Safe Chewies for Hard Core Chewers

[Kerrigan]

Does anyone have suggestions for safe chewies that will last for hardcore chewers? I'm trying to avoid my oldest girl breaking any more teeth. Compressed rawhide and bully sticks work, but they won't last more than a few hours with these guys. I don't mind buying them for them, but it does get a bit expensive. We have tried Nylabones and shin bones which the dogs like, but I still worry about them breaking teeth on them. They won't touch Kong toys once the goodies are out of them and they don't really chew on those as much as use their tongues to get the stuffing out. I don't like cow hooves due to the possibility of them breaking off large chunks and choking - have had it happen in the past.

[muddy bob]

If you find something let me know. My girl can turn a kong into rubble in two days. The guy at the pet store claimed the black ones were tougher and assured me dogs can't destroy them. She made quick work of that one also!

 

muddy

[Beth G]

I remember reading somewhere that there was a pet company that made dog chew toys out of tire rubber that were said to be indestructible. I can try and do an internet search for you.

[Bordercentrics]

Everything has advantages and disadvantages.

We finally settled on nylabones. The dogs like to chew them, but they don't like them enough to gnaw them continuously or to have nasty disagreements about their possession. We have five or six on the floor at all times. Our Bouvier did get a chipped tooth with a nylabone, but Bouvier jaws are much stronger than Border Collie jaws.

 

Gumabones won't chip teeth, but if a dog swallows a chunk of gumabone it will make him sick and Gumabone doesn't show on an X-ray. (This happened to our Bouvier)

 

Rawhide can come apart in big chunks that can cause blockage.

 

Raw shin or knuckle bones can also cause chipped teeth, and the dogs chew them very enthusiastically because they taste so good. They are messy in the house and the dogs want to chew for hours, which increases the chance of breaking or chipping teeth. I imagine the same is true of cow hooves. The cooked bones available in pet stores are even harder than raw bones, and their labels warn about chipping teeth.

[Beth G]

Ok here one is:

 

http://www.perfectpuppytoys.com/injoba.html

 

Comes with a guarentee!!

[mosstheboss2000]

Hucks and Hurleys by WEST PAWS!!! I have a BIG time chewer and she has yet to put a tooth mark in one... guarranteed indestructable!!!!!!!!!!

[mosstheboss2000]

Here is the website.

http://www.westpawdesign.com

[AWQH]

This may sound strange but it actually works. We give our dogs the trimmings from our horse's hooves. When we trim the horses hooves we trim off a half moon shaped piece. These pieces are stiff, but not super hard. Not hard enough to break teeth( with the exception of 1 of our Standardbred gelding's feet) Also the substance that hooves are made from is actually good for the dog. The pieces are small enough that if/when the dog bites some off, they won't cause digestive, or choking problems.

 

Ok it's much easier for us to get them, with a herd of 14 horses lol. However get in contact with a ferrier and sometimes they will save these for dog owners. We do our own trimming, but not shoeing. My husband is qualified to do the trimming. As they are scrap, I cannot see a ferrier asking much if anything for them. They are not whole hooves, just slices.

 

 

Dianne

[melly]

My obedience trainer suggested empty plastic drink bottles. My pups love either the 1 liter or 2 liter bottles. I rinse out the soda, let dry, then put some of their kibbles in the bottles, then cap tightly. They play with the things for hours, and the 2 liter bottles are too big for them to get their mouth around, too slick for teeth to puncture. If they should break it--which has not happened yet--they only get their kibbles, I chuck the bottle and fix more. Cheap, CHEAP.

 

Melly

[Beth G]

Mine LOVE the 2 liter bottles. And since we drink ALOT of soda around here there are always plenty!

[Allie+Tess&Kipp]

Regarding the horse hoof trimmings -- watch your dog CAREFULLY. BOTH of mine swallowed whole big chunks instead of chewing them up... Fortunately all was well but do be careful. My mother-in-law's two little Boston Terrors (not a typo ) have no trouble, because their mouths and teeth are so little that they just chew them instead of gulping.

 

edited to add: I guess it also depends on the size of the horse. My horse is 800 pounds and rarely gets much taken off his feet. If you had a draft horse or something, the pieces would probably be bigger.

 

Allie + Tess & Kipp

http://weebordercollie.com

[AfterThought]

I like Nylabone's Big Chew Toys...they are huge, and come in shapes of turkey legs, beef bones or ham/steak. Virtually indestructible and worth the 25 bucks I paid for each one! (My dogs are crazy chewers and it's been 3 mths but both are still unable to annihilate those chews.)

[INU]

I stopped giving my dogs any store-bought chews. I buy beef neck bones which are cheap and seem to be softer than other bones. It takes good 20 minutes for my BC to finish one serving.