10 Best Rawhide Alternatives for Dogs to Chew | Rawhide For Dogs

Keeping your dog’s teeth clean and their breath uh… tolerable is easier when your dog has natural chews to remove bacteria and food that is hiding in between their teeth. Dog rawhide has long been touted as a superior dental cleaning chew lime juice, but concerns about the safety of the chews may have you looking for safer rawhide chews. Or Are rawhides bad for dogs?

Rawhides are cheap and widely available. We can’t deny the dental benefits of rawhide chews, but there are many concerns about the safety of feeding your dog these less-than-natural chews.

In this article, we will explain just how dangerous rawhides are and how you can choose a safe rawhide dog alternative that will support your dog’s dental health.

What is Rawhide for Dogs?

We all have a rough idea of what rawhide treats is, but really, What is rawhide made of? Where does it come from? How is it made? Is rawhide good for dogs? These are all things that rawhide manufacturers rarely advertise. 

Rawhide is made from the inner layer or outer layer of skin or hide of an animal's skin, typically a cow. They go through a manufacturing process similar to the outer side that is used to make leather. The same leather is used for furniture, purses, and belts.

The process of separating the inner and outer layers requires some harsh chemicals. Lye is also used to help remove hair, fat, and any other issues that are attached to the hide. This process has already raised some red flags, and we are just getting started.

Once the rawhide is separated, a solution using hydrogen peroxide or bleach is applied to sanitize and whiten the hide. Whitening the hide is for our benefit, not our pets. We prefer the look of clean, crisp white rawhide shapes for dogs to chew in their natural state.

From here, the hides are flattened, cut, and shaped into a variety of rawhide styles. To make them more appealing to dogs (and to us), rawhide chews are often coated or painted with artificial flavouring and colors.

Does this sound like something that you want to feed your dog?

Is Rawhide Good for Dogs?

If you are going to make the best choices for your individual dog, then it's a good idea to know the pros and the cons of rawhide. In this article, you'll see a lot of reasons why rawhide is generally not regarded as good for dogs. We'll get into that in the next section, but first, we need to answer - is rawhide good for dogs? Or in other words, can rawhide be good for dogs?

The answer to that, despite all of the arguments to the contrary, is yes. Rawhide does have benefits for dogs. What you need to consider is whether or not the pros outweigh the cons. 

Here are the benefits of rawhide:

Rawhide is Good for Dogs Dental Health

Like most natural chews, rawhide encourages your chewing, which helps to loosen bad breath-causing bacteria and prevent plaque buildup. While this is not a complete dental care system, rawhide bones for dogs can help to freshen breath and maintain better dental health or oral health. 

Keep in mind that the dental benefits of cat food are not specific to rawhide dog chews. All natural chews that encourage chewing will have this effect. 

Rawhide Offers Mental Stimulation for Dogs

Another benefit of chewing is to keep your dog busy and keep him mentally active. This type of stimulation helps to prevent boredom and anxiety and can reduce unwanted destructive behaviours, like digging, chewing on furniture, and whining. 

Rawhides Are Low Calorie and Low Fat

Is rawhide fattening for dogs? Natural chews are full of flavour, but they are often full of calories and fat too. If your dog is counting calories or needs a low-fat diet, then rawhide chews might seem like an appealing option.

This may be a factor in how often dogs can have rawhide. Dogs looking to shed a pound or two may be able to have no rawhide more frequently than a high-calorie bone. Two to three rawhide chews a week will have fewer calories than one or two meaty rawhide bones or greasy pig ears. 

They are mostly protein and fiber, and many pets even though they don't offer much in terms of nutritional value due to the harsh manufacturing process, work well as dogs. 

Is Rawhide Bad for Dogs?

Now that you know that there can be some benefits to rawhide chews for dogs, let's answer the real question - Are rawhides safe for puppies? If the variety of chemicals used to make dog rawhide chews isn’t scary enough for you, we have yet to even touch on the number one reason that rawhides could be dangerous for your dog: intestinal blockages.

