We've got into the habit of giving one-year-old Wilson a chew every evening. It keeps him occupied for up to an hour (very useful when we're eating!) and then he tends to sleep for the rest of the evening. We rotate between pressed rawhide bones, filled marrow bones and lengths of beef scalp. All seem to suit him OK but I'd love to know what you all use as long-lasting chews because I'm sure there must be other, potentially better, options. Thank you!
Chews (as a general concept!) are a brilliant idea. BUT - choosing a good (in all ways) chew for a dog, can be a minefield. In fact, there probably is no 'one size fits all' choice of chew - from the perspective of safety, desirability, durability... However, I think you can do better than those you've mentioned... Rawhide bones These are really not great choices, mostly because of the way they are manufactured and the chemicals used in the manufacturing process - including formaldehyde. Although there are some brands of raw hide which claim to be 'natural', that really just means they are not bleached (as most also are) - it doesn't mean they are not manufactured using formaldehyde, since this is kinda a necessary part of things. Here is a video showing how they are made: I guess, once a year for a special occasion or something, maybe - but I really wouldn't be giving raw hide on a regular basis. Filled marrow bones Usually this means the ones you can buy in a pet shop? Which are hollow and have been filled? Again, these are not good choices. The bone itself has been cooked and/or dried, so it is brittle and chunks can break off or splinters can form which can (and do) pierce dogs' stomachs. I'm not being alarmist, vets see this very regularly... Even raw bones can have risks, but cooked bones are just a no-no for everyone. And then, the stuff these bones are filled with is really the most awful crap (when bought from the pet store). If you read the ingredient list it says something like 'meat and animal derivatives' and it often looks orange or red and has colouring in it...oftentimes sugar (really bad for teeth, especially since they are chewing on it for a period of time). Yuck... Avoid!! Lengths of beef scalp In most pet stores, you can find a whole department of 'dried parts of animals' these days(!) - intended to be used as dog chews. Firstly, many of them have been pretty much deep-fried in fat of some kind - so they are extremely high calorie. For this reason, they can cause stomach problems due to the fat content and also weight gain. Secondly, tests on these items revealed that loads of them carry high amounts of ecoli and salmonella - which your dog may be able to eat no problem, but do you really want it all over your house...? Thirdly, how have these items been preserved? All meat needs to be preserved somehow and these products are often sitting on pet store shelves for weeks if not months. Frequently chemical preservatives have been used to enable these products to sit there for ages without going mouldy. So - what to use instead? Kongs By far the safest chew toy, is a well-stuffed Kong. Stuffing a Kong is an art-form. Stuff it too easily and your dog will be done in 5 minutes and bored. Stuff it so it's too difficult, and again your dog is going to give up pretty soon. So, when stuffing Kongs, ensure there is some 'easy stuff' in there for dogs to get out quite soon, as well as a piece or two which is much harder. The harder it is to get something in a Kong (think pushing Kong against walls!) the harder it will be for the dog to get it out. Many pet owners don't really 'get' Kongs. They just put kibble in and the dog tips it out and eats it in 1 second. Or they put soft cheese spread in and the dog learns to lick the Kong but that's it. As you get more experienced stuffing Kongs, you will learn to have an eye in pet stores for products which are 1) healthy and 2) fit (just!) into a Kong hole... My current fav is the Yakkers Crunchy Bites (make sure they are the Crunchy Bites or they won't fit http://amzn.eu/d/350WYsP These are not going to damage teeth and they smell cheesy and tasty, and they just about fit into a Kong hole... Other tips are dried fish and dried fish skin treats - Fish4Dogs in the UK makes a whole range in different shapes and sizes. The cubes can be good for Kong filling. And then just a smearing of soft cheese/cream cheese or peanut butter around the opening of the Kong, to finish it off... You can also put wet or raw dog food in Kongs and freeze them to make them extra difficult - great for the summer or teething puppies. Hope that helps!
