You can find a wide variety of dogs chews on the market these days. They can be bought at your local pet store, big box stores like Walmart and Target and even your grocery store. There are some really great all-natural and long lasting chews available for your pup but just as many are downright gross and can even be harmful to your furry friend. I will do my best to break down the various types of chews available along with by personal opinion on each. Naturally I have a strong bias towards antlers but there are a couple others we love (almost as much).
Nylon Bones
As the name suggests, these dog chews are made of nylon, rubber or even plastic. While dogs are chewing, tiny bristles are created on the surface of the "bone" that help clean your dog's teeth. These chews are also some of the toughest on the market and are terrific for heavy chewers. However, if a large piece is broken off and ingested it can cause serious issues to your dog's health.
Rawhide Bones
I have to admit to giving my black labs countless grocery store bought rawhides back when I was a new dog owner (30+ years ago). They loved them and it kept them from destroying the very few precious belongings we owned back then. They were also the least expensive chew we could afford at the time. There are some really good quality small craft processors of rawhide that create unprocessed and natural rawhide chews made in the USA. However, the majority come from overseas and go through a pretty frightening process before making it into your dog's mouth. I'll provide the Cliff Notes version of the process for anyone interested:
- Rawhides are the by product of the beef slaughter process. The hides are sent to tanneries where they are soaked in either an ash-lye solution or a highly toxic mixture of sodium sulfide liming. The hide is then split in two layers. The tougher outer layer is made into shoes, car seats, purses, etc. The softer inner layer is made into rawhides.
- Once the inner layer of leather (rawhide) has been split it is then cleaned and whitened by washing in a solution of hydrogen peroxide or even bleach. That's what makes the rawhide chews the nice white / cream color most commonly seen in stores. The bleaching process also eliminates the smell of the rawhide.
- Rawhides are frequently colored or flavored with artificial ingredients that can be harmful to your dogs. On top of that, Arsenic, Mercury, Lead and Formaldehyde have all been detected in rawhides when tested.
Himalayan Cheese Chews
Although these cheesy chews have been made in Nepal for centuries, they have only recently become mainstream in the USA as dog chews. The recipe was originally made for human consumption and has been reworked to be safe for dogs. The chews are all natural, fully digestible and long lasting (but not as long as other harder chews). The ingredients are quite simple...yak and cow milk, salt and lime juice. The resulting rock hard cheese makes for a tasty treat for your dog that is slowly chewed until small pieces can be chewed off. The really neat bit is that when the chew has become too small and could pose a choking hazard just pop it into the microwave for 45 seconds. The cheesy nub will puff up and when it cools can be given to your dog as a treat...yum!
Bully Sticks
These are dried cow penises...no really.
Beef Bones
My dogs would kill for one of these delicious and super stinky marrow bones. They are essentially sliced pieces of cow leg bones that have been dried. Often they still have some fat and gristle attached making them all the more desirable to your pup. The marrow inside the bones is what the dogs are mainly after and the bone is slowly ground down to get to the marrow inside. The problem is these bones will stink up your house and stain your carpet and furniture. They make a great outdoor kennel chew or to take on a camping trip (outside the tent or camper chew). One risk is if chewed on too vigorously the bone can splinter into shards which could be swallowed and subsequently cause blockages. If properly supervised this is generally not an issue.
Antler Chews
Whether you choose Whole Elk, Split Elk, Deer, or Moose for your pup, chewing antlers provides many benefits to dogs; it offers mental stimulation while exercising the jaw muscles. It cleans teeth effectively by scraping each tooth and loosening plaque and tartar build up. All of our antlers are 100% natural, odor-free and are long lasting. They are also full of many essential minerals such as calcium, zinc, glucosamine and magnesium.
For more information on the various types of antler chews available please take a look at our antler chew Size Guide.