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Nylabones - undigestible

2K views 26 replies 15 participants last post by  LaurJen 
#1 ·
Ok, I gave Bailey a liver flavored wolf sized nylabone to chew on last Wednesday night. He was chewing it pretty quickly, so I took it away. Saturday morning at 4 am he woke us up throwing up in his crate. It was only bile so I didn't worry too much. After taking him out, he went back in his crate and went to sleep. Sunday morning at 4 am, he again woke us up throwing up again..... more bile. Out he went and then back in the crate and back to sleep. Monday morning at 5:45 am, he again woke us up doing the same thing. This time a small chunk of nylabone came up --- it had been in his stomach since Wednesday night! I was hoping that was the end, but again on Tuesday morning he woke us up and this time a larger chunk of the nylabone appeared. All this time he was eating, drinking and pooping normally. I am happy to say that he "slept through the night" last night and it appears that all of the nylabone is gone....... Obviously, nylabones are not digestible and I will not be purchasing them again..... I know that it could have been a lot worse and caused a bowel obstruction. Just wanted to share this story.
 
#8 ·
Augie has gotten rawhides since we first got him--he had zero interest in the nylabones. He only got them under supervision, and really only gnawed at them--he never ate chunks or anything. Even today, he will chew on one for about 5 minutes/day, but never really eat any of it. Our first dog looooooooooooved rawhide bones and would eat them with no ill effects. We'd take them away when they got small, though.

We make sure to only buy American-made ones, because they are regulated as food products and can't contain any pesticides or similar chemicals. I know some people are really against rawhide, though.

BaileysMom, glad your doggy is ok!
 
#3 ·
It is not the same as rawhides. It is something someone suggested to me in lieu of rawhides because some dogs eat large chunks of rawhides and have issues as well. I know that my first golden had rawhides all the time and never had an issue but we watched him carefully and took it away when it got small. My breeder had a large rawhide in the pen with the puppies when we got Bailey so I guess they can.
 
#10 ·
I buy those 'dent a treats' for the dogs--they look like rawhide. OMG-- I have to like lock Julie in a room with hers--she loves it so much she freaks--she tried stealing Woody's and Cosmo's last night while they were chewing it--with hers still in her mouth--this silly 6 month old puppy took on almost 200 pounds of adult males for a 'dent a treat'....and thought nothing of it...

Not sure I want to try anything better like Baileysmom did---

Seriously-- I would call the vet and ask about contraindications to those bones--they should not charge you for just a phone call.
 
#11 ·
Only the "durable" Nylabone products are welcome in our house. The edible ones and anything resembling the greenie treats are not a good idea, because our two devour them, breaking them to bits immediately. That was the problem with rawhides. For a dog who will chew reasonably slowly, these things are fine when used under supervision.

If your dog is biting off chunks from a "souper" sized, "durable" Nylabone, there's only one other Nylabone product to try: the full-sized Galileo bone. If the dog breaks off chunks of the Galileo, he gets the Awesome Chewer title. In that case, can't think of anything else that's safe other than those large Kong toys, or maybe old used tires (bias ply, not radials!) :)
 
#12 ·
We have a durable nylabone that Lucy loves and has been working on for over a year now. It says on the package that the chunks that break off are smaller then a grain of rice and pass through easily. So far this has been the case.

We did have an edible nylabone once and Lucy had the whole thing ate in a couple hours. I guess we're lucky we didn't have any problems.
 
#15 ·
Tinkerbell had the edible nylabone once. she was sick and had the runs several times till it passed her system. So no more of those. She won't touch a regualr nylabone even the flavored ones. So we use raw hides with supervision only unless it is brand new because we know it takes her a couple hours to be able to get a piece off. I only buy the ones the ones that are rolled like the long retriever rolls and donut shaped ones. She can chew the knots of the regular bones in about 20 minutes so that is a big no at our house.
 
#16 ·
I agree. The whole "edible" idea seems like a bad thing coming from Nylabone. They've established their reputation for making tough, safe chew toys for dogs, and with those "edible"-labeled chews, it seems to me like they are selling something that is no safer for voracious chewers than rawhide.

I'm glad that Bailey is OK now. I know that you must have had quite a scare, and it's doubly frustrating because you gave him something to chew that was sold as safer than rawhide.
 
#18 ·
I'm new here, so I'm not sure if anyone has suggested Sam's Yams as an alternative to rawhides and nylabones. Here's a link:

Front Porch Pets.com

They are dehydrated chunks of yams and are much more nutritious (and digestable) than rawhides, etc. They don't last as long by any means, but Wrigley just loves them. They're good "roughage", too--if you know what I mean... ;)
 
#19 ·
What it says on the package of nylabones is that "small shavings (no larger than a grain of rice) should pass through. Replace when knuckles are worn down." Once it starts looking worn out, I would replace it. If your dog is a big chewer, he may benefit from the durable nylabones, the white ones, because they are much harder. The flavored ones are a bit more chewy and there are some that are digestible.
 
#20 ·
This nylabone was a flavored one that was supposed to be digestible. Bailey is only 5 months old and he was probably chewing on it for 30 minutes tops. I would hate to see what a grown golden would do to one of them....
 
#22 ·
We found another alternative to Rawhides... Most pet stores have an area for natural chews. We like the cow hoof's. They are natural, and they also usually have bones available too, which are very natural. The only problem with the hoofs is that it smells like crap when they chew on them. We've never used Nylabone's before....maybe i'll have to try it out.
 
#23 ·
Wow, thanks for the warnings. As it is, Bentley won't touch the Nylabones or anything for that matter that doesn't look or taste real to him. He loves the Greenies and I haven't worried too much because he seems to love chewing and chewing and chewing. I am going to try Sam's Yams, so thank you for that recommendation.
 
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