Articles Index/Food
Posted 07/26/06
If you are accustomed to letting your Norfolk eat the popular treat known as Greenies, you may want to reconsider. Although they are marketed as being 100 per cent edible, highly digestible and useful in providing significant dental benefits, there have been numerous reports that they can become lodged in a dog's esophagus or intestinal tract, causing life threatening blockages which can require expensive surgical procedures.
S&M NuTec, which manufactures the toothbrush-shaped chew, says that the product is highly digestible when properly chewed and swallowed by a dog. However, in cases where the product is swallowed before being thoroughly chewed, significant problems may occur and owners need to be aware of this concern before allowing their dogs access to this product.
According to Brendan McKiernan, a board-certified veterinary internal medicine specialist from Denver, CO, compressed vegetable chew treats, of which Greenies are the most popular, are now the third biggest cause of esophageal obstruction in dogs, behind bones and fish hooks.
There are many safe chew toys on the market; weighing the risks of any product is an owner's responsibility.
ANTIC, March, 2006
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