I had always given rawhide chews to previous dogs, because that's what my parents had done, and we kind of just took it as "normal", but when we got Alfie (as a pup), and asked our vet about rawhide chews, she pulled a face and said definitely not to give them to pups under a year old and preferably not at all. (And also said not to give pigs ears as they can cause pancreatitis).
The main reason was the risk of throat or even intestinal blockages (especially in pups), which have been known to cause death. I was stunned because I had never thought of this before. But then I read the same thing here from a few posters.
I also read elsewhere that another problem with rawhide chews, especially those from China, is that often the source of the rawhide is not stated, and has been found in some cases to be hide from animals other than cows (eg dogs and cats).
So Alfie doesn't have rawhide chews at all.
In a recent thread in another folder, someone mentioned giving a chew to their 6 month old pup and also their dog. I stated my concern over the pup (and even possibly the dog) having a chew, if the chew was rawhide, but then had this questioned by two posters and was told by one of them:
so as long as they a) are supervised while having rawhide and b) don't have any ill effects and have raw hide chews in moderation I don't see the problem at all
So, rather than take that thread off-topic, I thought I'd start a thread here to ask everyone's opinion on rawhide chews, whether you give them to your dogs or whether you don't, and why. Also it might be helpful to know if there are some rawhide chews that you think are safer than others, and also from what age you think it's ok to give them.