What is your dog's favorite chew toy that actually holds up?

[Paige]

I am having trouble finding safe chew items for Ozzie. The flexible Nylabones he likes but can break off huge chunks. The harder ones he doesn't like. The vet. says no rawhides. He had a big rope knot toy he managed to chew the strings apart and off. I get bully sticks, they are o.k. just don't last very long. For a smaller doodle (19 lbs. at 6 months), this pup can chew! I'd appreciate any specific suggestions!

[Kerri McBride Nakada]

Thanks for starting this discussion. I have the same problem. My Tucker (55 lbs) can eviserate any chew-toy in seconds then begins to eat the squeaker (which then becomes a throwup incident later in the day, along with scaring me to death about eating the plastic). If he can't tear them up, they just aren't fun, apparently. So far the elk antler Carol gave him is the only thing that has lasted. I also give him DentaChews (Costco) that are for his teeth. He seems to love them, but they are "treats" not chews, and they are gone in about 10 minutes. I'd love to hear about other ideas!

[Margo]

Hi Paige, I agree with Kerri about the elk antlers. They seem to be a great solution to this. Does anyone out there know where we can get more? Lily is only 3 mos. so we probably have a few more options for what, another week- hah!? She loves ropes (some are better than others as far a durability), bully sticks and cows ears, and I like the latter two because they are digestible and relatively safe. I bought a couple of toys, brand name Ruffians (or something close to that, I can't read it on the toy very well) that are rubber toys and have squeakers, but seem at least a little tougher than some squeaker toys that are out there. I got them at Petsmart. I've had to take away all of her stuffed animal type toys except for supervised play because she was tearing them open, but these rubber toys I mention she likes, because they give some in her mouth and she can chew, chew, chew and carry them around easily. Good luck! I'm curious what you come up with that works!

[Sharon, Boo & Cricket]

We love the Antlerz too! We get them at our local pet supply store, but I’ve seen them online thru bestbullysticks.com, Amazon, and other places. I wish they were longer than 4” though.
Boo has a sensitive tummy, so he can’t have bully sticks, rawhides, etc. But we recently tried Merricks “wishbones” (the dried Achilles tendon of a cow, blech) and it lasted for two days of intense chewing! A record for us! I’ve also heard that “moo tubes” (dried cow trachea) also last a while, but we haven’t tried one yet.

[Jenny]

Ours love raw beef ribs! They chew on the "cleaned" bones until I toss them!

[Michele B]

The elk antlerz are great. Bailey chews them for long periods of time. We get them at a store called the Red Bandanna.

[Debbie & Cotton Clegg]

I Googled this and there are numerous sites with Antlerz listed. Beware of the Orvis site. Way expensive. I know this won't be popular, but I live in an area of SC where people deer hunt for food. I was wondering if the antlers from these poor animals could be used. Are they the same?

[Paige]

Debbie, I think from what I am seeing the Antlerz are made from the naturally shed (once a year) antler of deer. I have no idea how they are treated or processed, though, but I guess they are not all from elk. Also, I did find a site: www.bestbullysticks.com that has the Antlerz for a reasonable cost and also sells lots of interesting shaped bully sticks. I may give it a try!

[Debbie & Cotton Clegg]

The Kong toys seem to be the only toy that the dogs don't totally destroy. The issue with these is that they don't care for them unless they have a treat in them. With a treat They will play with them a few days until they realize the treat is gone. I guess they loose the scent. They seem to like the bones. Cotton does not destroy like her Boykin sister does, nothing is safe around her.

[Margo]

I just tried a Himalayan dog chew for Lily... It lasted almost a week (medium sized) and is made from cow and yak milk using some ye old ancient and natural process by the Nepalese who live in the remote areas around Mt. Everest.... My family thought it was truly nuts of me, but even they had to admit that it took a while for her to chew AND she loved it as much as anything else digestible that we've tried. Most importantly, it gave her no digestive aftermath. The downside: the thing did cost $7! I wouldn't think about getting them again except as maybe a stocking stuffer, but Lily absolutely adores bully sticks and as I have said in a previous post, they don't agree with her at all... I purchased the chew from bestbullysticks.com that was recommended as a place to buy Antlerz... the thing was my impulse purchase when I was buying new antlerz (which are $$, but at least last quite a while!) I can't find a place where they are less expensive, but I will let you know if I find something.

[Sharon, Boo & Cricket]

That's neat, I was curious about those yak chews! Boo has dairy issues so he can't have them, but I thought it was a cool sounding product.

[Lake Girl, Lizette]

Hi Paige,
When we first brought Molly home I received a few items from the breeder. She didn't like any of them. I've discovered a few things that she ABSOLUTELY loves...my shoes and my husbands!!!! I am looking at our leather recliner and there are 7 assorted shoes laying on it. She even goes into our utility room to check drag our tennis shoes and crocs we use outside for gardening into the den. So, I had to start looking for other things. I found she loves this squeaky toy that I throw for her and she loves the squeaking sound....can get annoying when she squeaks for prolonged periods but the special ed teacher in me has the patience to control my impulse to put it away. Most important chewing toy for Molly is the Bully stick....she likes the curly one and the large straight one for older dogs (no pun intended here). I didn't know what they were when I bought them but I didn't want rawhide chews. OH MY GOSH, they stink really bad and it grosses my family out but Hey, she will chew for an hour. YES!!! So I highly recommend the Bully sticks if you have a strong stomach. I don't like the can spray suffing for a Kong...ingredients don't look that good and I worry about putting peanut butter in it since she is somewhat finicky about eating. Good luck finding the right toys.