Dogs love to chew. Chewing has many positive benefits to a pup’s health too- it exercises jaw muscles, cleans their teeth, and can help relieve anxiety or frustration by giving them something enjoyable to focus on.
What they chew is what matters. But what chew to choose?
Soft chew, hard chew, bone, or dental stick?
Before knowing what chew to choose, first understand your dog’s chewing style, preferences and what best suits their dental health needs.
What to look for in an edible dog chew?
hardness, durability, long-lasting, size, and natural ingredients.
Types of Edible Dog Chews
Bully Sticks
Unlike rawhide, bully sticks, sometimes known as pizzle sticks, are easily digestible. Single-ingredient chews made from beef and lamb muscle, bully sticks range in thicknesses and lengths. They also come braided and shaped for an extra-long chew. They do not splinter. Instead, the end of the stick becomes soft and acts like a toothbrush as your dog chews. Other varieties include beef and lamb tripe, oxtail, beef and lamb collagen sticks, and hare sausages.
Antlers
Antlers are all-natural chews that can come from a variety of animals, including deer or elk. Antlers for dogs come in a range of sizes and shapes and are incredibly long-lasting because they are so hard. However, their hardness can also make them a risky choice. Always supervise your dog while they chew.
Yak Cheese Chews
These are hard blocks of dried cheese made with yak or cow milk, salt, and lime juice. The lactose content is low, so dogs generally digest them well, and they are hard enough to be long-lasting.
As with other chews, only give your dog a block large enough that they can’t eat whole. Take away the yak chew as soon as it gets small enough to pose a hazard.
Did you know? Small pieces of yak cheese chews can be put into the microwave for short bursts of time until they “puff” and can be easily crunched up as a treat once cooled.
Tendons and Other Animal Parts
From beef trachea to lamb tripe, hare burgers and chicken feet, different animal parts are also a more natural dog chew. Tendon chews are a safer choice, since they’re low in fat and high in protein and collagen. Fish skin chews, such as salmon twists and freeze-dried sardines smell fishy, but they are a great source of omega three fatty acids.
What chew to choose? Chews Wild!
All our chews at Pets On The Bay are sourced locally from Chews Wild LLC and made with only farm fresh, all natural ingredients. Thanks, Chews Wild for helping us care for our community pets together!
Visit our online boutique to browse all our edible dog chews!
The content for this blog was adapted from a post on The American Kennel Club website.
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