Dog Cries When Eating Rawhide?

Do you have a problem with your dog not liking or even crying when eating their rawhide? Here are the answers you have been looking for.

Dog Cries When Eating Rawhide?

If your dog is showing signs of distress while eating, especially such a tough, chewy food then it’s important to check them over and bring them to the vet if necessary.

What Is Rawhide?

Rawhide is leather that has not been treated or tanned yet to be used for clothes or furniture that is usually quite stiff.

In terms of dog chew toys, rawhide chews are usually made out of the scraps that are left behind from the leather industry.

They are taken directly from where the cows (or other animals as the case may be) and put into salty water to slow down the rate of decay.

Why Is My Dog Whimpering While Walking Around The House With Rawhide?

Crying while eating or chewing a treat can be a pretty big sign of disease in the mouth, gums or teeth as well as unseen injury to the area like cuts or lost teeth.

The general signs that something is wrong with a dogs mouth are, whining while eating, refusing hard food or treats, only eating on one side, excessive drooling and facial swelling.

Here are some of the diseases and injuries to look out for when it comes to whining or crying while chewing and how to spot them:

Lost teeth – While obviously the easiest of the bunch to spot as there will be a clear gap in the teeth (as well as some swelling, bleeding and redness if the loss is fresh) people often don’t think to check for missing teeth in adult dogs.

Fractured teeth – There are many classifications of fracture that have varying degrees of pain associated with them, the one to look out for is any fracture that exposes the nerve, as that will cause intense amounts of pain. If your dog shows the signs that there is something wrong with their mouth it is important to check each tooth for even the smallest of fractures.

Tooth luxation – This is the partial separation of the tooth from its socket. This kind of injury usually occurs if your dog tries to bite a moving object like a tire or even another animal.

Tooth Eruption and exfoliation – Tooth eruption is where your dog’s new teeth push up through the gums and tooth exfoliation is the process of shedding the baby teeth. This usually occurs within the first 6 months to a year of a dog’s life, commonly known as the ‘teething’ stage. If your dog is still within this timeframe this could easily be the reason for soreness in the mouth.

Periodontal disease – Periodontal disease occurs when Periodontitis bacteria sets up shop in your dog’s oral cavity. Some of the signs of Periodontal disease include bleeding and swollen gums, discolored or missing teeth, bad breath, bloody or ‘ropey’ saliva and blood in their water or on chew toys.

Abscess in the root of the teeth – This is a severe infection in the root of the tooth. You can recognise them by swelling in the mouth, under the eye, under the chin or along the lower jaw (these swellings are filled with pus and can burst), red gums and bad breath.

Cancer – Cancer can be found in the mouth and on the tongue in dogs. It usually occurs in older dogs (around 11 years old) but can happen at any age. The signs of mouth cancer are oral pain, trouble chewing, reluctance to eat and resulting weight loss, lumps or masses around the mouth area, bleeding and loose teeth.

If you notice any of these signs in your dog please take them to your local vet immediately.

Rawhide can be very tough and chewy which exacerbates these issues, which is why you may see them only whining when they eat rawhide.

Why Do Some Dogs Eat Rawhide Too Fast?

A lot of dogs end up eating so fast their food is nearly gone by the time you have set the bowl down, but why do they do this and what does it mean?

Food Insecurity: If not given set meal times dogs can be unsure of when they will get their next meal, it can also happen if they were starved previously or were a stray dog.

An Improperly Balanced Diet: Not all foods are made equal, and some can even leave dogs malnourished even though they are fed a good amount, this can lead to fast eating.

Illness: Some illnesses can cause a dog to feel excessively and constantly hungry (i.e Diabetes).

Competition: Some dogs do feel a need to eat very quickly because they do feel or have felt the need to compete with other dogs, or has feared their food would be taken by other dogs.

So, how do you stop this behaviour and stop your dog from making themselves sick or giving themselves bloat?

The most cost-effective way is to spread out their food, you coils use a muffin tin or even a rolled-up clean towel to do this, it just has to take them longer to get to the food.

The most time effective way would be to buy a slow feeding bowl, this does the work for you in terms of spreading out the food.

If your dog only has a fact eating problem when it comes to rawhide, the most likely just like it a lot, you may have to start feeding it less often or breaking it up into smaller chunks.

How Long Does Rawhide Take To Digest In A Dog?

It could take anywhere from 3-6 hours to a couple of days for rawhide to be passed through the digestive system.

This is only with small pieces of rawhide, big pieces should be removed after chewing instead of being swallowed as they can cause impaction issues.

