A few weeks ago on the Yahoo group list for the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, the topic of Greenies came up. I wrote in to tell my tale of how I had to administer Canine CPR to Rusty, a Jack Russell Terrier, who stayed at my house for a long weekend, while a good friend recovered from surgery. Rusty bit off a large piece and nearly choked to death.

The very first night the dog was here, I gave him his nightly Greenie. He ate it quickly and a piece got lodged in his throat. I had to pick him up, turn him upside down, pull out his tongue, and jam my fingers down his throat, and try not get bitten all at the same time. All the while I was chanting...you can't die on my watch....don't die on my watch...please Rusty...don't die. Time stood still while I did everything I could think of to get that Greenie O-U-T! In hindsight, it must have been quite a site to behold!

It was very scary, but I got the piece out and it was probably an inch and a half square. I am not really sure, because he swallowed it back up before I could get a good look at it! That dog didn't poop for 4 days, and I am certain he had a large piece lodged somewhere. I had called the Vet and we were watching him for signs of distress. Rusty was quite close to being scheduled for tests and possibly surgery when the piece finally passed. All the while my good friend is calling to check on her baby and I am lying through my teeth, saying "oh he's great, and we are all having a blast!" I felt it was as good a time as any for a little white lie. My friend was very sick and there was nothing we could do for the dog other than wait and see. Had he needed surgery, I would have told her first. Rusty still enjoys Greenies on a daily basis, but she doesn't feed them to him in the presence of other dogs. We believe that being in the room with my dog is the reason why he snarfed it down so quickly.

During our on line trainer discussion many wrote in to say that anything we give our dog has the potential to be harmful, and that we need to monitor our dogs closely. A well known vet behaviorist wrote in to share tales of everyday items that she has removed from many dogs over the years, and noted that she has had comparatively few Greenie incidents. Others wrote in that they use only Greenie Teenies little bit chips, which I thought was a good idea, and even more trainers wrote in to report that their dogs were addicted to Greenies, and acted like little druggies after dinner when it was "Greenie time".
Count me out as a Greenie enabler, and apparently I am not the only who has had a problem.

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