“Chews-ing’ the Right Toy for Your Dog

You walk into the pet store, and you´re greeted by aisle after aisle of chew toys—soft ones, hard ones, gummy ones, rawhide ones, ones that squeak, ones that rattle, ones that imitate the sounds authentic barnyard animals would make if they were four inches tall and battery-operated.

What to choose … your dog prefers the leg of your $350 coffee table, but you don´t see anything similar to that here.

Or maybe you´re one of the people whose dog just doesn´t seem to chew. You offer him varied and sundry delectable items, and he glances at them in great disinterest before wandering off to take a nap.

"Some dogs don´t chew much, and others always have something in their mouth," said Fraser Hale, a Guelph, Ontario, veterinarian specializing in dentistry. "It´s an important recreation release and tension release for some dogs—they don´t smoke; they can´t play squash. If you provide them with acceptable things [to chew], they don´t need to find something."

Veterinarians differ on the choices, but there are a few main principles. First, you have to take your dog´s preferences into account—there´s no point in buying a chew toy your dog won´t deign to sink his teeth into.

And you want something safe—something that can´t be swallowed and won´t damage teeth.

The bad news is, that toy doesn´t exist. "Excessive chewing on anything causes tooth wear," said Dr. James Miller of Chatoak Pet Clinic, Granada Hills, Calif., a spokesperson for the American Animal Hospital Association.

Even the time-honored standard tennis ball can wear down a dog´s teeth if he chews on it enough, Dr. Hale said—the nylon fuzz is abrasive. "He´s not going to break teeth, but if he´s really aggressive about it he can wear the teeth down and get right to the nerve of the tooth."

And as far as swallowing goes, your dog can swallow anything once he chews it enough. That five-foot rawhide bone eventually shrinks to three inches, that squeaky toy eventually gets ripped to bite-sized shreds.

And some things don´t have to be chewed to bits to be swallowed. Dr. Miller recalled a German shepherd that got a tennis ball lodged in the back of his throat while playing a game of catch. (Seems to be a disturbing trend developing here. Tennis balls—the hidden canine hazard.)

That was a freak accident, Dr. Miller said. But it does illustrate an important principle—don´t give your dog chew balls and toys small enough to be swallowed. Also avoid toys with small parts—for instance, squeakers—that your dog will tear apart and devour.

Soft toys fall under the same principle. A piece of string as short as three inches can cause a blockage in the dog´s bowels, Dr. Miller said.

You also want to avoid toys that will break your dog´s teeth, Dr. Hale said. He uses this rule of thumb: "If you don´t want me to hit you on the shin with it, or you don´t want me to drop it on your pine furniture, don´t give it to the dog."

Dr. Hale sees a lot of broken back teeth—almost always the result of chewing on a hard object. Bones of any kind—sterilized or not—are out, he said. So are hooves and hard nylon toys. "They help to keep teeth clean—so the dogs have clean, broken teeth, and that´s no advantage," Dr. Hale said.

So basically, what you´re left with is a judgement call. "Anything you put in the dog´s mouth has the potential to cause problems," Dr. Hale said. "You have to look at what´s likely the safest thing."

You should think about the danger of breaking teeth, but not go overboard, Dr. Miller said. If your dog is going to chew, you may as well let him chew on something that's your choice—otherwise he´ll just break his teeth on something expensive, he said.

When it comes to satisfying chew toys, rawhide is generally a good bet, veterinarians said. As the dogs chew, it softens—it rarely causes obstructions because it becomes slimy and eventually digests. Dr. Hale recommended thin rawhide strips, to keep the teeth from breaking. Dr. Miller suggested rawhide strips or sticks.

Rawhide has another advantage— "They´re more of a treat for animals," Dr. Miller said. Rubbery bones are good for dogs—but a lot of animals aren´t interested in them. "Often dogs won´t take those—the texture is one thing they go after, but flavor is more of a priority."

Tennis balls work well as chewing toys, veterinarians said, as do rubber Kong toys. But the key is supervision. If your dog tears his toy apart, remove the pieces before he can swall ow them. If he gnaws his rawhide down to gulp-size, take it away before it finds its way to the stomach.

Finally, keep in mind that no matter what your dog´s toys claim in advertising slogans, the best way to keep teeth clean is to brush them. Neither chew toys nor diet make that much of a difference in cleaning teeth, Dr. Miller said.

It´s extra work—difficult work—but it needs to be done, veterinarians said.

"If you´re interested in keeping your dog´s teeth clean, you should be brushing the dog´s teeth," Dr. Hale said. "Don´t rely on hard objects to do that job for you."

Copyright VetCentic.com Reprinted with permission.