Safe Chew?

[Bonne Bouche]

Our little Bonne Bouche LOVES chewing on things. His Bullies are his number one favorite thing. He gets it for ~20 a day, usually while we groom/trim nails or when we need some quiet time and don't want to put him in his cage.

 

We wished (and I know he does, too) that we can give him more to chew on. I have a bunch of toys for him, rope toys, plush toys, nylabones, kongs (puppy and normal and extreme). He's not really a "destroyer" (I have several Dollar Store squeekies from when we got him that are still in decent condition). But when he's being mouthy, nothing we give him interests him. And he NEVER chews on the nylabones (totally ignores them -- we even rubbed cheese on them once to try to get him interested, after he licked off the cheese he never went back to it). The Kongs are boring unless there is something in it.

HE LOVES STICKS! Every single time we go outside he finds a stick. He likes carrying them around with him, and then chewing off all the bark. Is it bad to let him do this? He doesn't seem to eat them, just chewing them to pieces? I wish we could let him play with the (free) sticks all the time, but I don't think its safe really, and it makes a huge mess.

 

I had a Dingo Rawhide I bought for him after hearing good reviews on other websites for them, but after we found out rawhide was that bad, and after I saw he was successfull at pulling off a small chunk (he was supervised while chewing, so I got that right away), the Dingo went in the trash. While at home with my parents this weekend, he found a stashed rawhide of my parent's dog in a closet and just went to town! My parent's dog lost interest in it awhile ago, but BB LOVES IT. Its just a normal rolled 10-12 inch white rawhide. Since my parents got it, I'm pretty sure its a USA made one. He chewed on it for about an hour (while I was away and they were "babysitting") without knowing that rawhide was "off limits". But after seeing that he didn't make any "progress" aside from a small gummy section. I wonder if it is safe for him to chew, if he remains supervised.

 

Basically my question is two parts...

 

1) Is rawhide THAT BAD, (i.e., does anyone here give their dog rawhide?)

2) Is there any chew (other than bullies) that can be given for a more prolonged period of time, (i.e., hooves...) that may be an alternative for our teething 4.5 month old? (I've seen wooden toys that he might like, but I worry it might make him want to chew on our furniture, or that it is just an "expensive stick")

[Jodi and Stella]

We don't give Stella rawhide, I have heard it is not very digestable. Try Himalayan Yak chews, they are made from yak milk and are very hard, digestable and last a long time. Antlers are another good long lasting one. I get the ones that are split in half lengthwise so that more of the marrow is exposed and she just naws away at it. We have been letting Stells chew on sticks in the yard, she just chews off pieces and spits it out. I think if they are not ingesting them it should be ok.

[Carla, Lucca and Izzy]

The Himalayan Dog Chew and antlers are good like Jodi said. Also...., marrow bones (from the butcher and boiled), small filled kongs, then frozen. (I fill them with peanut butter , yogurt and kibble). We're all trying to find the ideal chew thing to keep these doods occupied:)

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

Rooney only likes either shin bones or bully sticks, then I find out that we should only buy the bully sticks that are made in the U.S., so I'll order these on line.  I didn't realize it but bully sticks, he likes the braided ones - they last longer, are made out of pizzle which is the muscle in a bull penis.  I would have never bought one if I had known but he loves them so what am I to do.  He has never had rawhide, but I'm sure he'd love it.  I will be watching to see what our experts have to say.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

You can buy shin bones at the grocery store, mine are in the frozen section.  I boil them for 40 minutes and then freeze them.  Rooney loves these and they don't splinter but watch out - my sil's dog left one outside and the lawn mower got it.  Chopped it into very sharp pieces.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

really? bull penis? seriously? yuck. is this humane? I have visions of people going around slicing off the penis of innocent bulls. I'm going to have bad dreams tonight. the braided ones are Sophie's favourite. I have one in purse right now. gross.

