PORTLAND, Ore. — A Facebook post claiming Christmas-branded treats for pets may lead to your dog spending the holiday getting surgery has gotten more than 300,000 shares.
KGW set out to Verify: Are rawhide holiday treats dangerous for your pet?
The treats are often sold at big box stores and are meant to pull at your heart strings; rawhide materials are formed into holiday-colored bones or stretched into Christmas-friendly shapes like stockings or the gingerbread man.
If you’re not monitoring your pet while they eat one of these treats, they could end up choking on it.
DoveLewis veterinarian Ladan Mohammad said you should watch for warning signs: hacking, gagging, excessive swallowing, vomiting, not eating and your dog stretching its neck out because it’s in pain.
“I’ve also seen dogs poke their mouths as well and get injuries inside their gums because of really sharp edges and just being super excited about eating these treats,” Mohammad-Zadeh said.
The rawhide, if it’s too big or if your dog didn’t get it wet enough to break it apart, could get stuck in their esophagus or small intestine.
“[During surgery] we can assess whether there has been damage to the wall of muscle leading to a perforation, which could potentially cause gastric contents to leak into the abdomen, causing a condition called Peritonitis, which can be potentially fatal,” she said.
The FDA says you should avoid giving your pet rawhide treats entirely.
And the American Veterinary Medical Association isn’t quite as harsh. They say rawhide treats are safe to eat in general, but owners should be vigilant about the ingredients in their dog’s treats.
“I’m not surprised people have had negative experiences with this because of the many years I’ve had many patients that I’ve had to retrieve these from because they’ve gotten stuck to their intestine or esophagus or caused problems in their mouths,” Mohammad-Zadeh said.
KGW can Verify: Rawhide holiday treats can be dangerous for your dog.
“What I recommend as with when you’re giving a small child a toy, is to supervise them at all times.
Never just give your pet one of these rawhide treats and walk away. I would always have an owner or someone supervising that pet so that if they see they’re having a problem, or the piece looks like it’s getting to the point where it could be a problem, then they just take it away,” she said.
You should check the ingredient list, look up the brand online to check for recalls, and talk to your veterinarian.