Face it DOGS LOVE TO CHEW, not to mention that it is really good for their teeth. I lost a dog in 2009 at 11 from advanced Lyme disease, and he never had his teeth cleaned, and yet they still looked great. I have a 11.5 year old and two 8 year olds none of them have had their teeth cleaned, and yet their teeth look great. I check their teeth regularly, but do not brush them. I owe it all to good chews. Please remember though it is important to choose the right chew for the right reason, and always supervise your dogs when chewing. The best chew for one dog is not the best for another.
NOTE: The information presented here reflects many years of my personal experience, and testing. I have not however tested everything on every type and size of dog. Make your choices of chews wisely after much consideration. I will provide you with what I know, but am not responsible for your final choices and outcome from that. You owe it to your dog to research your choices beside what I offer you here, all along considering how your dog(s) chew.
I have come up with a ranking system that works for my goals. The more paws a chew has the better it is for my purposes. Even though it is based on my dogs, it can provide you with a guideline and some basic information on some of the chews I have given my dogs. I hope this will help you to set up your priority list for your best chews.
Different Reasons for a dog to chew:
5 Paws....Brings Mental Balance
4 Paws....Cleans Teeth
3 Paws....Keep Mentally Occupied
2 Paws....Expend Excessive Energy
1 Paws....Nutritional
My personal reasoning for my priority ranking.
Brings Mental Balance. Dogs need to chew. It is part of their eating behavior. To deny dogs all chewing is to deny them their natural instinct. When you can tap into the innate desires and drives of a dog, you keep them mentally balanced and happy. I imitate them hunting and then eating, by taking my dogs on a hike, or doing search and rescue scent work, then they are rewarded with a nice chew.
Cleans Teeth. Not only has it gotten extremely expensive to have your dogs teeth cleaned, but they have to put them under to do it. Some dogs do not do very well at all with anesthesia and can be aggressive for a week or two afterwards until all the drugs are out of the system. Most vets will tell you that the drugs are out of the system much sooner then that, but I have seen to many times to count, that it clearly is not the case. In some cases dogs can die under anesthesia. I prefer to not have to put them under for teeth cleaning unless really necessary. The cost of chews is much less then the cost of a dental cleaning every couple of years.
Keep Mentally Occupied. This is for my insanity. On rainy days or busy days, chews turn out to be the only thing that will consistently occupy my pack for any length of time.
Expend Excessive Energy. There are those times when I use chews to get rid of energy. Closely related to being occupied but not completely. Many things can occupy certain dogs, but to expend energy you need a run or chews. A stuffed toy for certain dogs may keep them occupied but probably won't expend energy like a chew will. My dog won't stay occupied with a stuffed animal long so that is why chews work for both of these for my dogs. And because I don't mind hiking and running around with my dogs, expending energy is less of a concern for me then needing to occupy them at times.
Nutritional. While this is important to me, it is not as important as the other reasons. This is mainly due to the fact my dogs get a modified raw diet. Some is cooked, and some is raw. So I don't need to feed these very nutritional, 100% digestible chews for their daily nutritional needs, but it does not hurt that they are good for the dogs.
As mentioned it is important to supervise your dogs when chewing. One example of how fast things can go wrong is when I had a dog choke on a single piece of kibble dog food. I gave her a few pieces as a treat and she inhaled it. She was only 7 weeks old at the time. She actually died, but the Heimlich Maneuver, and CPR saved her. I highly recommend you take the American Red Cross' Pet First Aid Course. One of our trainers is a certified instructor. She can set up a class in your area.
I have tested all the below chews with all five of my dogs. I have a mix bag of chewers in my pack. Because of age and chewing preference they all have different needs. I only have one that likes to try and swallow chunks, he is my scary one. I have to be more selective about what chews I give him.
I never feed rawhide. It is overly processed with a lot of bad chemicals, and is very hard for dogs to digest. I also do not feed real bones that have been sterlized. They are the number one reason for broken teeth. This information was provided to me by a Board Certified Doggy Dentist.
My dogs are not aggressive chewers. I have one that is close, but overall I would consider them medium chewers. So one that I rate at a 5 or 10 for my dogs, might actually be rated a 15 for an aggressive chewer. This is because my dogs won't chew chews that are really tough to chew. They want the ones that will get them some chewing satifaction without having to be a super chewer. So they won't chew the really hard ones. This is also why I consider them only medium chewers. I give some explanation for each chew below. Read them all and it will be clear why I rated them how I did.
Bully Sticks........15 paws.
Because Bully sticks meet all five of my criteria it gets the highest rating of 15 Paws.
This is a very long lasting chew if you get the right size for the size of dog. It generally comes in 6", and 12", and in different diameters. There are also different shapes, which will determine how long it lasts. The braided, and bone shaped ones will last the longest, with the bone being the longest. Some batches have a slight order to them, but not much. Let them air dry some and that usually takes care of it. There are no dyes or chemicals, and I have never had one stain any carpet or flooring.
The standard size is a good place to start. I have small dog clients that cannot get the small thinner sticks, because they have very aggressive chewers. So my caution would be is to be sure to get the largest size you can for the dog. If you have a big strong chewer, and you get the thinnest chew, they could chew from the inside verses the end, and potentially chew off a chunk. You can help to stop this by getting the size that is the biggest size that works for that dog. With a bigger size, it is harder to chew from other then the end.
Only two of my five dogs attempt to chew the thinner ones a bit back from the end, and then they would have a chunk to swallow. So I stick with the standard or thick ones sticks for them. I have to wonderful chewers that chew nice and slow, and from the end of the stick, so they can get the thinner ones, although they don't last as long. For my more aggressive chewers I use the standard as a minimum or the thick. I have one Bloodhound client that has to have the thick or jumbos when they are available. My dogs do not even like the jumbos because they are actually to hard for them to chew, and they want some satisfaction faster then that. So if you find your dog is not chewing the stick, get a smaller size and see if that helps. It has to mean something to the dog, and if it does not ever get into their stomach it will not mean as much.