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

My husband doesn't like the "idea"  of bully sticks when he actually found out what they are. Once in a great while they have a rawhide chip but never the rolled ones. Can't wait to see what everyone else does!!

[shelly]

Me too, Jennifer... Tori just gets nylabones... which have their drawbacks as well... but knock wood...

 

[Susan and Sasha]

No rawhide for Sasha either...

She loves the split Antlers too...and they last a long time.

I also got her organic beef marrow bones from a small dog boutique near me...and they have a lot of marrow in them.

My understanding is that they can have them raw...for one day...and then they have to be discarded. (that's what the instructions say on the package)

My friend Jenn...told me that she was told from someone on the Food Group....that is is fine to boil them for 10 minutes...and then keep them for a while.  Evidently...this particular type of bone doesn't splinter...and is fine.

I would ask  in the Food Group before I did this...

I buy Sasha Sams Yams Big Boyz Sweet Potato Chews...andthey keep her busy for a short while.

They are a Very healthy...Tasty treat...and she and I am happy with them.

Sasha doesn't have a lot of  stuffed toys...as she is a hearty chewer...but...I take a  lot of time looking for things that will work for her.

I'm not opposed to her chewing on sticks...as she seems to be fine after she does...and from what I read on DK...many GD like to chew sticks...Lol..  (she doesn't eat the sticks...but loves to chew them...and sticks are one of her Very favorite things!!!!

In the summer....I fill a tupperware container up...and make a Ice Pop Treat for Sasha...

It's a Wonderful way to give her a frozen treat on a hot summer day!

Instead of putting out a bowel of water for her to drink...I put a large ice pop for her...in a bowel...and place the bowel in a shady area.

This frozen treat takes a long time to melt...and Sasha has a place to come to get her thirst quenched when she is thirsty!

Another good treat that is not something to munch on long term...but....is a healthy treat...is Vitality Chicken Breast with flaxseed and Vitamins.  It's organic with omega 3's...tastes great...and your Doodle will Love it!!  It's by Dogswell.

I also  bought one of those plastic items that help you throw a ball Really far...which helps exercise your Doodle.

Everyday...I go outside with Sasha...and play fetch with her..throwing a ball and having her retrieve it...which is one of her very favorite things to do.

She loves it...and so do I!!

When you have a dog that is a hearty chewer...there aren't a lot of things to buy for them to chew on...but...I find that Sasha is totally fine with  the things she has.

It's Not about having a toy box full of toys...but...it's all about know what works with your Doodle...having healthy items for them to chew on and play with...spending time with them...training them...and loving them!!

I'm sure that I missed some things..but...I hope that this was helpful to you...

 

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[Jennifer and Jack]

Jack disagrees. He said it IS about the four toy boxes of toys he has!!!! LOL, everyone has to find what works best for them.

[Harley Girl & Linda Neff]

Harley chews on rawhides (made in USA only) and has never had a problem.  She wants nothing to do with nylabones ordeer antlers.  She does like filled and frozen kongs also.

 

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

Cooper is no longer a big chewer, but I found the yak chews only lasted her 2 x 1 hour stints. Her bully sticks and pork chews last her much longer, but then she mostly carries them around and doesnt chew much! So my list is

 

Pork hide is much better than the cow hide - its digestible and not soaked in formaldehyde (rawhide gives Cooper a nasty poop)

Antlers are great

Hooves are great too but can be stinky - choose lighter colour ones

Raw and smoked bones are great too

Bully sticks are great, but I wont buy the ones from Brazil - I only buy Canadian or US ones

Yak (Himalayan) chews

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Beef tracheas last the longest for JD; the beef marrow bones also last a long time, but he isn't interested in them once the "good stuff" is chewed off. He won't touch antlers. I'm tempted to try the Himalayan chews, but he's amazingly picky and at that price, I just don't need another expensive dog chew lying around the house.

You can get beef tracheas at the higher-end pet boutiques. Here's a discussion I posted about them in The Food Group, with photos:

Finally, a Healthy, Safe, Long-lasting Chew!