Opinions on pig ears?

[finn's mom]

I don't claim to know any scientific reasons or real safety issues with pigs ears or rawhides. I just know that the pig's ears smell like crap. I walked around sniffing the carpet for almost an hour one day when I had a roommate with a young Siberian Husky. I could have sworn I smelled urine, but Nikolai was already nearly 100% potty trained. Turned out, it was the pig's ear he was eating outside! That was the last time I ever bought one! As for rawhides, I just think they're gross. They get wet when the dog chews on them, then they dry in the carpet, and blech. I wouldn't give them stuff like that inside anyway, but I did give a rawhide inside once and saw what it did, and again, I'll never get another one. Any treat or food or toy can be dangerous at some point, nothing is 100% safe, really. And I don't claim to know if pig's ears or rawhides are any more dangerous than anything else. My reasons for not giving them are just that they're nasty.

[Vela]

The main problem with pig ears and rawhides, if they get a chunk off, or try to swallow it before its small enough, they can get stuck in the throat or intestine and can't digest,which often leads to be breeding ground for bacteria that can make them really sick. No chew is 100% safe, but safer choices are raw meaty bones and/or bully sticks (100% digestible as it is muscle and not the skin [rawhide]). Even if they do end up getting a bigger piece down, it will digest and is less likely to get caught in the throat or intestines. ANY chew can be harmful, for myself personally there are some that just aren't worth the increased risks they may pose. I also don't feed greenies, but many do without incident, I just choose not to. I only give mine bully sticks or the inedible nylabones. I also watch for any signs of breakage or damage and remove them if needed.

[finn's mom]

inedible nylabones.

haha, that's funny. i wish finn and freckles realized that those are inedible!

[Vela]

haha, that's funny. i wish finn and freckles realized that those are inedible!

LOL I hear that. Some dogs just can't have things like that, they just chew too aggressively. I only used the nylabones when they were puppies anway, they chew through anything now haha. I gnerally just give the raw bones and bully sticks myself.