Dental chew alternatives

[TeenagePup]

We've been giving our 16 month old a pedigree dentastix in the evening but just wanted to see what other people do and whether there is something better we could give him.

He does have the odd pigs ear, pizzel stick, cow hoof, yak chew. I'm yet to find anything that lasts longer than 5 minutes though.

If you want something long lasting, try alternative meat chews - ostrich bones, camel skins, buffalo skins etc.

JRPetProducts is a good place to look.

My dogs have a marrowbone from the butcher once or twice a week.

Deer antler are really good and long lasting. But maybe that's cos my doggo isn't much of a chewer

Be careful giving antlers as they can splinter and cause tooth damage.

My dog isn't a chewer (anything that can't be immediately eaten is either buried under the curtains, or ignored). He won't chew on bones for example. He'll eat dental stix though (which I leave out of the packet so they harden up a bit).

Are any of the options listed here so delicious that a non-chewer will persevere with?

Antlers cause slab fractures of carnassial teeth and studies have shown them to be stronger than thigh bone. They offer no nutritional value and in the wild would just be left. I don’t know who first thought they would be a good idea for a dog chew.

@Legodout I'd definitely try the natural chews.

Some of them may not last him long but at least they're healthier than Dentastix.

I would look at Ostrich bones, pizzle sticks, pigs ears, cows ears and buffalo skins for something that's tasty but fairly long lasting. Cows hooves and trachea are also good as they can be stuffed and frozen to make them more tempting or to get them to last longer.

Pigs ears are quite fatty though so only give in moderation

Have you looked at the ingredients of Dentastix?
I give mine Lily’s Kitchen WoofBrush, not long lasting but better than anything from Pedigree.
Marrowbones are fab and last for hours but they only have them in the garden.

Dentastix are the equivalent of a human chewing a cracker to clean their teeth! They coat the tooth and the sugars in the carbohydrates cause decay.

Dried Fish skins, raw chicken wings, rabbit/duck heads, duck necks etc are good chews for the teeth (calculate as part of food allowance).
Ensure bones are raw, not dried. Dried bones splinter the same as cooked, but pet foods are unregulated and shops sell anything to make a profit.
If you want something lasting ages to occupy your dog, try pate frozen onto a lick mat, frozen kong, loaded snuffle mat……

Thanks all (and sorry to OP for slightly hijacking/diverting!). Purchased an Ostrich bone from JR PetProducts!

@Legodout

Thanks all (and sorry to OP for slightly hijacking/diverting!). Purchased an Ostrich bone from JR PetProducts!

The best thing about ostrich bones is they are so lightweight, you can't stub your toe on them unlike a knucklebone

Yakkers chews are a hit here too, as are bull pizzles and plaited buffalo chews. Whimzees crocodiles & their vegetable pigs ears are also well received.

The ostrich bone is a hit!!!!! This is a dog who has never chewed anything, doesn't like toys, doesn't do kongs, ignores any food he can't eat immediately. But he's now gnawing at the ostrich bone! He hasn't yet worked out how to hold the bone down with his paws (he's a bit thick) so I'm currently holding it down with my foot so he can really gnaw into it.

He wasn't very interested in it initially, so I soaked it in warm water for about 2 mins, to get the shreds of flesh softer and the smell up (the smell is actually ok; smells of pet shops - slightly meaty/sawdusty!). I lay out an old duvet in the sun, tuned on radio 4 and shut him in the room with me (before feeding him, so he was hungry) with no distractions and he just started, licking at first, then biting the flesh with his front teeth, and now gnawing. He's been at it for at least an hour. Can't wait to check his teeth later.

Sincere thanks for the recommendations!

In light of the success story above can I have suggestions please for my pugs. Their big problem is that that they both have strong jaws and are willing to swallow the most enormous chunks. Yakkers, dentastix, whimsies, raw chicken wings, ducks necks, pigs ears etc all receive approximately two chomps and are then swallowed whole, sometimes with a bit of gagging, but they are clearly not willing to put in the time to chew properly. I have tried larger bones but they just crack them in two and swallow the chunks. TBH I have stopped giving them anything to chew because I'm worried about them doing themselves an injury.

I'm wondering if maybe oxbones are the answer? Has anyone found a solution for dogs who are willing to swallow just about anything of any size?

Have you tried sticks made of olive wood? It does not splinter and is long lasting. Specifically for dental hygiene we use greenies which go down well, and buffalo horns.

Please do t use antlers, they can crack teeth.
Mine love the chews made from fish skins, you can get all shapes & sizes from cubes to larger stick shapes.

Fish skins

Sorry, don’t use antlers, please

I use the barking heads dentastixs about once a week, a carrot once a week and then a natural chew every day. Anything from a chickens foot, ostrich bone, dried tendons, fish flatties. Just mix it up.
It does depend on your dogs size though-mine are all 40kg + so I don’t mind a treat every day