# To Chew On



## lillady (Jan 25, 2007)

What are some safe and yummy treats for dogs to chew/naw on? I know rawhides are bad and I've heard not such good things about Greenies even though my last dog loved them. Any dog I've had gets absolutely bored with Nylabones. Thanks for the tips in advance!


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## Deanna (Jan 14, 2005)

I give my two rawhides, because they just chew on them and don't eat them. I think the rawhide warnings are for the big dogs that can actually eat an entire rawhide in a few seconds! 

I watch mine with the rawhides, and as soon as the rawhide gets soggy (eeeww) and they are able to pull pieces off that they could swallow I throw the rawhide away. 

Rawhides are about the only thing my two will chew on. Greenies made Wilson throw up, so I have never tried the new ones that are supposed to be easier to digest. 

Mine also get carrots- I give them a bigger chunk of carrot that they really have to chew on to eat. I also make sweet potato jerky for them-- thinly slice the sweet potato, bake in the oven at 225 for 6 hours. They also get raw chunks of potato. 

I truly believe in the benefits of raw veggies- potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots- the texture of the vegetable helps clean the teeth. My mom has always given her two small breed dogs raw veggies, they are both now over 7 years old and have never had to have their teeth cleaned. 

Good luck!


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## mom2molly (Jan 26, 2007)

After trying many bones with no success







I decided to let Molly have a rawhide...it's the waggon train brand with the meat looking stuff in the center. I just only let her chew on them when I'm right there to watch her and if I see anything hanging off I cut it off. She's been teething and I was having trouble finding something she liked. I tried baby carrots but she wasn't going for them. I guess I'll try some other veggies.


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## Harley & Dakotas Mum (Jun 11, 2005)

I also give rawhides, but only when I can supervise - they go away when I'm not around to watch.


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## lillady (Jan 25, 2007)

Good point on the swollowing part. I know Corky loved Bully sticks so maybe I'll get Kosmo one of those and throw when he can pull pieces off. I will also try veggies, thanks for the ideas!


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## brendaman (Mar 7, 2006)

Shayna just LOVES Merrick Flossies (http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/products/Merrick-Flossies/134014.aspx). When I give her these, I don't feel guilty that I don't brush Shayna's teeth so often. She hates having her teeth brushed; she likes the toothpaste, just not the brush.


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## lillady (Jan 25, 2007)

> Shayna just LOVES Merrick Flossies (http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/products/Merrick-Flossies/134014.aspx). When I give her these, I don't feel guilty that I don't brush Shayna's teeth so often. She hates having her teeth brushed; she likes the toothpaste, just not the brush.[/B]


Those look a lot like what the bully sticks are made out of. Thanks!


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## MySprout (Feb 16, 2007)

I give my pup "Pet Essentials" mini knotted rawhide bones. They are great for his teeth and he LOVES them. You can get them at Target. A bag of 40 of them is really cheap.


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## thinkpink (Sep 25, 2004)

I give Bella flossies every now and then. She's also torn her pink nylabone to bits. She never really liked any of the others but she love's the pink. She's crazy just like her momma.


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## RexsMom (Jun 8, 2005)

The vet told me to give Rex cow bones, so that is what I do. Rex likes the Merrick rib bones best.


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## camfan (Oct 30, 2006)

I give Ollie one of the knotted rawhide bones. If I give him a stick shape, it gets too soggy too fast. If I give him too small of a knotted rawhide, same thing. So I give him like the small to medium sized rawhide knotted bones that he can barely get his mouth around the knotted part--takes a long time for it to get soggy, if at all. And I only give them when I'm supervising.


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## vjw (Dec 20, 2006)

> The vet told me to give Rex cow bones, so that is what I do. Rex likes the Merrick rib bones best.[/B]




Where do you buy the Merrick rib bones? Another question - do you know if they're sterilized?



Joy


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## Linus McDuff (Jul 12, 2006)

We give Duff the large knotted rawhides with supervision as well. We also give him cow hooves, and stuffed kongs.


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## munchkin1616 (Dec 8, 2005)

Nikko chews on stuffed toys... chews them till the stuffing is everywhere and chews the limbs off, then he uses them as pillows and sometimes play toys. I only give him one at a time to "work on" and make sure to cut any strings off and to watch that there's no eyes or small parts... he never has any interest in eating stuffing, just in pulling it out. 

He's also taken a liking to milkbones, though it's the only time he gets super protective and will bite if he feels the bone is being threatened, so I don't give him those when anyone else is around since he knows me well enough to know it's safe around me. After guarding it for a while, he either hides it or eats it. I've tried giving him the dentabones or more substantial bones, but he goes into guarding mode for hours and hours and will literally sit up watching it all night and make himself sick from not sleeping till I have to take it away.


