Study Reports on Adverse Effects from Greenies up to 2006
A couple of years ago, Greenie chew treats inspired a great deal of controversy. Reports emerged that Greenies were lodging in the throats of dogs, sometimes with fatal consequences.
A recent report in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) studied 31 cases in which Greenies became lodged in dogs’ esophagi. Some of the findings of the study are outlined below.
The authors also noted that removal of the chew treats, when possible, was often difficult and complicated.
So, what’s the good news? First, the problems occurred at a very low rate. And, in August of 2006 the manufacturers of Greenies changed the formula of the product. The new formula is more readily soluble (digestible), and therefore less likely to cause harm.
The article cited in this entry is J Am Vet Med Assoc 2008;232:1021-1025.
You have questions. 
my stephie loves the kitty greenies. i had only given her two or three till once got stuck in her mouth. she was choking on it and i had to pry it out of her mouth. im afraid to give them to my kitties since.
i had heard the dog greenies werent being digested, but remaining mostly whole in a dogs stomach. anyone know anything about that?
This was a subject I spoke to my vet about because this was something I was very concerned with. However, my vet assured me that since Greenies reformulated the treats, that they are now much more digestable and they’ve even created more grooves within the treats so that they break more easily (thus making them easier to chew in smaller pieces.) Anyways, I’ve been giving them to my dog ever since (he LOVES them) and we havent had any problems yet!