Natural chew toys for your dog – be aware of the dangers!
Narrated from: Dog ToysMost people associate chew toys with a rubber object that a dog tosses around the room. However, you will find that there are plenty of other types – and as always, there are natural alternatives available.
You may have already heard that bones and rawhide chews etc. are good chew toys for your dog; however, you must be aware of the dangers they could pose.
Rawhide Chews
The most common natural chew toy is a rawhide chew. It is basically cured animal hide and can be shaped like various objects. Rawhide chews are cheap, available, and your dog will enjoy them. The tiny parts it will swallow wouldn’t do any harm. However, with rawhide chews you should read the labels. Pick high-quality rawhide chews that are compliant with a dog’s dietary requirements. Low quality rawhide chews contain substances that are not healthy for a dog. Besides, low quality rawhide chews will be torn and swallowed by the dog quite quickly.
Some rawhide chews are made by applying pressure – in this way the toy (usually in a bone shape) has several layers and is much more durable. Even an aggressive chewer would be busy for at least two days. You must monitor the toy – in time a smaller piece will be left, which could be swallowed by your dog. This piece has to be thrown away or else the dog might choke.
Bones
The other kind of natural dog chew toys that could be recommended to you might be bones – however, you must be aware that there are bones and there are bones. Cooked bones might be delicious, but they are generally a bad idea – they break easily and the sharp ends could hurt your dog’s throat or stomach. They are also a choking hazard. The same thing applies to poultry bones – they just break up too easily. Also, in some cases a dog could catch salmonella.
The best bones are durable. Small dogs should get small bones, big dogs – big bones. Leg bones are sturdy enough to be a relatively safe alternative, but do not pick a whole leg – there are smaller bones in the ankle area that pose a choking hazard. Large beef legs are one of the commoner items on the market. However, such bones are not appropriate for aggressive chewers – an overenthusiastic dog might break its teeth.
Other animal tissues
Other animal body parts used for chewing include ears and hooves etc. Basically they are safe, but usually they are appropriate for smaller dogs – a cow’s hoof is a popular chew toy, but it is swallowed easily, especially by a larger pooch.
Edible bones
There are also the so-called “edible bones”. Edible bones are made from different natural products and often have different flavors that make them delicious as well as chewy. Quality bones are pretty solid and do not break, so they are one of the safest alternatives. However, there is a drawback – with time such a toy could “melt”, which means that the bone gets gummy and sticky, making a mess of your dog’s coat. However, if you monitor the dog and the toy, you should be able to avoid that problem!
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