What are your favorite chewies?

Kuma123

My dogs LOVE buffalo bones but I'd like to change it up a bit. Now, keep in mind, I have to do a lot of separation management in my house so it needs to be chewies easily picked up and removed from sight not something too messy that would require a lot of cleanup because sometimes we only have seconds to remove the ever so valuable chewy to avoid conflict. I like Merrick's line of bones and a few others that I can't think of the brands.

What do you give your pups?

Do you make your own chewy treats? If so what do you use?

Thank you in advance

lindsayt

Raw bones

ayk

Elk antlers.

violet_in_seville

We like moose antlers. The pups seem to like the taste much better than deer and elk. I picked mine up at a show but I think this is the company, http://www.acadiaantlers.com/. They were very nice and the price was much better than I usually see for antlers. Both of mine shared a taster for months. I like raw turkey necks too (they have a lot more meat). Also a thought, smoked ostrich tendons. I picked mine up at a green market and this was the farmer, http://www.roamingacres.com/. The pups enjoy the ostrich jerky too, but the tendon is a very popular chew with them.

Hinata23

Cow's hooves (smelly, but they last) and bully sticks.

sjp051993

Mine love split elk antlers. I get the split ones because it exposes the marrow better and keeps them interested longer. I get mine from Elkantlerdogtreats.com He is often at dog shows so I always pick them up there. His prices are pretty good for around here.

Heidi

Good ole fashioned bones do the trick around here. I get them from the grocery store covered in meat, but they don't stay that way for long.

Losech

Raw bones, especially turkey necks. Bully sticks, dried trachea, tendons... Stuff like that.

Hinata23

@hondru Good idea! Hadn't thought about that!

Kuma123

Thanks everybody

Raw is not an option.... they can have raw in their crates but not loose in the house. The 'juices' get on the floor and before I can clean it up they'll have an argument about who gets to lick up the juices! It has to be stuff that can be removed (completely) within seconds if a problem arises. I keep the gates closed when really special bones are about but sometimes the kids forget to lock them (Kuma knows how to open the baby gates if they aren't locked) and sometimes they will find another way to get the others bone.

Antlers are a good idea! I used to get them and somehow just forgot all about them lol

Thank you to those that provided links, too! That is very helpful and saves me some time.

I HATE bully sticks but my dogs love them so we do those on occasion.

My dogs love cow hooves, too, but you're right, they stink lol

jellyfish

Raw chicken backs

bully stick



and thats pretty much it. Toki will eat anything raw i give him, but sometimes his tummy doesn't agree, so all he gets are chicken backs, necks, ect...





You should try Himalayn Dog Chews
http://www.himalayandogchew.com/

Toki was less than thrilled about them, but the terrier puppy who was staying with us LOVED the heck out of it. I highly recommend them.

jellyfish

in regards to raw bones....do you have a backyard or a patio? Just throw it on the ground.


I know that sounds bad, but they're dogs with their shorter GI tracts. What do you think they did before humans made kibble? Dogs didn't clean the floor and sanitize the dirt they ate on.

rikumom

Be careful with cow hooves and Himalayan Dog Chews -- I've known two separate Shibas who damaged their teeth, one had her molars sheared off from the hoof, the other broke or cracked the tooth from HDC. I stopped buying HDC since even though my JA pup loves them

Besides bulky sticks, we give dehydrated fish skin and green tripe. They are all smelly but meet your quick to pick up criteria. The antlers lay around the house and only get interest sometimes

We also like filling monster balls or puzzle toys with kibble to keep them occupied

violet_in_seville

I second the dehydrated fish skin mentioned by @rikumom. We recently tried one by honest kitchen that the pups also quite liked (http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products/beams/).

Both of mine can be picky (bully sticks, most tendons, trachea, deer and elk antlers didn't hold their attention long). Not sure why but unfortunately I think we still have a pound of bully sticks languishing in the house untouched. Moose antlers and the fish skins held their attention continuously. The fish skins are more of a one session chew but they last longer than one might assume. Not sure why the pups like moose so much more than deer or elk but perhaps next time you go to a dog show you can purchase some samples of an array of chews.

Saya

Saya loves dehydrated fish skins she had salmon ones they don't last long though for big dog and Saya makes short work of them too more like a special treat..

These are ones I get they have other stuff too. I haven't tried honest kitchen ones yet once these little things are gone I'll try them.
http://snack21treats.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55&Itemid=69

Salmon ears are brand I heard of from house of two bows..
I haven't gotten these yet, but I plan to eventually.
http://www.salmonears.com/

Salmon skin are more like snacks though..

