The answer is both! It is good if you choose the right one and it is bad if you choose the wrong one. The first thing you should know is what a rawhide is it is the inner layer of the hide of the cattle.
The hides of the cattle are processed with a lot of chemicals so that they can be transported to different regions without any damage. The chemicals used in the processing of the hides could pose a danger to your pets if they are not treated properly. Using harmful chemicals in processing is done in many countries. In the United States such processing is done according to the standards and hence it is safe to get rawhides from the U.S. If the rawhide bones are not following standards, it is better to look for an alternative to raw hides like smoked bones.
Raw hide bones come in different quality. Some of the rawhides are a single piece from the inner layer of the hide and they are thick enough to for a single piece of raw hide bone. Some of them have many layers of rawhides in it and they are pressed together to form the bone shape. Sometimes the rawhide is rolled to form a bone shape. The rolled out or the multilayer rawhide bones are not safe for your pet. They disintegrate easily while the dog chews it and might chip off quickly. If the dog consumes those chips, it might block the food path or the intestine thereby complicating the issue. In such cases there might be a need for a surgery to remove those chip blockages. So when you buy rawhide bones make sure they are made of a single layer.
Chewing of the rawhide bones has a lot of benefits to your dog. The first thing is the dog is engaged in it and it enjoys it very much. Even if you are away from your pet, it will be busy with its favorite bone. The raw hide bone serves as a stress reliever to your dog. Another benefit is that it helps to remove the plaque in the teeth. Accumulation of plaque leads to a lot of diseases like gingivitis and periodontitis. Bacteria are also present in the plaque. This can be avoided if your dog chews rawhide bones. Oral health of the dog is taken care of by chewing rawhide bones. In the puppies when they grow new teeth there will be pain due to it. This pain is relieved when the pup chews rawhide bones.
Therefore there are lots of benefits for your dogs in chewing rawhide bones. It is bad only if you choose the wrong product or an inferior product. Keep an eye on your dog while they are busy with the rawhide bones to avoid any incidents.