CHEW ON THIS – A range of natural chews for your dog

Give a dog a bone – isn’t just a saying, it’s a command!

Dogs should chew. It is a natural instinct that uses their brains for enrichment, and satisfies their base urges. If you don’t divert their energies elsewhere, they will end up chewing anything they can get their teeth on – shoes, sofa, beds – you get the drift!

While most commercial pet shops still carry plastic dog chews or dog chews from dubious sources or rawhides, or that are made with preservatives to make them shelf stable, there is also a growing movement of pet parents who opt for naturally processed chews made from animal parts, that are digestible and beneficial.

Why chewing is beneficial for your dog

Chewing benefits your dog in 3 positive ways:

• Cleaning the teeth – The physical action of scraping their teeth over bone, or ripping at meat off a bone, or chewing on a tough tendon, skin or cartilage helps the tartar and plaque to be scraped off. This keeps their teeth healthier, and their breath fresher too.
• Mouth hygiene – Chewing produces saliva, which naturally cleans the teeth and gums, resulting in better dental hygiene.
• Mental enrichment – A chew keeps dogs busy physically and mentally, and keeps them out of trouble. A busy dog is a tired dog, and a tired dog is less likely to get up to no good!

DO NOTE: Dogs should not chew for longer than 20-30 minutes a day or they risk injuring their teeth and gums. Swap out their chew with a high value treat and save it in the fridge or freezer for another day.

What natural chews to give your dog?

A good source of chews for your dog is a raw meaty bone. Raw meaty bones like poultry neck, feet and wings or beef neck bones and marrow bones (only raw, never boiled/cooked) are bones with connective tissue, tendons and ligaments still attached. The bones scrape against the teeth, dislodging tartar and plaque, while the residual meat, tendons and ligaments act as a ‘floss’ to continue cleaning their teeth.

The benefit to giving a raw meaty bone is that alongside the nutrients and minerals that benefit them, it is also digestible. This is opposed to them chewing on plastic or rawhide that cannot be digested, and can cause blockages.

Other types of natural chews are tough parts of the animal e.g. skin, cartilage or tendons. These parts are chewy and encourage your dog to gnaw at it, which strengthens their jaws, cleans their teeth & gums and keeps them busy and entertained. Parts that are rich in cartilage and collagen dry tough and also offer up benefits for joint health.

What type of chew should you give your dog?

There is a chew for every dog but first, you must know your dog’s chewing styles. Consider if they are a careful chewer or a chomper and gulper.

If offering up chews to chompers and gulpers, offer up a chew that is larger than their mouth. This prevents them from swallowing it in one go. Or put the chew in a chew holder, or hold it for them, to teach them to chew instead of gulp.

If you have a small dog or senior dog, consider the size of the chew, as it will add calories, and too much of a chew treat can cause a stomach upset. If offering up chews like Pig Ears or Duck Necks, consider smaller portions, e.g. Pig Ear Strips or Duck Neck Chunks.

The fallacy is that small dogs cannot chew as their jaws are weak. Nothing could be further from the truth! Our 3.4kg toy poodle used to happily chew on chicken feet, duck neck chunks and pig ear strips like a champ. She also used to enjoy short chew sessions of buffalo tendon. Small dogs are dogs too – they just need a chew sized for them.

Some dogs enjoy furry chews e.g. Rabbit Skin or Cow Skin, while others do not like the furry texture. Some dogs enjoy crunchy treats like Chicken Feet, but find Buffalo tendons too much work. So choosing the right chew for your dog is important for their enjoyment.

Offer up a variety of different chews to serve different needs. Bone-in chews offer up a satisfying crunch and give calcium nutritional benefits. Cartilage or tendon chews will fray as the item softens, and offer ‘flossing’ benefits as the skin/meat gets between their teeth.

How long should my dog chew?

We recommend chew sessions of not more than 20-30 minutes each time. While some chews are very tough (e.g. Pig Ear, Cow Skin, Cow Ears, Bully Sticks etc) and can last your dog a very long time, it can potentially injure their teeth and gums if they chew for too long.

While we understand that a long lasting chew offers ‘value’, it should not be at the expense of your dog’s dental health.

Use a high value treat to swap out the chew, wrap it up in parchment paper or put in a bag/container and keep in the fridge for no longer than 2 days (longer if kept frozen), and let them finish it another day.

Different dogs will have different chewing styles so always supervise your dog when they’re chewing, even if they are used to it.

Dehydrated or Freeze-dried chews?

This would depend on your dog’s preference.

Dehydrated chew treats are harder and usually smell stronger. It also offers up a longer-lasting chew treat, as it will be tougher and takes longer to chew e.g tendons and pig ears. For bone in chews e.g. feet, neck etc, they are more crunchy. The meat structure collapses, so it looks more bony.

Freeze-dried chew treats have a softer texture and may better suit senior dogs, dogs with weak teeth, or young dogs better. It will soften more quickly to its natural raw state. For bone-in chews, freeze-dried chews may take longer to chew on. They do look more substantial as the meat structure does not collapse, and the dogs usually enjoy ripping at the meat on the bone.

Neither is superior, as both have their benefits and plus points. Generally however, due to the technology involved, freeze-dried chews do tend to be more pricey.

In CHEW ON THIS, we offer up a wide selection of quality natural chew treats, that is evolving and growing over time. Alongside the more common chew treats of ears, necks and feet, we also offer up more unusual chews e.g. fish heads, rabbit spine and chicken cartilage. The intention is to ensure that your pup not only enjoys a good chew, but derives nutritional benefit from it. We want what’s best for our dogs – and by extension, yours.