Windee (Moo Tubes & Beef Trachea) Chewies Choking Warning
Yesterday I received a heartbreaking letter from Bobbie, she had given her pup Nikko a Windee chewie and the dog choked to death. I am not familiar with these treats but we had a scary experience with Copper years ago when she was chewing a rawhide.
I was away on business and Lisa had given her one of the chewies with the knots on the end. Copper had eaten them before with no issues, the girl can chew. This time she almost choked to death when one of the knots separated and got stuck in her throat. Lisa thought she was going to watch her die, it was horrible. Eventually she was able to grab hold of a piece and pull it from her throat, we were very lucky, she never would have made it to the emergency vet.
We have never bought those types of chewies again. I have heard horror stories about many different types of rawhides/chewies, and while some pups have no issues it is always good to be aware of what can happen. Here’s Bobbie’s story…
On Saturday night, (8/16/09) my 6 year old Shih Tzu, Nikko, was eating a dog chewie named Windee (a/k/a Moo tubes & Beef Trachea). He began choking and I tried but could not get the Windee chew from him. I thought the choking stopped before I went to bed but the next day I woke up and Nikko was dead. The necropsy performed that morning revealed approximately 2 inches of the chew lodged in the trachea leading to death by asphyxiation.
The 6″ Windee chew is manufactured by Jones Natural Chews Company (the label says Jones Gourmet Chews Company) located in Rockford Illinois. The chew is advertised as \”good chewing for all size dogs\”. There are absolutely no warnings that choking can occur and cause death OR the Windee can lodge in the trachea and thus cause death by asphyxiation.
I contacted Jones Natural Chews company and spoke to Dean Jones, one of the owners. I told him what happened and he said he would send me a letter advising as to what would be done. When I didn’t receive the letter I called him back and he said the letter was sent. I still have not received any letter. I requested they take this product off the market so that it would not happen to another dog. He said they would NOT take the Windee chew off the market. I then requested a warning label on the product that choking can occur and lead to death. He said he spoke to their Attorneys and they may put some type of warning that \”Choking could be hazardous\” That is not sufficient. It minimizes the reality, death can occur.
I know our dogs love bones and chewies and we all love to see our dogs happy BUT the consequences are not worth it.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE IF YOU HAVE A DOG DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES GIVE Windee (a/k/a Moo tubes & Beef Trachea) TO YOUR DOG.
I can’t tell you how much I loved Nikko, I bred him and thus had him since the day he was born. IF you have had a dog die because of choking on this or any other product please notify me via email.
We are so sorry to hear about the loss of Nikko and extend our heartfelt condolences. I want to thank Bobbie for sharing her experience so others can be spared the pain she is going through.
Alot of dog toys and chews do advise on packaging that the dog should not be left unattended while playing or chewing on this toy. There is no reason for this company not to post the same warning other companies post willingly.
My dog Rudie chocked on a bone one day. It was the same kind of bone he had chewed on hundreds of other times. Luckily my husband was able to remove it from his throat before we lost my little dog.
Sad to say we refuse to give either dog bones or raw hide now because of the fear of losing my babies.
Jones Natural Chews Company should alert their consumers of choking hazards.
I am so sorry. I am afraid to give my dogs any kind of rawhide chews because I have heard of these things before. I now only give things they can chew up. My dogs love the basted milk bones. My heart goes out to you……..
I seldom give my dogs rawhide chews, especially the bone with the knots. Years ago, I was told by a vet, never give them, the rawhide, number one, is if they do happen to swallow a chunk, it does not digest, it comes out in the same chunk and size they swallow. And depending on the size of the dog and chew, I was told it damage their intestins and also consipate them as well. The only rawhide I give my dogs are the flat strips that looks kinda like particle board or the little slim round sticks that look the same they break up. My dogs range from a GS mix, BC mix, and an Am Staff. I might occassionaly get the small knoted bones for them or if they get them as a gift like for Christmas, but I stay right with them as they chew on them. And if I see the bone is getting slimy where it can accidently slip down their throat I take it away from them. That is usually what causes those type of bones to get away and slip down a dog’s throat. I’m sad Bobbie lost her pet, I love mine too and would be devestated if that happen to one of mine, But all those years ago when my vet at the time told me not to let my large dog have them, I didn’t. And how I came about this info, was she had chewed on them and swallow a chunk and it got stuck in her retum when she poop. I had to take a paper towel and pull it out and it was blooded so I was concern, I may have did some damage. Do not give your dog those types of bones or if you do, make the small ones and stay right with them while they chew and if it becomes slimy, take it away. The slimy bone can slip down their throat and lodge there.
