Pig Ears?

[Papa Hausser]

I'm curious as to everyone's thoughts about dried pig ears...

I realize that the fat content needs to be added into the total calories per day count, to avoid gaining weight... And, as always, ensuring they're locally sourced (no imports from China) is vital...

Are there any other concerns/drawbacks/reasons to avoid them?

Or does anyone else like them and want to advocate in favor of using them....?

I've ask a couple of local vets about pig ears. Both have said that dogs cannot digest pork properly and to avoid it. Our two Shelties suffered pancreatitis two years ago after our well intending neighbors had been feeding them leftover pork roast. So I avoid any pork.

 

[tesslynn]

I've ask a couple of local vets about pig ears. Both have said that dogs cannot digest pork properly and to avoid it. Our two Shelties suffered pancreatitis two years ago after our well intending neighbors had been feeding them leftover pork roast. So I avoid any pork.

I don't digest pork properly either. My allergist in his practice found a lot of his patients with Celtic heritage having issues with pork. It makes sense that shelties, being from the same region, would share similar issues. I learned early on having shelties that if they were sneezing at something or itching, chances are it would affect me adversely as well. They taught me a lot about inflammation and how to avoid it.

 

[JacqueZ]

You can also try Himalayan yak chews. We got them for the girls once off amazon. They loved them, although they were not as long lasting as promised. Mine will chew on just about anything, but due to budget we tend to go with the USA sourced rawhide with the occasional higher end treat mixed in. (We were really lucky this winter as our local grocery store was lazy on markdowns and tossed all their Christmas raw hides into a 75 cent bin with everything else. We cleaned them out.)

But Yak Chews, made from smelly yak milk and hard enough to be a challenge and supposedly super healthy for dogs.

I do avoid pig ears...I had a bag of them for Honey at one point and she had one splinter and get caught in her throat. She won't touch them anymore anyway and I don't like how brittle they are. I did find very smelly beef ears on amazon, which have a nice almost spongy texture and which the girls go wild over. Just enough chewing for about 20 minutes. Honey likes to horde hers until Mango has finished, so she can make Mango jealous.

 

[Annabellam]

I agree with pretty much everyone pig ears are not the best. There is lots of other options you could try that are way healthy than pig ears. Haven't tried out lamb ears, definitely something worth giving a shot