I always advise my students at orientation about the dangers of rawhide. Dogs should only be allowed to chew on it when there is someone to supervise them. As previously mentioned, only buy rawhide labeled that it is made in the USA to avoid deadly toxins. When the rawhide gets small enough that your dog may try to swallow it whole, discard and give a new one. Compressed rawhides are bit safer than traditional since they crumble more when chewed on, but they also require supervision and discarding of when worn down.
Alternatives to rawhide I use in my orientations are:
Nylabones-dogs either love these or hate em. Our first pair of Springers hated them, my last Springer *LOVED* them!
Nylabone edibles-these are meant to be completed consumed & digested by your dog and are made from many different foods from turkey to carrots.
Kongs-they come in 3 natural rubbers (soft blue or pink for pups & seniors; original red for average chewers; dense black for tenacious chewers). Kongs can be boiled in broth to tempt your dog to use it, my last Springer *ADORED* his Kong as-is! Speadable cheese or creamy peanut butter can be added to the center of the Kong. Put the Kong in the freezer overnight, then let your dog have it the next day. You can add things to the cheese or peanut butter such as baby carrots or small dog treats. When the center gets dirty, the Kong can be put in the top rack of the dishwasher. It would then need to be re-boiled in broth.
Raw bones-these are actually safer than sterilized or smoked bones since they do not splinter. Most butcher shops are glad to get rid of things like knuckle bones or leg bones at little to no cost.
Hope some of that helps
