3 Types of most unsafe dog toys for puppies

We all want the absolute best for our puppies and love to pamper them with good food, exercise and their favorite toys. Most of the toys we buy are perfectly safe for our little furry friends, but there are some toys that are popular for dogs and seem safe, but this is not always the case. You may be surprised to find out which are the most unsafe dog toys for puppies.

Selecting a toy for your dog is not something to take lightly. It may seem like a simple task, but you need to think about your dog’s needs, wants and safety. If your pet likes to chew, buy him chew toys. If he likes to fetch, buy him a toy that you can throw. That’s the simple part.

The hard part is deciding which toys are safe your puppy and which are not. This will depend on his age, size, his chewing habits and the quality of the toy. The toys listed below are the most unsafe dog toys for puppies, but remember that ideally dogs should always be supervised when playing with any toy.

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3 Most Unsafe Dog Toys for Puppies

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1. Rawhide chews

One of the most potentially dangerous pet chew toys is rawhide, the leathery strips that are rolled up into bone shapes and other forms which appeal to pet owners for their pooches.

Dogs love to chew at rawhides, and they can satisfy your pooch’s need to chew in a positive way. The sticks keep puppies busy for hours and owners are happy as rawhide is a good value and lasts a long time.

Rawhide dog toys can pose a choking risk, as pieces of the sharp material can splinter off and get caught in your dog’s esophagus. Because the rawhide is manufactured to be so resilient and long-lasting, it doesn’t break down. Surgery for removal is usually needed.

Doctor Karen Becker, a world-renowned veterinarian, writes in an article for Mercola:

“Rawhide chews start out hard, but as your dog works the chew it becomes softer, and eventually he can unknot the knots on each end and the chew takes on the consistency of a slimy piece of taffy or bubble gum. And by that time your dog cannot stop working it — it becomes almost addictive.”

She recommends that if you do give rawhide chews, to take them away once they have become soft and allow them to re-harden.

Rawhide also carries a contamination risk and may carry traces of bacteria like Salmonella or E. coli on them. Additionally, some dogs also seem to have a sensitivity to the ingredients of rawhide and may get digestive irritation leading to malaise, vomiting and diarrhea.

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Rawhide chew sticks begin with the splitting of cattle hide. The top grain is usually tanned and made into leather products. The inner portion, in its ‘raw’ state, goes into the chew sticks. The cattle hides are treated with chemicals to help preserve the product before being soaked and treated with either ash-lye solution or a highly toxic soaking in sodium sulphide liming.

This process strips the hair and fat that may be attached to the hides. The inner layer of the hide is then washed and whitened using hydrogen peroxide and/or bleach. This helps to remove the smell of the leather and to give the hides a look resembling leathery whitened sheets.

The concerns are that while these trace chemicals appear safe, there is little evidence that they are non-toxic when consumed in small doses over a long period of time as they would when your dog is chewing on them every day

Color is then added, and the chews are basted, smoked and tinted. Next, an appealing scent is added to encourage your dog to keep chewing. The hides can also be covered with a coating of titanium oxide to make them appear white and attractive looking on pet store shelves and in the eye of the buyers.

2. Soft plastic and rubber dog toys

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