Our adorable little puppy just turned 7 months old, and his jaws have finally developed.
He is very sweet, and good about not chewing things that aren’t his toys (for now) but he wants to chew all the time, and my fiance and I can’t seem to find toys that will last him longer then a few hours.
Well that isn’t true, he hasn’t destroyed his Kongs yet, and he hasn’t torn apart his rope toy yet, but they are all he has.
Plush toys last about 5 minutes. Real bones last maybe a day before he starts to crack them. We even got him one of those fire hose toys that are supposed to be nearly indestructible…it lasted just over an hour.
So he only has the Kongs and the Rope, and I can tell he is getting bored. Do any of you dopers have dogs that are strong chewers? What did you use to get them through this final teething phase?
I don’t want to get him anything rawhide, and I am anti cow hoof and pig ear as well. I have been thinking about getting a Galileo Nylabone for him, but I have a friend who just had a dog break 2 teeth on one so I am a bit worried about how safe it would be. I am going to get him another butcher bone after work and I will be picking up another couple of kong brand toys. What else can I get him?
Nylabones are good. The important thing to remember is that all chew toys are designed to be offered to the dog under the owner’s observation/supervision. There is no perfect chew toy. If they are too hard, teeth can be damaged. Not hard enough, and pieces are gonna end up being swallowed.
Planet Dog has some mini earth globes that work well. They do seem to last quite a while. Mine get a lot of action – I have two of the globes, and five full-grown labs that chew them.
Ropes turn to ribbons in minutes at our house, tennis balls pop, small kongs are destroyed and large ones are worn over the nose like some giant bumper guard. Real bones, as long as they are large marrow bones, last, but it looks like a graveyard when you have half a leg per dog lying around the house.
So, try the lil globes. They are also hollow so you can stuff treats in them like the Kongs. But that never lasts in our house, either.
I had the same problem with my (adult) dog and did find something that works. I can tell you but first I need to see pictures of your puppy.
Ah, what the hell. I’ll tell you because I know you know the rule about puppy threads, so you’re just in the process of selecting the best picture to show us.
My dog was in the same situation as yours (except, as he’s not teething any more, he doesn’t like to chew much of anything, but I had to give him something for when he was bored and restless). Rawhides are a joke (the largest one took him under 2 hours to devour like a piece of licorice), and my budget couldn’t manage all the peanut butter required to keep up with his Kong habit. Most bone type things are hard on his digestive system, and Nylabones (or anything synthetic) don’t interest him at all.
The solution? Chew hooves. I get three for about $2 (they are the “safety cut” ones, they’re flat, about an inch thick, 4-5 inches long by about 2 wide. The other ones tend to crack, which makes me nervous, and he doesn’t seem to like them as much, but I’d totally use them if I couldn’t find the safety cut ones). He *loves *them, and each one lasts about a week. He chews each one down to the nub and is absolutely delighted to get the next one.
The only problem I have found with them is that they get a little slimy after he’s been at it for a while, and they kind of smell like livestock. But other than that, they have been perfect.
I second Planet Dog toys, they’re supposedly indestructible. Well, their Orbee Tuff line, at least. Never tried the other stuff.
I stopped allowing Dolly to have stuffed toys for a long time after she just continually ripped them apart and ate the stuffing. By the time she was about 4, she was able to have them again.
She has a stuffed toy duck from the AKC line of toys that she never pulled apart. Apparently they have super-strong seams and very little stuffing.
I don’t recall her ever getting through a ball from her I-Qube, just losing them (she’s since gotten a new set). I have a picture of her with the toy on Christmas day and she looks pretty young.
What kind of bones? I’ve had good luck with big sterilized unflavored bones. I think they’re cow femurs or something - I get mine at Petsmart. They seem to last longer than Nylabones, and don’t seem to splinter into sharp pieces.
I’m not a big fan of Nynabones. They seem to get jagged when chewed up, and I’ve actually noticed some bleeding from the gums as a result. Yes, I realize it’s because I let them use it for too long, but it’s not a very good failure mode. And it didn’t take very long to get to that point.
I used to get those for a German Shephard I had. My mother was living with at the time and my husbands ex mother in-law lived across the street and she was nosey as hell. She was always peeking out her blinds at us.
So one time the dog was in the front yard and I threw out this big huge leg bone to him and yelled “I told you to finish the rest of grandma” and closed the door.
Anyway, I came in to say Kongs but since you all ready got those I don’t have much more advice. My dogs are not big chewers other than the marrow bones I get them when we go “hunting” they don’t really chew that much.
My lab chews through anything with the exception of nylabones and cuz toys (http://www.carealotpets.com/item-detail/?ItemID=4057E). The cuz toys have some vulnerable areas that are chewed away quickly (like the tail of the dino), but they are the only squeaky toy/ball shaped object that has lasted longer than a few hours.
Tulip has had a four-square ball for over a year. The actual ball part ceased within a minute but she still tears across the yard proudly waving the remnants.
My old lab just loved paper sacks, and the cardboard carrier a 6 pack of bottles comes in. They didn’t last very long, but he was crazy happy to get them…and hey, they were free.
I was also able to teach him that he was only allowed to chew socks with a knot tied in them…so he had several old socks to teeth on and play tug o’ war with dad.