Rawhide: toxic and dangerous
Rawhide chews contain harmful chemicals and pose serious risks. Here's why you should never give them to your dog.
🚫 Do not give rawhide to your dog
Rawhide (dried animal hide) is often sold as a chew for dogs, but it is dangerous. It contains toxic chemicals from processing and can cause choking, intestinal blockages, and bacterial infections.
- •Chemical contamination: arsenic, formaldehyde, chromium salts, bleach and other toxins used in processing
- •Choking hazard: pieces can lodge in the throat and cause suffocation
- •Intestinal blockages: rawhide does not digest and can cause life-threatening blockages requiring surgery
What is rawhide?
Rawhide is the inner layer of cow or horse hides, cleaned and dried. It is soaked in chemical solutions (sodium sulfide) to remove hair and fat, then whitened with hydrogen peroxide. Rawhide exists in a regulatory grey area—it is neither human food nor pet food—so there are no strict production standards. Imported rawhides from countries like China or Mexico may contain undisclosed chemicals.
© Pet Nutrition Blogger Rodney Habib
Read more: Adopteer een platsnuit (Dutch article, opens in new tab) ↗Rawhide production process
Based on Adopteer een platsnuit
☠️ Toxic chemicals in rawhide
Laboratory testing has found harmful substances in rawhide products:
- • Arsenic (trace amounts)
- • Formaldehyde
- • Chromium salts
- • Sodium sulfide, bleach, hydrogen peroxide
- • Lead (in some imported products)
The FDA has issued multiple recalls of rawhide due to Salmonella, E. coli and Campylobacter contamination—dangerous for both dogs and humans.
Choking and intestinal blockages
When dogs chew rawhide, it becomes soft and breaks into pieces. These pieces can lodge in the throat and cause choking. Signs: drooling, pawing at the mouth, difficulty breathing, gagging.
Swallowed pieces do not digest. Rawhide swells in the stomach and intestines and can cause blockages requiring emergency surgery. This can lead to severe pain, dehydration, intestinal rupture and even death.
✅ Safe alternatives
- • Bully sticks (digestible, with supervision)
- • Yak or Himalayan chews (all-natural, digestible)
- • Antlers from naturally shed sources
- • Kong toys (durable, stuffable)
- • Frozen treats (peanut butter or broth in Kong)