We’ve heard countless horror stories of dogs choking or getting intestinal blockages from swallowing a large chunk of rawhide and having it get stuck somewhere along the digestive tract. 

A blockage is life-threatening and will require expensive surgery to clear. In some cases, the blockage is caught too late, or the surgery is too risky for the blockage to be fixed in time. 

Is Rawhide Safe for Dogs?

Of course, many dogs have been eating rawhide without issue for their whole lives. When properly chewed, a dog with good digestion will likely not have any major problems from eating rawhide chews, but why take the risk?

So the question is, does rawhide dissolve in the stomach? Well, your dog's stomach is designed to break down rawhide bones, so yes, rawhide can break down in the stomach, but it takes much longer than most foods and can cause issues if large pieces of poorly digested rawhide pass into the intestines. 

The issue is in the texture of the dog rawhide. It starts as a durable, dense chew and quickly softens into a slimy, gummy mess. It’s easy to soften but not to tear apart, leading many dogs to swallow large pieces that are too big to break down quickly.

The glob of pressed rawhide will expand in the stomach juices. From here it can get lodged in the stomach, or move into the smaller passage of the intestines where a blockage is much more likely.

So... Is traditional rawhide safe for puppies? That's up to you to decide. You can stick to shapes and sizes that are better suited to your dog’s chewing habits to reduce risk, or you can check out some of our safer rawhide processing for dogs instead.

What Kind of Rawhide is Safe for Dogs?

Knowing what you now know about traditional rawhide, you might be wondering if there are some rawhides that are safer than others. Can different manufacturing processes make these chews safer for dogs, or are they all bad?

While all traditional rawhide chew can be risky depending on your dog's eating habits, there are some types of peanut butter that can be a little easier to digest and break down. These are called puffed rawhide. 

Most traditional rawhides are pressed, meaning they have many, many paper-thin layers of rawhide that are pressed together to form a strong and solid chew. While this does make the chew last longer, it also makes it harder to digest. 

A puffed rawhide will be fewer layers that are soaked to pre-expand the rawhide layers. This is something that would normally have to happen in your dog's stomach during digestion, which can contribute to poor digestion and blockages.

It's still not 100% digestible, but it will break down easier than a pressed rawhide bone will, especially if your dog has a habit of gulping large chunks of the chew bone. 

Can Puppies Have Rawhide?

While rawhide product processing has some benefits and some concerns, the risks are much higher for puppies. Puppies often don't have good chewing habits, so the risks of choking on a soggy and gummy strip of rawhide are much higher.

Even if they don't choke, they are more likely to swallow large chunks that will be difficult to digest. Instead, puppies should stick to softer and easily chews that will help to loosen baby teeth, massage the gums, and aid in the eruption of new teeth. 

Tendons are a good chew option for puppies. They will soften when chewed, like rawhide but do not expand or get goopy like rawhide will. 

Does Your Dog Need to Chew?

Okay, so rawhide might not be the chew naturally for your dog. You are thinking about the goods for dogs, but you might start to wonder if your dog even needs a chew. The answer to that question is - yes, your dog needs to chew to support good dental and oral health. 

All dogs naturally chew things, especially adult dogs. The action is a great outlet for frustration, alleviates dog boredom, and is mentally satisfying for your pooch. Chewing is a natural action that hearkens back to a canine’s wild ancestors. 

Historically, a dog’s teeth are its weapons, protection, and how it provides dog food for itself. Without a healthy set of teeth, a dog in the wild will quickly die. The chew is a strong and compelling part of the animal’s genetic makeup that the pooch cannot deny. 

The grinding and gnawing action of dog chewing naturally removes tartar from the teeth. The actions of shredding and tearing function as natural flossing to maintain healthy gums. The neck, jaw, and arm muscles needed to chew are a workout for the animal skin and help keep the dog in shape in pig ears. 

Dogs enjoy chewing. Your pup isn't likely to chew out of spite but due to their natural urges, instead.

