Greenies?

My vet keeps saying they are no more dangerous than any other thing that we give our pets...I don't know.   For me, I only bought them once and my Bubby did like them but she gets enough other things.
 
Last week I did a pet sitting job for a dog named Libby and a cat named Jack.  The owner left everything out for them both and notes. She made mention that Libby got a greenie in the morning and one in the evening.   She also had little rawhides (Libby is a Golden) and square dog snacks that she said Libby could have unlimited amout of.  She only asked that we make sure the greenie was eaten before leaving because she heard of dog choking.  I think she was mistaking choking for blocking but didn't talk to her because I was working for a company that pet sits.  Geez,,,that made me nervous because I don't give my dog rawhides or greenies....  I never did give Libby a rawhide, but the greenies I did give her once is a while before her dinner because sometimes she did'nt want to eat and I was only there for about 45 min. so I wanted her to make sure everything was taken care of....I found that if she did'nt eat, I gave her a greenie and she got up to eat it and then went to her dish to eat her food.  
I think we all need to fight our own wars and decide what we want to give our dogs and what we don't.  Just like rawhides,,I gave my dogs rawhides all the time,,,and gave my pittie cooked soup bones...and nothing ever bothered her and she lived to about 17.  Now after reading all of this, I'm afraid to give Bubblegum rawhides, greenies, AND bones,,,either cooked OR raw!...

When I got my dog, I asked the vet about rawhide.  He told me that he does not recommend rawride but if we are going to give it to her then get compressed rawhide.  To this day, I have avoided all rawhide products.  I also do not feed greenies.  They did get them several times with no issues.  You just have to make sure that you buy the right size for your dog.  I have found something called Antlerz.  They are real antlers and they dogs love to chew on them.  They never break up.  The dogs  just slowly grind them down.  Even my 10 year old dog that normally doesn't chew on things just loves these Antlerz.

It's all about balancing risk with benefit. Dogs, especially young dogs, MUST chew. You have to give them something to chew on, or they will find things like chair legs and dry wall to chew on.
Consider the vast number of dogs who chew on rawhides and greenies daily with no problems, and balance that against the very few reported cases of health problems. You have to conclude that these products are quite safe.
I offer compressed rawhide, billy sticks, and raw bones to my dogs. I've never had a problem. I don't feed greenies because they cost a fortune, have super unhealthy ingredients, and are gobbled up in seconds, not because there is a one in a million chance of the greenies causing a blockage.

we prefer nylabones. our dogs dont get greenies. we tried rawhide with amelia once, and she refused it so we havent bothered with it again.

I tried greenies a couple times....my dog had no problem with them, BUT, I can't imagine that they do much good for a dog's teeth. Whenever I gave one to Spot (and it was the appropriate size), he literally ate the whole thing within 1 minute. I'd say, just stick with real bones.

You just have to make sure that you buy the right size for your dog.

 
Just to toss out a different point of view here.  Willow really liked Greenies and at first I thought they were OK.  I used to get the little bits and add them to the top of her food sometimes, not for her teeth but just to get her going eating.  Well, one night about 2 days after she had some she vomited them back up.  I stopped giving them after that because I was concerned that they would still be in the stomach after 2 days.  And, those bits are so small and she's a medium to large size dog.

Greenies are fat-en-ing!!!  I used to work at a pet supplies store and I swear that more than half of the customers I talked to about their fat dogs fed excessive amounts of Greenies, like they were Milk Bones.  Now, the very first thing I ask when someone asks me a question about their fat dogs is...Do you give your dog Greenies?
 
I guess anything in excessive proportions will make dogs fat, but even the feeding instruction on the Greenies package says 2-3 a week.  People are giving them like they are just dog biscuits.
 
I use and recommend Booda Corn Starch chews.  You can even find these in Wal-Mart.  They are less fattening than Greenies and last alot longer.