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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

MIL bought DS a dog chew

94 replies

eyess · 18/01/2017 12:30

DS, who is just over two, had been complaining about sore teeth and had been chewing his dummies until they had holes in them and thus didn't function properly any more. We've given him teething gel and soft food for a bit, and tried to encourage him to chew on his Sophie giraffe, he seems better, but MIL brought him home with a dog chew yesterday and said he really enjoyed chewing on it round the shops. It's quite clearly a dog chew, it's a bone shape!

I'm not really sure what to make of it, how would you feel? Is this a thing that is done? Dog chews for children?

OP posts:
HeadfirstForHalos · 18/01/2017 14:05

I also was thinking you meant dentastix Grin

I wouldn't be thrilled to be honest, I wouldn't have thought it would be toxic or anything , but it might be a lower grade of rubber than is used for baby toys etc. There are plenty of teethers you can buy which are intended for babies so I can't see the point.

ChardonnayKnickertonSmythe · 18/01/2017 14:06

I have visions of a toddler chomping away on a hide chew.

A Kong might be pushing it I think.

LaContessaDiPlump · 18/01/2017 14:10

What's wrong with a second-hand Sophie? She wipes clean! Admittedly I didn't know about the mouldy interior thing then.

DS1 seems unharmed he licked the buggy type once and has also drunk water out of manhole covers so I will never worry about him ever Grin

OvariesBeforeBrovaries · 18/01/2017 14:26

If you clean them according to the instructions, Sophie won't be mouldy.

I'd cut ours open to check but I threw the bastard thing away

MammyNeedsASpaDay · 18/01/2017 14:41

Actually laughed out loud at the pigs ear comment as I did think this was the case myself.

I wouldn't be impressed if MIL did this (she wouldn't!) when there are a million different child teething toys and medicines I don't see why you'd need a dog chew

NavyandWhite · 18/01/2017 14:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

lovelearning · 18/01/2017 15:34

NavyandWhite Grin

Original poster
eyess · 18/01/2017 15:52

It's quite a soft rubber dog chew toy in the shape of a bone. I think they got it in Morrison's. It already has teeth marks in it, so I think it might fall to pieces if DS has it for much longer. I was thinking it was dangerous from a choking perspective rather than the grade of rubber, what chemicals it may contain or even if or was safe for human consumption, but now I'm definitely going to throw it out.

OP posts:
CherryCokeFairy · 18/01/2017 15:53

I think its a really good idea! As someone with dogs though I'd suggest their next dog chew be for puppies, they are slightly softer and designed for milk teeth :)

Original poster
eyess · 18/01/2017 15:53

And I'm gonna throw out Sophie, and all his bath toys.

OP posts:
TheresABluebirdOnMyShoulder · 18/01/2017 16:28

Amazed that people are happy to give their children something on the basis that it doesn't appear to kill dogs Hmm

For a start, I doubt there's been extensive study into the effects of dog toys on the animals' health. Given that chew toys for dogs are not regulated, how do we know that certain chemicals are not causing or contributing to any number of common canine ailments or diseases? We don't.

There's also the fact that a dog and a human baby are two very different things and something that affects one will not necessarily affect the other. Pretty obvious, no? Plus dogs have a much shorter lifespan than humans so it's not possible to measure the long terms effects on health in the same way.

I have no idea why, when there are so many other alternatives, anybody would run this risk with their child's health. It's crazy.

neversleepagain · 19/01/2017 08:11

I would bin it. It will be full of nasties in the plastic and probably made in China with little or no health regulation.

Just because it's fit for dogs doesn't not make it fit for a baby. Would you feed your child dog food just because it's ok for a dog Confused

I don't give my dc any cheap plastic products and would never store out food in plastic containers from the pound shop etc.

OlennasWimple · 19/01/2017 08:31

I understand the thinking, but I'd reckon that using it a couple of times would be fine, but not as a long term thing.

Bickie pegs, as mentioned by another pp, are great.

Frenchfarmwench · 19/01/2017 08:32

My Husbands grandmother did this too.....it was bone shaoed and that fake chocolate flavour!
Straight in the bin!

Reality16 · 19/01/2017 08:37

Be careful you parents with them . . I saw a link on Facebook and the inside of them have been found to be covered in mold . Just saying.. It always surprises me when this sort of thing makes it into the news pages. I mean for fuck sake do people really not understand that drool will end up inside this thing Confused how stupid do you have to be to not know that a hole in a toy which your child chews will inevitably let in some of the saliva Confused

Peanutbutterrules · 19/01/2017 08:42

I'd bin. God knows what its made of but its not intended to be chewed by a child. Just because a dog is okay doesn't mean its fit for a young child.

LadyGlitterSparklesSeriously · 19/01/2017 08:48

Sophie is just a cleverly marketed dog toy, you know that right?

Don't see the harm.

balls2DWall · 19/01/2017 08:54

my dogs get those squeaky chew toys sometimes but its not long before the plastic breaks down into little cubes and comes off. id be afraid of choking more than anything. they are not as sturdy as a teething ring that wont split.

and all these mouldy toys ... anything that is hollow and has moisture from drooling/teething and bath water is gonna get mouldy. milton or bin.

SashaE80 · 19/01/2017 08:59

As a complete aside for those having problems with bath toys with mould in, I use my glue gun to plug up the hole. No water gets in, so no mould.

annlee3817 · 19/01/2017 09:00

No, don't throw out sophie, a number of people have cut open theirs and they are perfectly clean inside, one of my friends cut open hers that had done the rounds with both her kids and it was spotless. There are new posts doing the rounds on facebook.

annlee3817 · 19/01/2017 09:00

No, don't throw out sophie, a number of people have cut open theirs and they are perfectly clean inside, one of my friends cut open hers that had done the rounds with both her kids and it was spotless. There are new posts doing the rounds on facebook.

Spikeyball · 19/01/2017 09:05

There are lots of chew toys available for children who need more than toddler teethers. I wouldn't give a dog toy because I wouldn't know if it was safe for a human to chew.

FearandLoathinginLasVegas · 19/01/2017 09:07

you tube how they make them, its was on some programme the other day, now I know I wouldn't give them to a child.

MatildaTheCat · 19/01/2017 09:39

Just buy her a teething ring fgs.

My dh once ate a dog biscuit in a nice dog friendly cafe, they brought a little plate with some biscuits for 'the most important person' and he mistakenly thought it was him. Grin He lived to tell the tail < deliberate>. but complained they weren't very nice.

SideOfFoot · 19/01/2017 09:40

This would have annoyed me when my ds was younger but I've mellowed over the years. I think it's quite funny, maybe she didn't notice it was for dogs and thought she was being kind. I'd probably (discreetly) bin it and not tell mil.