Himalayan Chews........15 Paws.
Because Himalayan chews meet all five of my criteria it gets the highest rating of 15 Paws.
Wow, talk about good for your dogs. This stuff is dried, very dense hard cheese from the Himalayas. It is actually eaten by the people there. Very nutritious. This one lasts a very long time as well. I have gotten some that will last about four times as long as a bully, and then I have gotten some that lasted ten times as long. I am not sure if moisture content has anything to do with that. These are a favorite of my dogs and they will go for these even over bully sticks. They are more expensive then the Bully's so I limit them to getting one a month. If you have a iron jawed dog, he may be able to bite of small chunks at the corners or once it has been chewed down some. So watch how your dog chews and evaluate if this will work for your dog. All mine are okay with this chew, but I have that one male dog I will take it away from when it gets smaller. I give it to one that chews nice, and give him a new one, or something different. For smaller or less aggressive dogs, this chew could last a week or longer. There are no dyes so there is not staining.
Cow Ears........15 Paws.
There are two sizes, the small and large. Even the small size is big, but the large is awesome. These ears are dried not processed. It is not like rawhide and IT IS NOT LIKE PIG EARS. It is not oily or greasy. They last a VERY long time. In fact they last longer then the thin or standard bully's for my dogs. They usually finish a bully in one setting, even if it takes them hours, but they usually do not finish a large cow ear. They are clean, dry, no smell at all, and will not stain carpet.
Pig Snout........10 Paws.
This item only got 10 Paws, because I did not give it Keep Mentally Occupied, or Expend Excessive Energy. This is due to the fact they do not last as long for my dogs. They are still not bad, but are on par with the small/medium bully sticks for my dogs. It is however a really good chew that cleans teeth extremely well. It is also all my dogs favorite. If I had all the above chews on the floor along with a pig snout, they would all choose the pig snout. Great for smaller dogs, or for larger dogs that are medium chewers. They have no smell, are not oily and do not stain. I actually think they look a bit comical.
Beef Trachea........10 Paws
This item only got 10 Paws, because I did not give it Keep Mentally Occupied, or Expend Excessive Energy. This is due to the fact they do not last as long for my dogs. They are however a favorite. In fact I have never tested this one with the Pig Snout, but I would bet it would be close. My dogs go nuts over Beef Trachea's. I have actually had a couple of my dogs turn down a bully stick if the Beef Trachea's are in the same box. One of the best chews for teeth cleaning, but I have to watch that one male dog. When he gets to the end, he will swallow it while it is to big, then cry as it goes down. They are soft, yet crunchy, and chewy. Very slight film, but not much odor. I have never had these stain the hard floor or carpet.
Great White Chews........10 Paws
This item was well liked, and did not last to bad. It was close to getting a 15, but just did not last as long. It was not as good as the bully sticks but better then the Beef Trachea. This item is wild ocean thresher shark spine only. So nutritious, and actually provides added benefit not found even in your daily meals. Kind of like an apple a day thing. Feed one of these every week for nutrition, teeth cleaning, and fun for your dog. No stain or smell.
Texas Taffy and Beef Tendons........5 Paws
I know this sounds low, but remember this is rated for how my dogs chew. They go through these pretty fast, but yet are really very good for cleaning teeth and are nutritious. This one would be very good for smaller dogs, or less aggressive chewers. Both of these are clean, dry and make no mess.
Stuffed Gullets........5 Paws
The item was rated low like the Texas Taffy also, because it does not last very long, but is still good for the teeth. I personally did not care as much for this one as it was a bit messy, because the filling would crumble out. If you give them outside they are a good chew.
Sam's Yams........5 Paws
Here again, does not last as long for larger dogs. My dogs 0do love them, and it is a wonderful long lasting treat, but not long lasting as a chew for larger dogs, or even the aggressive small dog chewer. Very clean and dry, and quite nutritious.
Lamb products and Baa-Baa Q........5 Paws
These products are so very nutritious just don't last long for medium chewers. BUT and I say that boldly, because I especially love the Baa Baa Q's. They are dried lamb lungs that I break up and use for training treats. My dogs will do anything for them. The good thing is I can feel at peace that I am giving them something that is all natural and extremely good for them........as a training reward no less. I have tried a few of the lamb products and liked them all, because my dogs like them all. But they did not last long. So I HIGHLY recommend these for training treats/rewards for larger dogs and chew for the very small dogs.
Fish Stix........5 Paws
This one was hard to rate. It lasts so long for my dogs that they rarely chew it. I can only surmise that for them it is just to hard to chew and not rewarding enough, fast enough. So the ones I have out for them have been there for months. But for aggressive chewers, this one would probably out do most of the other chews.
Antlerz.....0 Paws
My dogs don't even give this one a second look. It would be great for dogs that just like to chew for the fun of chewing, despite getting nothing to go into their stomachs from it. So consider this one for real aggressive chewers. It would be better then having them chew on a actual bone, which causing a lot of teeth fractures, and I can't say this one does not have that chance as well. But it is can actually be chewed down over time, where a sterilized marrow bone won't.
I am an affiliate of the best place to get chews from. They only choose the best products for our dogs. When you purchase your chews through my link below I get a percentage back. This helps me more then you can know. It allows me to provide rewards for my search and rescue dogs, which is all volunteer work. You pay no more, and the process is no different. Just click on my personal affiliate link and start your shopping.
To say thank you for ordering from my link, I will make myself available via email to answer your chew questions.
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Thank you,
Kim Willis, Master Trainer
