What is a safe chew?

boxer bill · #1 26th December 2003, 08:36 AM

My dog loves chew toys. I have heard bad things about rawhide and hooves. What is ok and can they actually eat them? Thanks. BILL

Boxer_21 · #2 26th December 2003, 08:51 AM

I offer my boys marrow bones (soup bones), stuffed Kongs, Greenies, and Nylabones. They also get the large size of Old Mother Hubbard biscuits. Their favorite seems to be the marrow bones which keeps them occupied for at least an hour!!

Here is a link that offers more info.
" Rawhide Alternatives "
Rawhide Alternatives

- Mandy

Andi20 · #3 26th December 2003, 01:25 PM

I’ve also heard the many bad stories about rawhides. Xena loves them though and seems to chew on them responsibly by ripping off small pieces so I give them to her when I have time to watch her chew them. When I get bored of watching her, I take them away.
I also found some marble colored rubber bones from Old Navy that Xena loves. I bought her one a month ago and she never went anywhere without it. I went back and bought her two more of the ugly colored ones that they had left because she loved it so much.
They’re solid rubber like Kongs and almost smell nice, not like regular rubber. She chews on them, stomps on them, throws them around and then sleeps with them

Tulsa-Dan · #4 26th December 2003, 02:25 PM

I give my girls raw marrow bones or those sterilized bones from the pet store. They have quite an assortment and love chewing on them. Keeps them occupied for long periods of time, especially when they are new. But nearly every day they grab a bone and chew on it for a while. They really enjoy them.

KELLY W · #5 26th December 2003, 03:46 PM

I have been wanting to get Muggsey one of the sterilized ones from the pet store, but I wasnt sure about them. Last year, we got him one of those knuckle bones that are basted and he got horrible diarreah for days. Has anyone had any problems with diarreah with the plain white ones?

Tulsa-Dan · #6 26th December 2003, 04:17 PM

I get the unbasted ones. The basting gets all over the rugs so I avoid them. And also, my girls too get diarrhia (sp) from the "coating" or basting on them. So I only get the white ones.

jaimie · #7 26th December 2003, 05:16 PM

I get the white ones and put peanut butter & treats in them, then freeze them. My foster LOVES them frozen. I have also tried soup bones but Baylee is food sensitive so I can't do that anymore. Greenies are good in our house, so are these things I forget their name but they are made out of corn starch. My girls LOVE them. Also, the denta bones go over real well.

Jaimie

Zannie · #8 26th December 2003, 05:29 PM

the corn starch might be booda bones ,i give mine buly sticks,flossy. greenes and soup bones and the carrot nylabones
ann

jaimie · #9 26th December 2003, 05:48 PM

Yep, thanks that is what they are called Booda "Velvets".

shells · #10 30th December 2003, 11:37 PM

do you have trouble with "shavings" from the velvets? i tried one of them once, and i had lil tiny bits of dried cornstarch embedded all in my carpet which was a big pain to get out.... as for chews, i give my boys filled kongs, sterilized long bones (sometimes i stuff them myself, the prestuffed ones usually have some nasty stuff in them), bully sticks, greenies, the 3 in 1 dentabones (sometimes), and hard rubber toys and bones (i also have those old navy ones!)-----oh, and i always watch my dogs when they eat edible chews, cuz my tyler loves to get to the end of a greenie and swallow it whole after giving it just a few chews!

this usually ends up in his throwing it back up a day or two later. i now stay with him as he eats it and either take the end away when he puts the whole thing in his mouth, or hold it so that he has to chew

KELLY W · #11 2nd January 2004, 11:09 AM

Ok, I went to the pet store to get the sterilized bones and the only thing I could find was a flat one. It looked like the top of a femur bone cut in half. I gave it to Muggsey last night and he LOVED it. However, hubby got really worried when he started getting little shavings off and eating them. The pieces are not big at all, it is just gritty. I was just wondering if it is ok for him to eat. I figured it was because they eat bones in a BARF diet, but I told hubby I would ask Boxerworld today!

shells · #12 5th January 2004, 06:53 AM

just be sure and check his stools...i once bought a bone that was some kind of joint, maybe a condyle. it was a little softer than the usualy bones i buy and definately left a lot of shavings- the boys loved it, but i came home once to see that they had practically devoured the thing in one night. my boyfriend said they kept chewing and chewing, and low and behold i saw blood in both of their stools that day. i called the vet and they said to just watch it. it went away, but i've learned to stick with the long bones - they nice and hard, the shavings are few and far between, and no bloody stools with them!