Hi Jo, thank you so much for such a helpful reply. I really appreciate the time you've taken to help and it's really valuable information. I had a nagging feeling they probably weren't the best chews and you've certainly reinforced that! I didn't know any of that - I even thought the marrow bones were raw although looking at them now I can see they have to have been cooked. I do use Kongs with Wilson but always worry a bit about over-feeding him although I know it's a case of keeping track of how much food he is getting and keeping an eye on how he looks. He has always been on the lean side (which the vet is happy with) so I'm probably worrying unnecessarily. I usually fill them with soaked kibble and freeze and occasionally I've crammed a couple of biscuits into it, but I like the ideas you've suggested and will certainly be trying them. I think I probably need to buy a few more as well - I only have a red regular one and a bone shaped one with filling holes at either end. I've also wondered about giving a part of each meal in a frozen kong or do you think that would be too many in a day? He's fed bigger portions morning and evening with a small lunch. At the moment he eats from a mix of slow-feeder bowls, a puzzle rolling ball, kibble hidden in the grass and also in a small dummy-shaped thing that has a small hole in the end. And some is used for training. I'd quite like to give him a Kong for at breakfast and dinner. Thanks again for so much help - I so appreciate it.
https://www.petscorner.co.uk/great-small-chew-on-lamb-rosemary-available-in-3-sizes I use these which last 30-40 minutes. My girl is 2.
https://www.petscorner.co.uk/great-small-chew-on-lamb-rosemary-available-in-3-sizes And these which last the same length of time.
If you're feeding him a marrow bone a day, or a raw hide a day, I can guarantee he's getting way more calories from those than from a Kong Yes, the more different types of food toys you have, the better choice you'll have - if you have a certain size of treat, you can then select the toy which has the best shape or hole for that treat! I don't think you can give too many Kongs in one day if you're not over-feeding - which you wouldn't be if you were using his meal. Do try to do training with his meals where possible though, there is just so much to teach a pup!
@Plum's mum Those contain raw hide. Do watch the video posted above to see why raw hide is not a great idea
I was going to say that I hope there isn't a limit to the amount of kongs to have in a day! Our puppy has one for breakfast, one for dinner, and one in the evening at prime hyperactivity time. The breakfast and dinner ones are his kibble mixed with water and quarter teaspoon cream cheese sealed with peanut butter and frozen. The nighttime one is something like quarter mashed banana. They can keep him busy for an hour at a time and he wags his tail the whole time!
I echo everyone's recommendations about using Kongs, I couldn't imagine life without them! Also another chew that I and my pup love which was recommended by another user on here is the Everest Yak Chew. They can be a bit pricey so I don't use them often but they're great for keeping my pup occupied for those moments when I just don't have the energy for him On the subject of too many kongs in a day, it got me thinking and I decided to apply this to my pup. He has roughly 360g of kibble a day and one kong for me can be filled with 30g of kibble and will keep him busy for about 30 mins. Sooooo, if I was to use his entire food rations in kongs, thats 12 kongs at 30 mins each so 6 hrs of kongs... Now I'm not a dog but I personally think I'd go stir crazy if I spent 6 hrs a day chewing on a bit of rubber!
Kongs are fabulous. Slightly still do depend on the dog though. My girl is a normal Labrador, and I can inventively stuff a kong that lasts her a good while. My boy is super strong, and can pop the frozen contents of a large, ultra strong, kong out with a single crunch....usually just to miss the TV screen or sideboard. I do use things other than kongs time to time, because I like the dogs to experience new things, and they love new things... I like a few things (not all!) from this site: https://www.myitchydog.co.uk/dog-chews.html I mostly avoid rawhide, but will use it as a special treat because the dogs absolutely love it and the quality here seems good. I found the beef trachea quite good but feed very much in moderation as it gives one dog runny poo (the other is fine). Goose necks reasonably good value, pizzles good but smelly! I avoid very hard things, as I really do not think they are good for teeth.
That's brilliant to hear. More Kongs and food toys it is then! Thank you, I'm feeling much happier about this. And yes, I'll up the training element as well. Thank you for all your advice.
That's really interesting to read, thank you. I don't know why I thought there could be too many Kongs ... he loves them and they keep him busy so I'll do more of that now.
Great reply on the number of Kongs ... I maybe won't do that many haha. Thanks for the Yak Chew recommendation. I've tried these and Wilson absolutely loves them but they only last about 15 minutes so are an expensive option. Good for the occasional treat in his case I think.
Great recommendations, thanks Julie. I've had a look at the website and it looks really good. I'll be trying a few things from there. Thanks for the link and suggestions.
Hey, So i have a few dogs and literally all of them love this one. Its by DogseeChew, Churpi bars, they are basically yak cheese bars that. Gluten free and all natural, it even helps with teething. If it can keep my pups busy and also provide them with nutrition, what do i have to complain about. I highly recommend them. *edited to remove link
Thanks for this Rahul. I've tried a different brand of this yak cheese/milk and Wilson absolutely loved it but it didn't last long (about 20 minutes) and they're very expensive so sadly they have to be a rare treat. I wish someone could produce them a bit more cheaply!
Jenem, try the Yak 'Bites' - which you can then pop into a Kong. They are little cubes. The Kong will make them last longer!
