Death by "Greenies," and other Urban Myths

Have you ever had someone tell you a story that was so compelling and heart-wrenching you believed it, even though it wasn't strictly true? Such is the recently re-warmed up and polished-up-for-broadcasting story of literally zillions of dogs dying after eating their favorite "Greenies" treat. Call it "Death by Greenies."

Now, back up a year. Remember the "Death by Swifter" story? And before that, the "Death by Bones-and-Raw-Food-Diet" story? And before that, the "Death by Heartworm Preventative" story? And before that....

The point is, we live in a world where anyone who wants to create an instant sensation by any story, no matter how far-fetched, can do so. And our sensationalistic news stations recognize that any such story will receive more attention, and a larger viewing audience or listening audience, if it features BAD news instead of GOOD news. After all, no one is going to tell you about how many millions of pets have had enhanced lives by having cleaner teeth, or by living in a cleaner environment, or by eating a fresh and natural diet, or by being protected against heartworm disease. It's better for them to focus on mayhem and disaster.

So what IS the real scoop on Greenies? Greenies are a dental treat with a structure designed to help clean the teeth and freshen the breath while a pet slowly chews on their Greenies treat. They are intended to be fed once or, at the most, twice a week to facilitate this. And as with ANY treat, they need to be consumed under supervision. Just as you wouldn't give a 3 year old child a Popsicle and walk away, you should NEVER give a pet ANY treat that requires time to consume unless you intend to monitor the situation.

What happens if you give a pet a Greenies treat (or a rawhide, or a bone) and just walk away? Well, some pets will consume the treat as intended, like my Lizzie. Good dog! Others, like my Sofia, would immediately wolf the treat down as fast as she could and end up with a big lump of that treat sitting in her stomach. And then what happens? Well, the treats can slowly dissolve, maybe causing some vomiting until it does so. Or, it could get stuck in the stomach or the intestines and eventually cause a blockage.

So how do you avoid this? You could immediately remove all treats from your pet's diet. Or, you could recognize that your pet loves treats just like a child loves an occasional Popsicle, and you could be responsible enough to monitor its consumption. That's what makes sense to me.

Here's what I do for my own pets: Lizzie gets Greenies once or twice a week, and I always supervise their consumption. Sofia, being the piggy Mastiff that she is, gets a very occasional giant-size Greenie and she gets it for exactly five minutes before it is taken away from her, because after that it is small enough for her to swallow whole - and that could be a problem. Generally I use the giant "Sam's Yams" dehydrated sweet potato treats instead for her, because she can't eat them very fast. Both cats get the Kitty Greenies (Emmett likes chicken, Xena likes salmon, and I am a sucker, so I buy both for them) twice a week, just 3-4 apiece.

And the other stuff of Past Urban Myths? Never did use Swifters, because spreading around crud on my floors without mopping it up afterwards isn't very appealing. (You just KNOW that a guy invented that product!) I do use raw bones as treats too, and I am very comfortable with raw food diets, assuming they are properly prepared. And I think that anyone who doesn't use heartworm preventative from April through December, in our part of the Midwest, ought to have their head examined. We've already had two positive heartworm cases this year, and both have proved difficult and costly to treat (you can test and give preventative for many years for the cost of treating the actual disease once).

Ending thought: What is a treat? It's something that is designed to be given on an intermittent basis and savored - not wolfed down. And certainly no treat is meant to be fed daily.  Treat "Greenies," rawhides, bones, and any other treat like that, and they're fine. Toss them down and leave the room, and you're asking for the same trouble you'd expect if you left that toddler we talked about alone with her Popsicle.