Bully sticks is only thing I can think of.

Saya has had lamb ears before..

She loves dehydrated trachea, tendons..

Losech

Forgot to mention this but...
I used to give antlers and beef ribs. Not anymore. Sasha chipped then broke the same tooth on beef ribs, broke another one an antler. Juneau completely smashed a tooth on a beef rib (I think). $500 fix right there. Haven't had to fix Sasha's yet. (Vet said wait a bit. Dunno why, but whatever.) Conker has also chipped a tooth on an antler, so those two things, and anything that isn't immediately edible, are out for my gang.

Sangmort

Outside of raw...which is their primary food source...

We use bully sticks or Himalayan dog chews. That said, Wraith tries to crunch them like raw bones, so he doesn't get any out of fear of breaking his teeth. Fate doesn't get any as he has 0 interest in them. Dragoon does an awesome job of just "gnawing" at them. Haven't tried Aggro yet, too afraid he'll be like Wraith lol ~

lindsayt

As always, "know thy dog" is a great way to evaluate what kind of chews are most appropriate. I also have an aggressive chewer with broken teeth, so she doesn't get hard chews at all, but the others can enjoy them just fine.

Arctic

I will throw my hat in for whoever mentioned fish skins. I recently picked these up:

http://www.polkadog.com/shop.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=88#.UTc-ejDg18E

I got them at my local dog place while picking up Sansa's raw food, and she LOVED them. As @Saya said, they're more of a snack than a chew item, but it's definitely something my pup goes crazy for.

Other than that, what everyone else suggested is what I would suggest

lockshi3

has anyone's NH gotten a bad reaction from a bully? Jake ate a bully stick not too long ago, developed mucusy diarrhea within hours. by the next day there were drops of blood and a trip to the vet. I'm assuming it was something bacterial on the stick, or perhaps some sensitivity... now we are only using antlers.

rikumom

W/ intestinal upset, I think it's more an issue of good manufacturing practices than product type. There was a Salmonella scare recently, we shop bulk from Best Bully Stick and verified our lot wasn't affected. Please note besides bully sticks, jerky and pigs ear were included in the recall list:

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-recall/kasel-recalls-numerous-brands-of-dog-treats-due-to-salmonella/

The only other issue we've had from animal-based chews is puppy swallowing large chunks and throwing up later. W/ antlers, make sure the exposed marrow doesn't get moist/breed bacteria or attract pests

WrylyBrindle

I think my dogs' favorite chewies are each other's manes, based on the snow sticking to the slobber on their necks and hoods out there...

We use bully sticks, antlers, and some kinds/shapes of nylabones. But they are absolutley NUTS for Greenies.

lockshi3

@rikumom we also shopped at bestbully for the sticks. good to know about the antlers, thanks!

violet_in_seville

@Amanda (@lockshi3) - darn. Should have passed you the massive box of bully sticks my dogs ignore before I moved.

Hinata23

BestBullyStick.com has the best bully sticks! They have a ton of different chews and treats. You should check it out.

Kuma123

Today I got hooves, beef ears, ribs and a couple other things.

I am going to get fish skin (great idea!) and dehydrate some fish, too.

I just went to bestbullystick.com... Nice! Thank you for telling me about it!

Thanks everyone

curlytails

Yet another +1 for Honest Kitchen Beams, especially the "talls" (large) size. Pretty good value, in my opinion. The cod skin treats @Arctic posted look similar and also good, but I don't know how the bulk compares to THK.

I do like the Salmon Ears salmon skin treats, but they're quite a bit messier than THK and not as thick and chewy. Salmon Ears give you a good amount of skin for the price, but they're not really a "chew" treat.

lindsayt

THK beams actually last a while! I was surprised they were so chewy for the dogs.

ttddinh

@wrylybrindle--did you see the study that showed dogs could not properly digest greenies? Just FYI

Ooh! My dogs get raw bones and bully sticks

Losech

@ttddinh Greenies recently (not sure when exactly) changed their formula so they are much more digestible than before. They are still not that great of a thing IMO, but I don't see how giving them every now and then would be harmful.

rikumom

@losech,
I believe you're correct, there was a negative wave of publicity for Greenies being stuck in the dog's digestive track when they were gulped down, so somewhere around 2008 time frame they reformulated. The thing is they are made out of wheat gluten, something I'm trying to avoid myself, but the shiba loves it and gets them periodically.