Mr. Chiwawa, you can soften them up to a certain degree by placing a wet paper towel over the treat and placing it in the microwave for a couple seconds. That should soften it up to a pliable texture.

I never had a problem with Greenies. Honestly, if you know your dog gulps down treats, use a different product. Of course, we all make mistakes of not supervising our dogs, but I guess the company really took a hit when those stories started popping out =/ If the new Greenies is still as hard as the old ones were, I'd definitely use them (if other people bought them for me ). They're just too expensive!