We still moisten the kibble for our 8-month old puppy, so we decided to try Greenies to keep her teeth clean. Never again. After first turning her nose up at it, she finally managed to slowly polish off one stick. She eats virtually everything, so we thought it was odd that she didn’t show her usual avid interest. Later that day, she became rather lethargic and laid down rather than eat dinner. That’s when we knew something was wrong. Normally, she plays and plays during the day, and when dinner time arrives, she dives in head first. We noticed that her heart rate was much higher than normal, and she was panting… not because of excess play or hot weather. It was winter with snow on the ground. Her body temperature also seemed elevated, although we didn’t have a rectal thermometer to take her temperature. She refused to eat yogurt or her favorite carrots, and we thought about taking her to the vet, but decided to let her rest until morning. The next day, she was her usual self: hyperactive, hungry, and happy. She had 3 large bowel movements before noon, and after that was even happier! Current information on Greenies suggests that they are hard to chew into small pieces and often break off in large clumps, which may cause pancreatitis and esophageal or intestinal obstruction. They are only about 85% digestible if chewed completely, even after a reformulation of this product by the manufacturer. Chewing them completely can result in stringy diarrhea and/or vomiting for many dogs and cats. Although there is a negligible amount of vitamins and minerals, Greenies consist of mostly pork gelatin, wheat, and glycerin–not exactly what makes for a healthy pet. We are thankful that our puppy didn’t suffer more serious consequences from her first (and last) experience with Greenies. Rather than donate the unused portion of the bag we purchased to our local animal shelter, it has instead been donated to the local landfill.
