Puppy eating raw hide?

We just got our 15 week puppy yesterday (toy breed) and he is most intrigued by his rope toy that has a piece of rawhide (pigs ear) attached to it. Rather than just chewing on it, he wants to eat it and seems to have ingested a small bit already. Is that normal? I thought it was just for chewing but will it affect him if he eats it? The petsmart people said its okay but I just want to confirm.