Toys/bones that are safe to chew??
Baxter appears to be very special when it comes to treats and things to chew:
- Deer Antlers - He chews them so hard, he breaks the enamel off his molars.
- Rawhides - Chews them till they are very small, tries to unsuccessfully swallow them, causing himself to gag or throw them (and other stuff) back up.
- Nylabone (specifically the Busy Bone with Bristles) - He cut his gums on it! (Bristles most likely, but not totally sure.)
- Stuffed Toys - Likes to rip out the stuffing and eat it, which recently caused excessive straining and his rectum to prolapse. Not fun.
So as you can see, I have just about been through the gamut of all things chewy for dogs. I would love to get him bones, but I'm really afraid he'll do permanent damage to his teeth. Right now he's not chewing on anything and that seems to be fine for him. However, we have a 7 mo. puppy and he's desperate to chew on things. So far the puppy hasn't hurt himself on any of the bones/toys, but I know I can't have them around if Baxter can't have them.
I currently do a peanut butter filled kong treat, but I'm looking for something that will help him get the plaque build-up off his teeth and fulfill his need to chew. Any suggestions would be awesome! Thanks!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Bax & Zigs & Rosie on
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Do those break down like rawhides? I'd like to give him something he can gnaw on safely while I'm away from home. If such a thing exists.
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Permalink Reply by Vickie Hilliard on
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They can't break pieces off of them but they will get down to a small 2" short piece that they can swallow.
I have a serious chewer. I'm told a 12" supreme size bully stick lasts a couple of weeks. . . for me it only lasts a day or two. The good ones run $8 each. A little pricey for me.
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Permalink Reply by Chris West on
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I get Frosty the 12" triple braided bully sticks. He was a super chewer when we got him and I have never had a problem with these. They are usually $7-9 at Theisens, but I only need to give him one every 2-3 days, so I consider it worth the investment to keep him occupied.
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I know how that can be having an expert chewer. When Baxter was getting deer antler, we'd get the split ones with the exposed marrow and those would only last us a day or so.
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Permalink Reply by Aj on
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Himalayan cheese stick http://www.petexpertise.com/dog-toys/himalayan-dog-chew.html. or raw beef knuckle bones.
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The Bully Stick would be safe as long as it's big enough (especially long enough, like a 12") that he couldn't finish before you get home. The good ones are expensive. The Himalayan cheese products are the safest. Just get a big one so he has to work at it.
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Permalink Reply by Gromit, Sparkle, and Doug on
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Gromit is partial to cow hooves, the angles of the surfaces seem to allow his teeth to slip a little has he bits down. Antlers don't interest him at all. I found a bone shaped thing at the pet store that was made from ground up bone material but Gromit had no interest in it. He loves bully sticks and they seem more digestable than rawhide but they are expensive and an 8" stick only lasts him about 45 minutes. Your pup would probably love the bully sticks but keeping them away from Baxter would be the problem, I think. Nylabones without the bristles might work for you. I'd avoid the softer ones, Gromit demolished one of those and made himself sick.
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Permalink Reply by Jane on
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www.bestbullysticks.com is my favorite place to buy chews. Mine get all sorts of stuff depending on what's on sale at the time...a lot of cow ears, sometimes pig ears, tracheas, bladder sticks, pork skin rolls, backstraps, etc.
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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on
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nylabones, hooves, and weight bearing bones break teeth. Avoid them at all costs. Honestly there really isn't a totally "safe" chew to give your dog without supervision. Franklin goes through bully sticks like crazy, I get him the triple braided ones (prob about 8 inch) and he has the thing chewed completely in about 1/2 hour. If I don't take it away from him when its down to a nub he will swallow it and usually vomit that piece back up later. Instead of the kong, try using a kong genius. They come in many shapes/sizes. Franklin has a cylinder shaped one and if you stuff that with treats and maybe peanut butter too it should take a while for them to get through. If you are going to feed bones, really the only safe ones to give are raw knuckle bones. The roasted ones are too hard and will break teeth, but raw are soft and will do a lot to scrape off plaque. I'll usually get one and let Frank chew it for a few hours then put it in the fridge until it's ready to be used again. He knows to chew on a special towel, but if I leave him unsupervised he will hide the bone usually in the laundry basket, toy box, or my bed so I NEVER leave him with the bone unsupervised because it's disgusting to find a raw bone in your sheets! Hills makes a dental diet called T/D that you can supplement the food with. I give Frank 3-4 pieces morning and night and it has done AMAZING things to his teeth. A small 5 pd bag usually lasts me a month or more.
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That's really cute that he hides it, but I know I would hate to find a gross bone in the bed. I'll definitely look into the Kong Genius. Thanks for the advice!
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Permalink Reply by justine moeller on
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You could try beef necks or ribs. The necks are shaped so they get in between the dogs teeth. They are softer than your dogs teeth so run little risk of chipping a tooth but do the job just fine of removing plaque. They will normally chew them until there is nothing left so expect a fairly 'dry' or 'chalky' poop following the chewing session. We give our dogs bones to chew 1-3 times per week so they usually get about 6 hours of chewing in. Great way to build jaw and shoulder strength. Our dogs teeth are wonderful!
I would however, never leave them to chew unsupervised, with anything. But for teeth cleaning these work wonders. Ask your butcher. We usually get a large bag of about 15-20 bones for $3.
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