Rocket’s Favorite Chews
My dog Rocket is a chewer. He LOVES a good chew. So I wanted to share his top 4 favorite chews. Maybe your dog will love them, too!
Beef Cheek Rolls
This is a great value because it takes him 4-5 days to chew the whole thing. Beef cheek rolls are made from the cheek skin, which is thinner, more digestible, and less processed than rawhide. Beef cheek softens as the dog chews and breaks into small, digestible pieces.
Collagen Chews
Sometimes Rocket hides these in the couch cushion and comes back for it later. Collagen chews are made from the corium layer (the inner layer rich in collagen). Collagen is a protein your dog’s body can actually digest efficiently. Collagen chews tend to soften and shred gradually as your dog chews.
Elk Antlers
If Rocket doesn’t have a beef cheek roll or a collagen chew, he will often dig an elk antler out of the toy basket. They’re hard on the outside and have porous bone marrow on the inside. I never buy the split antlers, only the whole ones. If your dog is a power chewer, be careful; antlers are very hard and may cause cracked teeth. (I purchase them at Flying Colors. We can keep the price low because we buy directly from the farm.)
Benebone Wishbone
These are made of hard plastic and don’t add calories. They’re designed for a piece the size of a grain of rice to come off at a time, and those small pieces pass through the gut with no problem. All four of my dogs like to chew on these, and have a STRONG preference for the wishbone shape. It’s important to note that since Benebones and Nylabones aren’t made of an animal, some dogs don’t instinctively chew them. I have a very simple way to teach dogs to gnaw on these types of chews (check out the blog: Nylabone Magic). Similar to elk antlers, be careful with power chewers who may crack teeth on the hard plastic.
Safety Note: A client’s Standard Poodle got his jaw stuck inside this shape. After an emergency vet visit, and a saw, the dog is OK. A quick google search will find other such incidents. I would NEVER purchase this shape and if you have one at home I encourage you to throw it away.
You’ll notice that rawhide is NOT on my list. I don’t purchase it because I know there are safer options available. Beef cheek and collagen chews digest like protein and rawhide doesn’t.
Rocket