Here are a few additional reasons why a dog chews:

• • Relieve Anxiety
  • Burn off excessive energy
  • Play
  • Teething

Ways to Overcome Destructive Chewing

If you don't provide supervise your dog with rawhide chews, then your pooch could cause widespread destruction to your home. It’s common for a dog to chew furniture, shoes, clothing, doors, baseboards, and other areas of the home. 

You can overcome chewing by offering appropriate chew toys for your pet parent and also undertaking the following: 

• • Close the doors to your closet and other areas where your pooch can raid your possessions to chew. 
  • Provide ample exercise and mental stimulation.
  • Keep an eye on your dog to ensure the pup is not chewing on inappropriate items. 
  • Confine your dog in a crate or safe room when you are not home and deer antlers.
  • Offer appropriate chews to meet your dog’s chewing needs and deer antlers. 

Types of Natural Dog Chews

Whether you are ordering safe rawhide dogs, or other dogs chew you’ll probably be overwhelmed with the selection. There are a lot of chews for dogs available in every size, shape, color, and material.  

Below are a few categories of dog chew to consider:  

Active Chews for Dogs

Your dog can burn off some energy while chewing and playing with active toys. Games like tug-of-war, fetch, and other activities are encouraged choking hazards with chews that are designed for fun. 

Nylabone and Kong chews are usually classified as active toys because the dog can carry the item around and play fetch while chewing on it. 

With Kong chews, you can even hide an additional treat inside the toy’s compartment to encourage dog chewing.  

Many dog owners use Kong Tennis Balls as active toys. These squeaking tennis balls are ideal for a game of fetch and your dog will enjoy chewing the item to hear the squeaking noise. They should only be used with care and under supervision, though. Kong balls are made of non-tear felt, the chew toy can start to show signs of wear over time.

Distraction Chews for Dogs

Distraction chews are designed to amuse your dog, so the pooch does not want to chew up your favourite pair of tennis shoes. 

Often referred to as feeder toys, they are also ideal if you leave your dog alone in a crate because they help amuse the pup. 

Kong toys are excellent for distraction because you fill the toy’s interior with a favourite treat. The gripper edges built into the toy’s interior help hold the treat firmly while the dog actively chews and deer antlers. 

Comfort Chews for Dogs

Comfort chews are soft stuffed toys that fulfill the chew and soothe the dog. Not all canines can enjoy a comforting plush toy if they are aggressive chewers, or they may enjoy them too much and rip them to shred immediately. 

Dogs who have some impulse control when it comes to toys enjoy carrying around soft chew toys. They view the plushie as a companion. You’ll want to pick a chew that is an appropriate size for the dog to easily carry from place to place. 

If your pooch likes to shake and chew the plushie then make sure choking hazard you pick one that is sturdy enough to withstand the dog’s roughhousing.

Tuffy makes a line of plushies that are exceptionally giving your dog durable for chewers. The material is double-layered for extra toughness. The interior of the pet stores usually boasts either crinkle material or a squeaker to make noise every time your pup bites down on the toy. 

Dogs who enjoy long-lasting comfort chews like to not only gnaw on the toy but also find solace cuddling the plushie. 

Safe Rawhide Alternatives for Dogs

We spelled out the dangers of feeding your long-lasting dog rawhide, but what else can you give them to care for their dental health? Here are our 10 favourite rawhide-free natural chews for dental health. You can opt to purchase acceptable alternatives at many pet stores. 

1. Bully Sticks

In recent years, bully sticks have become one of the most popular, natural chews for puppies. The dogs love the taste, and the texture is ideal for safe chewing and dental cleaning. It softens as they chew and can aid in giving your dog remove bacteria that hide in the back of their mouth and at the gum line.

They are offered in different lengths, thicknesses, shapes, and sizes to suit each individual dog's chewing on rawhide style. They are suitable for dogs of any size and are a safe chew for seniors and dogs love that have fewer chompers than they should.

Bully sticks are great options for teething puppies as well. As they soften, they will massage the gums and help to work baby teeth out.