What are the Best Dog Chew Toys – nylabones and antler or are there better? – Dog Health Vet Advice
What are the Best Dog Chew Toys – nylabones and antler or are there better? – Dog Health Vet Advice
Nylabones are a really common chew toy given to dogs of all sizes. Are they the best dog chew toy though? Are they safe for dogs? Or are there better chews and toy options you should consider? What about antler or even bones?
Nylabones are obviously a synthetic product, and they are also incredibly hard and could cause fractures in teeth. They’re unlikely to get shattered and splintered, and so swallowed. Tooth fractures are painful and detrimental to health and are reason enough to never give a dog a nylabone. We definitely shouldn’t ignore this risk.
Unfortunately, all too often, when a dog has a fractured tooth they’re still going to be eating, they’re still going to appear like they’re absolutely fine, and so the temptation for many is just to ignore the fact that there is a broken tooth.
Dogs just don’t let on that they are in pain, and if you’ve ever had any kind of dental problem you’ll know just how painful they can be.
But I always say that a dog or a cat, they don’t know that if they stop eating, they’re going to be taken to the vet and have their teeth fixed. They simply know that if they stop eating, they’re going to die. So just imagine how painful it needs to be for them to stop eating!
But that aside, really from a dental chew point of view, a rule of thumb that we suggest is that if it would hurt to be hit on the knee with it, then really it shouldn’t be used as a chew toy for dogs.
I prefer the strong rubber chew toys like the ubiquitous Kong (https://amzn.to/2UNrb1v ). I think they’re fantastic.
There are other food puzzles that we can use. If we’re talking about mental engagement and trying to make our pet’s lives more interesting. These include food puzzles (https://amzn.to/2GVYrzX ), licki mats (https://amzn.to/2GLrRzs ), and snuffle pads (https://amzn.to/2UQTTP9 ).
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I struggled to get real advice from this video ☹️
What’s the risk percentage? I can’t find it anywhere.
what about antlers?
My belgian malinois love pig ear
Hey, thanks for answering my question in detail with a video! ^_^
Thankfully Molly does let me brush her teeth (though she does constantly try to lick the toothbrush which can make it tricky but she likes it. I actually have an old electric toothbrush and my new one came with a (soft) ‘sensitive’ head in the pack that I was going to use on the old one for her – so I was wondering if brushing her teeth with an electric toothbrush (once I get her used t it) would be even more beneficial than a manual?
Our very old Ridgeback will not let me go near her teeth at all (We never realised about getting her used to that all them years ago when she was a pup) yet her teeth have never had any issues and they do not look too bad at all. The 3 year old Lab’s teeth just seem to get ‘dirty’-looking so quickly! I think it might be that she carries around toys/balls etc..? Not sure.
I’ve ditched chew toys with my large cane corso, she WILL DESTROY ANYTHING, so I went to rawhide free bones, something she can chew, that’s edible , just make sure you get appropriate sized bones for your dog.
I cannot find any information on how to deal with dogs that are "indiscriminate eaters" of everything from bedding, to plastic water bottles, to furniture, to mud & rocks. His absolute favorite thing to do is lie on his "bed" (folded towel, rug, pillow, whatever) and slowly annihilate it, swallowing bits in the process. It’s freezing cold now & I want to give him a warm spot to curl up, but if he can gnaw off pieces, he will. Kongs are fine for a 15 minute adventure, but he wants to be chewing and eating SOMETHING nonstop: paper, plastic, cloth, he doesn’t care. What can I do? I don’t want him trapped in a metal cage every minute I can’t directly observe him (e.g. while I’m working.) HELP. All this stuff about Kongs (I find that recommended a lot, and he has four) doesn’t deal with his (primal?) urge to demolish and consume his "prey". He’s not starving. I give him good-quality food, his vet says he’s well-developed and his ideal weight, he gets an hour walk every morning. He sleeps well. He’s not ill. He just can’t stop chewing and swallowing anything I don’t put out of his reach.
So the main problem I have with this video is that it doesn’t actually give the risks! Tell me exactly how risky these toys are. If it’s a 1% chance of tooth fracture or a 50% risk these are very different risks even though the possible outcomes are similar. Can you tell me how risky these chews are?
Anything plastic or elastic is toxic.
Oh shoot…..I just ordered the super chewer bark box subscription. 2 of the toys inside of it were hard plastic vs a firm rubber….. :/
A
Thanks for the good advice. I didn’t know that hard chews were unsafe until my dog chipped a tooth. Fortunately it wasn’t serious, but only rubber chews for her from now on. What I was told when I asked a vet tech friend is that if you can’t bend it, it’s too hard. Playology also makes rubber chews that are scented so dogs will want to chew them.
I was so wrong and stupid, my goodness!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS VIDEO, GOD BLESS YOU!
Vets are the last people I would ask for this king of advice! Our dogs have always been fed raw – including meaty bones – never had a problem. You just have to make sure your feeding the right king of bone (no load bearing bones etc.)
Indestructibone chew toys are the best! Softer than real bone or Antlers! They will not break up into chunks or large pieces! Non Abrasive and will not wear down teeth! Indestructibone will not splinter…..Obstruction and perforation free chew toys @indestructibone on instagram…..Used by military and police working dogs around the world!
Go practical rather than theoritcal explaination.
My cousin gives her 7 month old dog nylon chew toys and hard bones that are found in a grocery isle which I’m pretty sure aren’t safe for dogs
My dog destroys Kongs so I can’t take the chance of her swallowing the bits of rubber
Hello 👋🏽 what is your opinion of Petstages Dogwood chew sticks? 🤔 🐕 🪵