To give this chew to my dog?

[frostedviolets]

Clearing out the cupboards and I've found an old fallow deer antler dog chew.

It looks like new but I would guesstimate it to be at least two, if not three years old...

Is it likely to be safe?
Not going to splinter or anything?

*kong, not long!

My vet told me to give raw bones twice weekly to keep the dogs’ teeth free of tartar. They love Dentastix, but I am not convinced it serves any practical purpose.
I also give them old shoes to chew in the garden. They particularly like the rubber Croc type. Never had any issue.

Kongs are fine, my heavy chewer hasn't even dented his yet (6 months and counting), we have 5 of them, used daily. I put his dried food in and seal the end with peanut butter, wet dog food, anything else we have to hand. Pop it in the freezer for a while and feed them one at a time.

I alos find JR Pet Products. They have a primal range that comes with hair!!!! He was nonplussed at first but now loves his weird collection of ears and tails. Their range of chews ars good, last a while too!

He also loves the Whimzee dental thingies - I say loves they are the one treat he always does zoomies for! But you have to be prepared for the biohazard poo colour.

I've never heard of rawhide bones being toxic? That's worrying considering that's what we give our dog. She loves the plain white ones 🙁

Has anyone got any good links for me to read up on this please?

ooh! There's a lot on it. You have to be careful to only read the stuff about UK available rawhide though!

Apart from the chemicals that are used on hides - it is a by product of the tanning industry ot the meat industry - the main issue is that it can swell in the gut, cause all sorts of issues.

Trying to find something that makes sense and isn't OTT about it can be hard

www.holidays4dogs.co.uk/blog/the-dangers-of-rawhide-chews/

My dogs eat cat shit so I don't worry too much about the treats. I usually make biscuits with butter, cheese and sardines but only because I like doing it. They don't appreciate it. It's so weird in the UK how people are so precious. My dogs are more precious to me than anything, my oldie flies in the cabin with me most holidays, but I don't worry if they chew Chews.

My 2 dogs have kongs every day. I’ve had the same ones for 3 years, & despite the dogs being good strong chewers given half a chance, the kongs are still going strong.

I cook chicken breasts, chop it up & freeze them. They get it after a long walk, waiting by the freezer soon as we get back. 😀

They love them.

I actually wouldn’t describe them as plastic. I guess officially they may be, but it’s more of a rubber consistency,

Thanks @CuriousabiutSamphire but the link didn't work.

We've had our dog two years now with no issues, and even the vet said rawhide was fine for her, but I still like to read the research if there is any. As long as it's accredited, and not just some dog blogger with a FB page 😅