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## Krystal (Feb 3, 2007)

I dont know what you guys will think about this but Mia seems to love it! Anyway, I sometimes give her Ziggies, which she loves! But other times all she wants to chew on are empty water bottles, pens (with the cover on of course) and plastic hangers! I supervise her of course! But she doesnt seem to like chewing on anything else! As long as it is not my fingers and nose then I am ok!!


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## Gemma (Jan 19, 2006)

Sparkey loves Merrick Bully sticks. those are the safest in my opinion. if I'm out of those then he will get rawhide but I have to watch him with that. he takes big pieces off like 1 inch and I have to cut them before he swallows them. 





















by the way this is not my house


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## lillady (Jan 25, 2007)

> Sparkey loves Merrick Bully sticks. those are the safest in my opinion. if I'm out of those then he will get rawhide but I have to watch him with that. he takes big pieces off like 1 inch and I have to cut them before he swallows them.
> 
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> 
> ...


Hee, that's funny-that is exactly what I got Kosmo because Corky loved them so much. They love them! The only thing I hate is the way his breath smells right after chewing on them. He loves them though so I'll give it to him. And yes, as soon as he gets a stringy soggy piece pulling off-I cut it off!


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## Joey's Mom2 (Aug 24, 2004)

Fendi LOVES dingos. It's the rawhide with chicken in the middle. I used to give her the regular mini-dingos but I just switched to the dental mini-bones. At first she wasn't too fond of the change. She would go at it for a few minutes and realize she doesn't like the new taste to the rawhide and give up. But this morning I gave it to her again, and she must have given in because she's been at it for 20 minutes so far.


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## lillady (Jan 25, 2007)

Oh yes, my late Corky LOVED Dingos! It's amazing how many diff. kinds of chewie things threre are out there. Has anyone heard any news recently on Greenies. I know there was stuff out there about it not digesting properly and dogs needing surgery to remove the undigested pieces.


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## Elly B. (Oct 27, 2006)

Nick gets rawhides. if he's going to be unattended I give him a new one to chew on. I take them away when he 'unravels' them. He's torn bits off, but once the bit is off it's of no interest to him anymore. He will just leave it on the floor.

I also get the ones for slightly bigger dogs, the ones as big as your hand.


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## ctymom (May 29, 2006)

I give Moxie a chew stick. She absolutely loves it. She'll lay down for a long time just chewing away on it. It keeps her from destroying my daughter's toys.


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## Kissi's Mom (Apr 21, 2006)

I never give rawhide anything...my daughter worked for an emergency vet for a while and saw too many surgeries for obstructions from rawhide. My vet said to give raw marrow bones from the butcher but I can't bring myself get them (stupid huh?). Mine love the flexible nylabones...there are probably a dozen or more scattered everywhere but they always want the same one!!
Linda


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## cairoluv (Mar 4, 2007)

I give Cairo and Sam Nylabones (the dental ones and the flavored kind) and cut up baby carrots. They absolutely love both! Unfortunately the carrots last about 3 seconds when they are cut up, so I don't know how much help that is. They just play with them if they are whole. I have given them Greenies (they have been re-formulated so they don't stick in their digestive tracts), but it makes their faces sticky and green so I haven't bought them for a couple of months







.


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## lynda (Oct 11, 2005)

Delete:


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## pico's parent (Apr 5, 2004)

My vet suggested these and Pico loves them and I don't have to worry about the rawhide choking thing. They are C.E.T. Enzymatic Oral Hygiene Chews for dogs. The Petite ones. They are small pieces of rawhide embedded with enzymes like what is in the toothpaste. They provide a slight abrasive action to clean tartar, too. They are made of little pieces of rawhide molded into a stick so that as he chews it breaks off for harmless swallowing. Although he usually brings them to my husband or I to "hold" for him while he chews.









Ingredients: Beefhide, dextrose, poultry digest (?) hydrolysed vegetable protein, primary dried yeast, glucose oxidase (apergillus niger), dried whey protein concentrate.

The package says regarding dental care: Good to Chew, Better to Rinse with Oral Hygiene Rinse and Best to Brush with toothpaste and toothbrush.


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## Elly B. (Oct 27, 2006)

I must say that in the last few days I have come 180 degrees on this from being pro-rawhide.

Nick has NEVER eaten any piece of rawhide before, just torn them off and tossed them aside, so I have never really worried about him. But this weekend, out of the blue, he ate nearly a whole rawhide. Same brand, a nearly new one destroyed in about two hours. He's normally not a huge chewer either!

I was looking and looking for it, and then I found one little shred that was all that was left. I've been sweating bullets all weekend, bits of rawhide have stopped showing up in his poop though, and no problems, so I think it has all passed through him.

No more rawhides for Nick, though. He loves them so much but it's worth the worry.


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