Stockings May Not Be The Only Things Getting Stuffed by Those Cute Discounted Treats!

With the holidays upon us, this will probably be my final post until after the New Year, and it will be a short but important one. 

Yesterday, I went into one of my favorite pet supply stores (which will not be named).  As I browsed the isles, I noticed many new displays, most of which held colorful and adorable Christmas items for pets.  As do most pet owners, I gave in to temptation and selected a few items to put in my cart, and that is when I noticed something that really concerned me....gorgeous and appealing rawhide treats decorated in Christmas themes, with strips dyed green and red to appeal to the human buyers (because as we all know, dogs don't care what color it is.  They don't see color.  All they care about is the smell.)

I know that I have seen these things in holiday seasons past, so what really got me was how many seemed to be missing from the displays.  That must mean that they were purchased by unsuspecting dog owners.  Unfortunately, that probably means that our local veterinarians will see a spike of dogs needing surgery over the course of next several weeks, but I know that those poor dog owners don't see it coming. 

The reason is that they don't know that rawhide is actually completely indigestible for dogs.  Dogs can digest pig hide (though it takes some time), but they cannot digest cow hide.  So, the best we can hope for when giving our dogs these treats is that they will chew them into small enough pieces to be passed through the digestive system without causing a blockage.  However, power chewers are unlikely to take the time to chew it into small enough pieces, and are likely to swallow large chunks if they can get them soft enough to swallow.  Those large chunks, especially if there are several of them going through the system at the same time, can very easily cause blockages, which almost always ends in expensive surgery with an extensive recovery period. 

So, we all love to buy gifts for our dogs, and may even stuff a stocking for Fido, but please resist the temptation to purchase those cute little Christmas rawhide wreaths, bones and other shapes.  I don't even understand why they still make those things, because, at best, they are of no value to our dogs, and at worst, they can be very harmful. 

Happy Holidays, everyone.  We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season, filled with family, friends and beautiful blessings.  Be sure to come back and join us in the New Year for more Chihuahua and general canine tips!