Suggestions for longer lasting but softer dog chews

[123dogdog]

I’m looking for a dog chew that is on the softer side but still will last 5 minutes ish.

obviously rawhide is an absolute no for obvious reasons, so I am absolutely no considering it or have considered.

dentastix, I’ve always heard pedigree dog food/treats are not great, like the lower end of the dog food quality scale, but I don’t know whether that has changed in the last 15 years.

i will never give my dogs antlers, yak chews or similar things that are that hard, as I’m concerned they will accidentally break their teeth.

i got some whimzees rice bones to try but listening to the dogs chewing them, i was just thinking oh Jesus 😂 also, the pack were all the same size, they said medium and large on the pack and me being me did not read the page properly and assumed there were medium and large size ones in the bag 😂 they’re all the same size. And as one dog is 11kg and the other about 24kg, doesn’t quite work. Whimzees, I feel, are just not great, they just seem a bit too processed. I’m willing to be corrected on that though.

and there’s all those rabbit ears, pizzle sticks and puffed pig snouts, which seem great but they are not coming in my house as they just give me the ick 😂 I can’t even pick the packet of those up let alone manage to give them to the dog 😂

so anyone have any suggestions for something that is suitable for an 11kg terrier and a 24kg lab, whether that’s the same item or items in different sizes.

also, the wee one is allergic to fish and sensitive to chicken, so anything with them in it are totally out too, which complicates things as chicken seems to be in so much dog treats and if there’s no chicken in it, there’s some type of fish in it 😬🤣

thanks if anyone has any suggestions.

attached picture of the criminals to satisfy dog tax.

I once bought a couple of beef ribs online with some other bits thinking, oh great, they look fun. They arrived and they were so enormous that we ended up cutting them down into more reasonably sized pieces with a hacksaw as the tiny spaniel mouth just couldn't cope with a whole one. I think in the end I gave 3/4 of them away as she was so intimidated by the size.

@PyreneanAubrie decent natural chews are just air-dried, they genuinely don't contain any nasties (which is why they can go mouldy). They do come with expiry dates and should be stored in certain conditions in order to maintain their longevity.

I suspect lots of people just bung everything in a cupboard and don't think about the fact that treats need to be kept cool and airtight, hence the issues. I've been feeding (and selling) natural treats for years and have never once had an issue with mould.

Ostrich bones shouldn't splinter either, they're a honeycomb design so they're not sharp like other bones :)

My labs have managed to break ostrich bones into shards. Only once they get down to the middle section though so I just remove before that happens.

I've not tried mine with buffalo ears before, so thought I'd try them. 4 minutes 😁 8 times longer than rabbit ears to be fair!

If you buy from a good supplier then the natural product will usually be air dried to make sure it is safe to eat and all contaminents removed. No need for artifical preservatives. Which you will get in raw hide or the chemicals that is in rawhide. Some rawhide has been found to have arsenic in it and formeldehyde in it.

Raw hide is reallly difficult for the dogs stomach acid to destroy so can cause blockages and just sit undigested in the stomach for months

Look online at JR pet products loads of good quality natural stuff

Rawhide can cause bowel blockage and is nasty and processed and not at all good for dogs

Long Lasting Chews are generally harder. Natural Chew like yak chew will do a fine job for your dog. And if your are worried about breaking your dog with hardness of the yak chews, you can soak them up and feed them to your dog, or make a puff out of them that are crunchy and softer than yak chews.

Do read this blog before making a decision: Are yak chews too hard for dogs?

I had a chat with our very goos local pet shop. They said there is a difference between the very yellow and cheap rawhide bones that you see which have been fast bleached - potentially v bad as do not break down in stomach and difficult to digest - and the more expensive browner versions. However.

They stock chews that have a very thin layer of the more expensive rawhide but have tastier centres of other ingredients. greatandsmallpets.com/uk/search-results/?searchterm=Duck+apple&searchterm_submit=GoThink the company arw called Great and Small.

Might be worth a look? Plsu the collagen rolls.

My spaniel doesn’t get on well with really hard chews either, so I tried antler for dogs that had been split down the middle. The inside is a bit softer and keeps him busy without hurting his teeth.

He still has a good chew but isn’t frustrated like he was with the solid ones. Worth a go if you're looking for something longer lasting but more gentle.

Biltong and braided sticks of lamb/ostrich skin

Dried ostrich stomach goes down a treat with our pup. A medium piece lasts about 20 minutes. We’ve also got a wild fang leather chew bone as a more permanent chewing toy, but keep an eye on her with it in case anything comes loose (hasn’t so far).

Sticks of Droewors (you need a south African shop or butcher). Our dog goes mad for these (as do dh and ds!!) I don't eat it but i don't like biltong either.