Additionally, rawhide bones generally refer to the final shape the material is molded into for marketing.  There are nearly as many different shapes of rawhide bones as there are breeds of dogs!  The bones that you give your puppy or dog ultimately will depend on your individual animal’s preference for taste, shape and “chewing satisfaction”, but there are some things to keep in mind.

Rawhide bones can be bleached, which gives some of these products a white color.  Your dog probably won’t care about the color, and while there is little research to determine if the bleaching process is actually harmful to your pet, many professionals agree that it is not a necessary process and provides no benefit to your pooch.  Additionally, your pet care professional may have recommendations for rawhide bones that don’t include harmful chemicals in them, as well.  In light of contamination of imported pet products in recent years, rawhide bones made in the USA might be a better alternative.

There are pressed rawhide bones which are molded straight into stick shapes, often sold as rawhide retriever sticks.  Some brands of bones are compressed and more densely wrapped than other brands, which generally means that your pet will chew through the bones more quickly.  The more densely wrapped bones often are knotted at both ends, which Brutus the St. Bernard can place between his front paws vertically and gnaw on the knotted end until his heart is content.

It is generally agreed that rawhide bones are a safe product, for either your puppies to senior dogs.  The concerns pet care professionals have is that while a dog’s digestive system can generally tolerate the product, you must be careful to observe that your dog doesn’t break off a small piece of his toy that is too large to swallow.  There are rare reports of dogs choking, or getting blockages from ingesting the wrong sized bites.  If the bone is too soft, take it away and let it dry out before giving it back to your dog.