Greenie warning?

[lv4dogs]

I just saw this, I don't know if it is true or not. how do you check? Is it snopes or something like that?

http://www.quikonnex.com/channel/item/15576

[Jessika]

Yeah tehre are TONS of reports of dogs choking on them and dying, about greenies blocking in their intestines and causing hemorrhaging and causing death, etc. But they ALSO say since SO MANY dogs eat greenies, of course there are going to be MORE stories of bad things and deaths caused or affected by greenies. So it really is a personal preference. If you've fed them before in the past and your pups did fine, you probably have nothing to worry about. Just as when you feed your dog any food or toy or treats or rawhide, MAKE SURE TO SUPERVISE.

[lv4dogs]

I'll have to read the package at home, see if it really says do not feed your dogs greeines and may cause death.

I've always been leary about the plasticy type of chew toys, but I thought greenies were made from more digestable materials, more disolvable. If they are more plasticy than I thought, more like nylabones & the such then yes I will stop feeding them.

[wolfsoul]

I hear things about Greenies all the time -- they are definatly one of the more "unsafe" chews to give your dog. I still give them to Visa though. She is not a big chewer and takes her time. It usually takes her more than a day to eat a Greenie because she spends most of her time playing with it rather than eating it lol. And I always make sure she is supervised at all times.

[cocker_luva]

i wouldnt feed them to Jesse anyway, she tried one and it ended up staining our carpet.

[Lobodeb]

I just checked on snopes.com and they didn't have anything.

I've never fed them to Maggy, perhaps I should keep it that way?

[Kfamr]

Just like any chew, toy, or food.. dogs should be supervised while chewing/playing/etc. My dogs have never had a problem with Greenies.

[k9krazee]

Shadow swallowed a giant greenie one time We were supervising her and she had it one second the next it was gone!! We watched for any signs of a problem and she was completely fine...that said she will never get a greenie again, it was a scare! The other Hoodlums are pretty good about just chewing on them and they will continue recieving their greenies, there can problems with every toy or chew toy!

[areias]

I won't feed my dogs greenies. Even at the boarding kennel I worked at, we don't allow pet owners to bring greenies..I came running when one of the other employees started yelling, and she had her hand down the throat of a lab that had swallowed the giant one whole. I don't trust them.

[finn's mom]

I've only fed Finn one or two of them...I thought they were made of more natural ingredients than some of the other things you can give...hmph. I know they're a lot less nasty than rawhide, as far as what it does when it gets moist and what it does to carpets (seems like it'd do the same thing to the inside of a dog, too!). I guess I probably will do a lot more research on what the greenies are actually made of before I give Finn another one. I wouldn't buy them anyway, they're too pricey. The only time Finn's had any was when they were freebies.

[bckrazy]

Some of the warnings put up are super excessive, it just gets annoying. Basically, any sort of beneficial chewy can harm a dog that is known to gulp and/or is not supervised. As sad as it is that those dogs died, millions of dogs have died from gulping WATER, its a horrible accident. If those owners had been sitting there watching their dog eat the Greenie, there probably wouldn't be so many accidental deaths.

I just read my package. Greenies are made mostly of "Processed wheat glutin" and Chlorophyll. Not the greatest ingredients, but if you're feeding you dog a couple of them a week along with high quality kibble it's no big deal. It says on the package to give Greenies Li'l Bits and NOT whole Greenies to dogs that "gulp" chewies and to dogs under 10 lbs. Anything can be fatal for dogs that gulp food instead of chewing ~ even kibble can cause fatal bloat/choking in dogs that gulp. Either way, Gonzo is addicted so it's too late to turn back now! When I got out the Greenie package, he immediately started dancing around waiting for one ^.^ I notice that if I procrastinate about getting more when we run out, his teeth look noticably nastier. For me, the benefits outweigh the slight chance that these may harm him, and he gets one before going to bed so he's ALWAYS closely supervised.

Finns Mommy ~ There's also a different product I've bought before (I think it's called Nutrident, its at Petsmart) that has the EXACT same ingredients as Greenies, but costs half as much. Greenies have about doubled in price since we started getting them a couple years ago... kinda sucks

[Kirbys Mom]

wow, i was thinking about buyin my new chihuahua that i'm goin to bring home som greenies. im rethinkin it noW!!!!

[Cincy'sMom]

We occasionally let our dogs have greenies, but I toohave heard mixed reviews. We had a vet speak to our therapy dog group a couple of months ago, and someone asked about them. He does not recommend them, as he had a patient die from chocking on a piece that wasn't chewed.

I think the biggest thing is to know your dog. If they tend to swallow large pieces, or don't chew treats well, I wouldn't recommend them.

[fritz03]

fritz has had a couple of these greenies and he has had no problems.so maybe it is certain breeds with the problem.

[PJ's Mom]

There's also a different product I've bought before (I think it's called Nutrident, its at Petsmart) that has the EXACT same ingredients as Greenies, but costs half as much.

Really?? That's so good to know. My dogs will do just about anything for Greenies, so this is really good news. Thanks.

I always listen to stories like this, but unless it becomes a more common occurence, my dogs wills till get their greenies.