3 Chewing Options for Dogs
Thank you to Chewy.com for sponsoring today’s post. I received free product in exchange for my honest opinion.
Rosie is a chewer and has been since day one. When she was still a youngin’ we were really struggling with how to help her control her chewing habits; mainly teaching her to stay away from the laundry basket where she would pull out socks and then chew them to shreds. (Apparently sock hoarding is a Golden Retriever trait. When I cleaned out her toy bin before we moved, I found 17 socks stashed between her toys. 17. Socks.) At first it was kind of cute, but when they started making her sick or when we would come home to pieces of sock EVERYWHERE, we knew we had to do something. After consulting with our trainer, who advised us to keep anything we didn’t want her to chew out of her reach and find some alternatives, we decided to buy some treats to chew on. Naturally, when standing in the bone isle, we picked up a bag of rawhide rolls because they were cheap. Big mistake.
Some dogs can handle rawhide. Most cannot. Rawhide is really hard to digest, so when a dog eats too much, it can create blockages. That means that the rawhide can get stuck in the digestive track and potentially kill your dog. Rosie would down a rawhide roll within 20 minutes, and thankfully, then managed to puke them back up because she couldn’t digest them and they were just sitting in her stomach. After the third or fourth puke, Dustin and I went back to our trainer concerned. Our trainer promptly told us that rawhides were usually bad news bears and offered up several alternatives for managing chewing while keeping our girl healthy and happy. Here are three chewing options for dogs that Rosie gives her paw of approval to!
Also, please excuse Rosie’s pouty face in the picture below; she was sulking because I took her treats away to take some photos.
Greenies Grain Free- (c/o Chewy). Rosie LOVES Greenies and I was so excited when Greenies came out with a grain free version (because we all know how important it is to have quality ingredients in your pup’s treats). When I gave Rosie her first Greenie, she was a little unsure because the taste was a little different but she got over it quickly. I love Greenies because they are proven to clean Rosie’s teeth and fight tarter and plaque build up! They take her about 10-15 minutes to chew down, so they don’t last as long as other options but they are a great alternative to a rawhide. Also, I think they should get extra points because they look like toothbrushes.
Antlers- Antlers can be pricy at the pet store but they are worth every cent. Antlers are good for dogs because they are long lasting, rarely splinter and have nutrients that rawhides don’t. Rosie LOVES her antlers (she has three) and will often pull them out of her toy box most often when she gets the urge to chew.
Kongs- We started off using Rosie’s kong to help with her separation anxiety. After we got over that mountain, we started putting Rosie’s kong back in her toy bin. It might been because it still has traces of peanut butter or because it became a comfort object for her, but she is prone to pull her kong out and gnaw on it for 20-30 minutes. And when she’s been an especially good girl, I’ll put a little more peanut butter in to brighten up her day.
How do you manage your dog’s chewing habits? What are their favorite things to gnaw on?