Will Stomach Acid Dissolve Rawhide?

Unfortunately, no, not really. While small pieces can be passed and partially dissolved rawhide would have to be sitting in a dogs stomach for a very long time to be dissolved.

By the time large pieces of rawhide would be digested your dog probably would have passed away due to complications of not being able to defecate.

How To Help Dog Digest Rawhide?

You just have to be sure that any rawhide that they ingest is in small enough of a piece that it will be able to be passed though the digestive tract without issue.

What Happens If A Dog Eats Too Much Rawhide?

It can be fatal if not dealt with soon enough, rawhide will not be digested and not be passed if in too big of pieces.

You also run the risk of it getting stuck in the throat and having your dog choke because it is such thick and stiff material.

Is It Bad If A Dog Swallows Rawhide?

Small chunks of rawhide are perfectly fine to be swallowed as long as there isn’t too many of them.

The thing you really have to worry about is your dog swallowing a great big chunk and it getting stuck on the way in or way out.

As long as you keep an eye on your dog and remove any chunks you fear they may swallow they should be completely fine.

Signs Of A Dog Who Has Swallowed Rawhide?

Since it can be so disastrous if a dog swallows large amounts of rawhide you should know how to tell if they have or not. Here is what to look out for:

Choking – Out of all of the signs that your dog has swallowed rawhide, this is the one that will happen the most quickly and will need the quickest reaction time. You can tell if they are choking if they are coughing and retching and look distressed.
Vomiting – They can feel that the rawhide isn’t passing through if it is in too large of chunks and sometimes this will cause the body to try and expel the contents of the stomach.
Loss of appetite – If your dog is usually very hungry and yet doesn’t seem to be touching their meals it could be a serious sign that there are some impaction issues.
Excessive drooling – When we feel nauseous one of the symptoms can often be saliva welling up in the mouth, for dogs this often results in excessive drooling.
Diarrhoea – watery or very soft poop shows that something is off with the digestive system, if you know your dog has been chewing on rawhide it could show that not everything is getting out.
Constipation – most dogs poop 1-5 times a day, if you notice your dog isn’t pooping on their regular schedule or hasn’t pooped in days then you should definitely check for impaction issues.

What To Do If Your Dog Swallowed A Rawhide?

If your dog has swallowed large chunks of rawhide bring them to your vet immediately so they can be checked out.

A lot of the time dogs are stringer than we know and will be able to pass things just fine but if they are unlucky, bringing them to the vet will save their life.

How Do You Know If Your Dog Has A Rawhide Blockage?

Be sure to monitor your dog after eating rawhide just to assuage any worries of anything being blocked up and look out for the signs listed above.

If you notice any of the signs that there may be a blockage bring your dog to the vet immediately.

Can A Rawhide Kill My Dog?

Rawhide chews are relatively harmless unless large amounts are ingested and end up causing blocages or choking, but those can kill if you don’t pay attention.

Can Rawhide Upset A Dog’s Stomach?

If you don’t source your rawhide from good sources they may have some nasty chemicals on them that could absolutely make your dog sick.

Always be sure to research where you are getting any food r chews that you are going to give to your dog to make sure they use good ingredients and no unsafe chemicals.

Why Is Rawhide Bad For Dogs?

Rawhide in itself isn’t bad for dogs (as long as it is good quality), it is just ingesting large amounts of it that can cause gastrointestinal issues.

Is Beefhide Good For Dogs?

The only real difference between beefhide and rawhide is that rawhide can be made from virtually any animal whereas beef hide must be made from bovine animals.

They have the same risks and benefits so which of them you decide to give is really just up to the personal preference of your dog.

What Are Safe Rawhide Alternatives?

We all know that dogs need to be able to chew on things to keep their teeth and gums healthy so even if you’re worried about rawhide there are a variety of things you can use.

For example:

Beef or lamb tendons
Raw bones
Cow ears
Chicken feet
Bully sticks

Rawhide Vs Bully Sticks

Bully sticks are made out of 100% beef muscle and are great for keeping bacteria out of dogs mouths and keeping their teeth and gums healthy, like any great chew.

The thing that sets bully sticks apart from rawhide is the fact that they are completely digestible which means you don’t have to worry about any impaction issues when giving them to your dog.

References:

https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/are-rawhide-chews-dangerous-for-dog/
https://wagwalking.com/symptom/why-is-my-dog-crying-while-chewing
https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/fractured-teeth-in-dogs

Dog Cries When Eating Rawhide?