Is it ok to feed my pup cheese, pig ears?

Nala loves Greenies! The largest size takes her a good 5 minutes to devour. Tops.

 

I agree with Jamiya - some people tend to go overboard with EVERYTHING, incuding what to give to their dogs to chew. Dogs really appreciate having something to chew, and its a natural process, so I think its depriving the dog if we don't offer him bones, or something similar to what he would get in the wild. You can't control everything a dog does or chews, and dogs can get an obstruction from swallowing socks, rocks, coins, and all the other things some dogs tend to try to ingest. There is always a risk, but I believe its a very small risk. The enjoyment and satisfaction a dog gets from chewing a bone or pig ear, or what-have-you is worth a very small risk that he may bite off a piece that's too large/sharp, etc. We don't keep our kids from riding bicycles because its too risky, do we? We all have to make choices as to which risks are worth it. Where I worked, we mostly saw foreign objects in dogs' intestinal tracts. Meaning, small balls, coins, rocks, string, leather. Rarely did we have to do surgery to remove a piece of rawhide, or other treats. In fact, I can only remember one case in 12 years where a dog had a piece of rawhide that was too big to get past the stomach. We saw far, far more cat litter in the colon than anything else!

 

I used to feed pig ears Until...I woke up one morning after giving the dogs pig ears the evening before to find Pinky's neck swollen with a huge abscess the size of a grapefruit. The pig ear had cut her throat as well as her stomach lining. She ended up needing surgery and a drain placed in her neck to drain the abscess that was steadily growing. The vet found large pieces of pig ear in Pinkys stomach that had not even broken down yet. That and the huge vet bill was enough for me I will never ever give any of my dogs pig ears again.

 

I'm not sure you were agreeing with me, seaecho. I don't give rawhide or pig ears or chew hooves because of the potential danger. Raw bones are their meals, so they do get those, but I won't give cooked bones. I just wish I could find something safe for them to chew on recreationally.

 

I suggest you read my post "bailey's home"........ seems those pigs ears that I used to give to him created quite the problem.... He has pancreatitis and they say it's from that. They also said that they are often riddled with salmonella (which I never heard before). Anyhow... I vote "no" on the pigs ear now

(and not to mention the vet bills were over $1600)

 

The salmonella is more a problem for the human handling the pig ears than the dogs. But pancreatitis is not a good thing! I vote no on pig ears as well.

 

Pig ears are a good source of bacteria & Cheese has lactose content. I think I dont have to explain what these things can do to your puppy.

 

Pigs ears are safe for larger dogs but i would not give them to a puppy or small breed dog.

I give my dogs cheese 3times a week its a great source of calcium and since milk can give dogs diareah (sp) then cheese is a great alternative.
Aslong as you dont over do it by say giving him/her a whole block of cheese a day then i dont see any problems in a puppy there bones are still growing so need all the calcium they can get.

Mike

 

Thanks!

Thanks for all of the great information!

I live in Germany, and although I take Abby to a dog school, I don't understand half of what the trainer says to me! I rely mainly on what I read on websites from home!

Thanks again for all of your answers.