My sympathies go out to Bobbie for the loss of her beloved dog.
Another treat to look out for are pigs ears. Molly was chewing on a pigs ear and a piece became lodged in her throat. Like Lisa did with Copper, I managed to reach in and get the piece before tragedy struck. Since then no pigs ears or rawhide bones for Molly.
Also beware of rope toys with frayed ends. I’ve read that some dogs have chewed on these strands and ingested them causing intestinal blockage and death.
I don’t know how much money I’ve thrown away by disposing of harmful treats and toys but for Molly’s safety it’s well worth the loss.
I think ANY chew has the potential for choking your dog… is there truly a ’safe’ chew out there? I think not.
I am sorry for their loss! What a horrible thing to wake up to… I’m sure the image will stay with them forever.
These are not rawhides, it seems like there’s some confusion going on in some comments. These are dried cow trachea.
All chews should be supervised… and choking can occur with pretty much ANY dog chew or treat (even kibbles!). I would not use this as a reason to ban trachea chews…. my dogs get raw beef trachea (which is a bit more pliable) as part of their diet. It is full of glucosamine and chondroitin, so I’d still recommend them over rawhides and hard, smoked “wreck” bones like soup bones and whatnot. Nothing in life is fool-proof…
Thank you for posting this Horst. I’m so sorry for this poor pup and his family
I’ve heard of this sort of thing before, and Pogo only ever gets a rawhide chew when I’m there to keep an eye on her eating it. If I’m not going to be around and she hasn’t finished one, it gets put up out of reach until I get home.
My heart goes out to Bobbie, what a terrible way to lose a companion animal.
The last time Nero had a rawhide bone, a piece got stuck in his throat and he began to choke. Terrible!!! I reached around him from behind with both my arms and balled my fist into his ribcage and pushed upwards really hard a couple of times. Nero threw up a tiny piece of bone and was quite shaky.
Some CPR techniques designed for humans do work on dogs.
I am very sorry for your loss Bobbie. Trying to be a good dog mom by giving your baby a treat and it turns into the worst possible disaster. So sad. I have a shih tzu too and would be lost without this little guy. I never give my kids any type of rawhide chews because of the fear of choking. Everyone says I’m an overprotective mom but all my kids get is dentastix, pupperoni and veggies for snacks. I can live with being called an “over protective mom”.
My heart goes out to you.
I’m very sorry for your loss!
I will say that virtually anything that dogs ingest can be a choking hazard. There is no real way to prevent things like this from happening except never giving dogs anything. The best we can do is to buy appropriately sized chews, chews that our dogs (and the specific type of chewer they are) can handle, and supervise closely.
Shayne nearly choked on a shnoozle (a cow nose) when she thought it was a good idea to swallow a big piece… scary indeed…but she still gets them because she enjoys them–i just supervise. She has eaten them for years and has never had an issue except for this one time.
Thank you all for your kind thoughts.One
correction, these are not rawhide. They are called Windees, moo tubes and beef trachea. It claims
that they are completely digestible. There is absolutely no warning of any kind on the label.
One comment said she always gives her dog this chew, well my dear it only takes once !!!!!!!!!!
If anyone has had an animal that has died because of this treat Windees, please email me at
fortheloveofnikko@gmail.com
This is truly awful. I’m very sorry for your loss.
Dogs can choke on anything – Daisy choked on a dog biscuit in the vet’s office! – so nothing is truly safe. But still…. Just the shape of those chews makes me think they’d be a choking hazard. It would be so easy for them to slip down the wrong way. What are they thinking making a product like that??
Keep fighting. It was only because of people with tragic stories like yours that Greenies changed their products to make them safer. I won’t give those to my dogs either, but I’m glad they were eventually pressured to change.
I had a dalmation that began choking on a rawhide and almost died. I felt helpless because he could not breathe and started losing control of his kidneys and peed all over himself. I could not stand it and I reached down his throat as far as I could and couldnt grab it so I pushed it further down. It was a horrifying experience. After that incident he started having siezures but he stayed with us for another 8 years or so. I am so sorry to hear of this loss but I still to this day will not give my dogs the rawhide chews. I give them pork chews or pig ears.
What a horrible experience. My sympathies go out to you.
I’ve come to the conclusion that any dog can choke on anything. I stopped giving rawhides years ago due to a choking incident. Then I stopped giving dry dog biscuits due to a choking incident. Next rubber toys were taken away. And recently one of my dogs choked on a small soft training treat.
My conclusion is we all need to learn how to do emergency techniques for choking dogs. I know it saved the life of one of my dogs!