Do hoof trimmings make good dog treats?
Posted by Bill on May 06 2007 at 11:41 am | Tagged as: Horse Lifestyle
Our dogs look forward to farrier visits. I think they mark it on their little doggy calendars, in fact. When the farrier visits, he trims all eight of our horses’ hooves in neat slices, just perfect for gnawing. This to me is disgusting. Mikki and I pick up the shavings but invariably one or two get by us and a few days later we see one of our dogs happily chewing on it. They must be good, too, because our dogs will protect this illicit snack with their lives. This can’t be healthy for them, right? I’m sure hooves carry all kinds of nasty bacteria dogs shouldn’t be ingesting. But then again as much as I love dogs, I realize they are pretty gross. I mean how do you reason with something that will eat its own barf and dig “Almond Roca” out of the cat litter box for a particularly chewy treat? Can horse hooves really be worse than poo and week-old garbage?
Our worst offender is our older Jack Russell terrier. He is a hoof aficionado. This last batch he got into didn’t settle too well in his tummy and we got to see what it looked like partially digested…on our living room carpet. Pretty gross. But that’s the dog theme…gross.
Do you let your dog(s), if you have any, munch on horse hoof trimmings?
Every dog I know of loves hoof snacks.. I have not heard of a dog getting sick from one, ours have never gotten sick.. I think hooves are better snack than pigs ears… I like your blog, and bookmarked it.
Hoof trimmings are absolutely OK for dogs. The material that makes hooves is the same as makes hair. So, strange as it may seem, the hoof trimmings are good for a dog’s coat. The canine digestive tract can cope with any bacteria that may be on the hooves.
My dogs all eat hoof trimmings (and lick up the hoof dust that the rasp makes.) Best of all, they are yard dogs, so they don’t heave up this or anything else on my carpets:)
Well, haven’t the dogs discovered the horse apple buffet? I think I’d rather them heave up a hoof trimming than the remnants of the buffet.Especially when they’ve been treating it as an all you can eat buffet.
Well, I have two dogs. Hoof trimmings are a big hit with them both. However, one of them is very old and has had digestive problems in the past, so I don’t give them to her anymore. But my dogs have been eating hoof trimmings as long as we have had them (10 years) without a single problem. I think that as long as your dogs are young and healthy, hoof trimmings are a wonderful treat!
Bonnie, FL horse/dog owner
I used to board my horse, and the owner’s dog was in heaven when the farrier was there! She came flying and had a wonderful chew on all those hoof trimmings.
I go to PetSmart and PetCo often and find animal hooves for sale at these “respectable” establishments. I have bought them for my rottweiler and lab. They love them I didn’t know about them until one day the rottie picked one up at my dad’s ranch.
I appreciate your site. My daughter (and I) just got our first horse. She is 29 yrs old, arthritic, and just plain old. But, she’s gentle and sweet and my 10 year old is in love. She has been working with this horse since Jan. 07 and today (may 30) finally brought the horse home. We are getting ready for the new owner experience. Fortunatly the previous owner is a good friend of mine and extremely experienced.
Good luck with your horses and I recommend allowing the dogs to chow down as often as you would give them rawhide bones. Otherwise, you can ask the vet at their net shot session what he thinks.
d2cmom