jaws a great exercise. Chewing hide also helps to keep your dog’s teeth clean, and breath comes out a bit fresher. Plus, when rawhide is chewed, it helps your dog get enough stimulation as well as relieve anxiety.
Is rawhide safe for puppies?
Puppies can also try rawhide. But they have to wait until they become six months old. Because before six months, a rawhide may be too hard and dangerous for them because their mouths do not fully develop, so they have possibly choking or had digestive issues. So if you’re worried about your puppy, you should avoid giving them rawhide chews.
Final Words
Chewing is a natural activity of canine behavior. Rawhides are cheap, widely available, and long-lasting chews that keep puppies and dogs busy. So it is easy to feed and benefited also. But it has disadvantages too.
Consider a dog’s weight and size, chewing habits, and health, provides your dog with something safe to eat. To protect a dog from rawhide or any obstructions, think carefully about how you satisfy your dog’s need to chew. Because you know how long does rawhide takes to digest in dog and sometimes its may causes critical situation.
You might have heard that rawhide helps to clean your dog’s teeth and keeping their breath also tolerable. But concerns about the safety of chews, you have to make sure that you’re not placing your friend’s life in danger. And also decide how much rawhide you want to give. So your friendly pet will stay both happy and healthy.