how many of you give your dogs bones and/or chew toys??

[GUNDOGS]

we always get raw knuckle bones from the butcher and buy rawhides, smoked bones as well as kong toys from petsmart and im curious how many of you give your dogs bones, rawhides, chew toys ect to pass time or help with teeth ect..i had a friend over today that has a shorthair that is 3 years old and she said she has NEVER given her dog any bones or rawhides and only allows her dog to play with balls or toys when retrieving...thoughts???..thanks..ruth

[ultracarry]

I give mine nyla bones ... no real bones or rawhides

[mik]

Mine gets nylabones, real thigh (i think) bones, tennis balls to chew on (supervised), and baseballs to play "fetch" with in the yard.....

[nldd]

Hi Ruth,the only thing i give my older Dogs are Nylabones. he has a kong but never goes near it.

[ezzy333]

Mine get real bones occasionally when in the run and rawhide or sows ears and cowhoofs in the house in the evening when they come in. Tried Nylabones and they just don't chew on them much. Plus Comet eats his dog house when in the run. He always chews around the knots though.

Ezzy

[SCT]

My dogs get raw turkey necks, sometimes frozen. The bones are soft and they keep the teeth clean. 2-3 times a week.

[mcbosco]

I give mine nyla bones ... no real bones or rawhides

Same here. The Galileo, Knot-End and Steak-shaped Nylabones are the go-to toys.

I have them going on 3 years and paid $20 for all three.

[nikegundog]

Not saying its right or wrong but for the last 20 years the dogs have got every beef of pork bone we have cooked, and before that my grandfather fed beef and porks bones for 60 years. I was always told not to feed them chicken bones so we never did. My last 3 dogs wouldn't touch the nylon bones.

[wems2371]

The dogs always have deer antlers. Occasionally they get a knuckle bone or such from the farm store, and occasional rawhides and pig ears too.

[cutty72]

Rawhides and bones to chew on when in the kennel to prevent boredom. Balls/dummies for retrieving training. Training toys are never chew toys and vice versa so they don't get confused.

[gsp3333]

Rawhides and raw bones(cooked bones splinter so they say). My wife goes to the Dollar store and stocks up on stuffed animals, tennis balls and anything else that the dogs might like.

[Sharon]

marrow bones - $2.00 for 3 large , no rawhide

[chicken19590]

During hunting season I give my dogs cooked Deer ham and shoulder bones. I give as a treat and only let them chew for an hour or so. My bird dogs love deer season!

[stlgsp]

Nylabones, marrow bones or antlers. With 7, they get them in their crate so there won't be any issues over possession. Once a week they get raw chicken necks or backs with their dinner.

[Gertie]

Nylabones, Kongs and bully sticks for chewing (bully sticks by far the pup's favorite), balls and stuffed animals for supervised play, and bumpers and dummies for training.

[crazyboy]

Nylabones (Galileo is great), ropes, balls (tennis balls and the cheap squeaky ones are favorites), rawhide, ears, or bullystick.

[Gertie]

Not to steal the thread but I am curious about a related topic. The breeder I got my pup from discouraged me from getting any toys that squeak. His rationale was that it encourages 'hard mouths' by teaching the dog that if it bites down hard it elicits a fun stimulus (the squeaking) and this will later translate to retrieving birds. Anyone else heard this or have an opinion about it?

[DogNewbie]

I gave my pup raw hide once and it made him go nuts. I'm pretty sure it's supposed to last a couple hours at least and he took it down in about 5 minutes and then proceeded search every nook and cranny in my house looking for more. It was like he was possessed. Of course I had this romantic vision in my head of me relaxing on the couch with my dog calmly chewing his bone at my feet :roll: After that I've given him nylabones, but like people have stated previously, it doesn't grab his attention as well. If I remove it for a few days and bring it back he'll be excited about chewing for about 10 minutes, then he could careless. I would love for him to have something in the crate during the day that would keep him busy, but after seeing his reaction with hide I'm a bit nervous to get him hyped up like that while confined. I have filled a kong with food but that only lasts so long. Anyone have a similar situation?

[GUNDOGS]

I gave my pup raw hide once and it made him go nuts. I'm pretty sure it's supposed to last a couple hours at least and he took it down in about 5 minutes and then proceeded search every nook and cranny in my house looking for more. It was like he was possessed. Of course I had this romantic vision in my head of me relaxing on the couch with my dog calmly chewing his bone at my feet :roll: After that I've given him nylabones, but like people have stated previously, it doesn't grab his attention as well. If I remove it for a few days and bring it back he'll be excited about chewing for about 10 minutes, then he could careless. I would love for him to have something in the crate during the day that would keep him busy, but after seeing his reaction with hide I'm a bit nervous to get him hyped up like that while confined. I have filled a kong with food but that only lasts so long. Anyone have a similar situation?

my friend melissa that i had mentioned in my post doesnt give any bones or rawhides for a few reasons, she said she use to let her dogs years ago but wont now because 1) she feels it causes dogs to become too possessive over them 2) they eat them too quickly and shes worried they will get a blockage...so i think your concern of the dog eating it too quickly is probably common of why some people dont use them, ive never had issues with my dogs eating them too quickly, i buy the large rawhide bones with the big knotted ends and it takes them a while to get em wet and pull them apart, i keep an eye and if they get too small i throw them out or cut off the small pieces with scissors..they will eat on the bones for a bit and go back later to chew, i pick them up if im not with them in the room incase kids go to take one and i have an issue, never have had an issue and dont want one ...ruth

[Byrdgirl]

We get marrow bones and pig ears from the local butcher every couple of weeks for our girl. She used to get hooves but I can't stand the smell of them so she doesn't get those anymore. I make most of her dog treats at home. And she gets spoiled rotten with toys full of squeakers. The more the better. Lol. She loves them and she's not a hard mouthed dog. She knows the difference between a toy and the real deal. I do however try to buy the toys with limited or no stuffing.

[EastBeast]

Mine get bones and pig ears occasionally. Balls/frisbees for fun fetch only then they get put away. All sorts of squeaky toys around the house, have no hardmouth problems.

[slistoe]

It is the end of big game season - the dogs all have bones till the 45 gal. drum runs out. Then they will be off of bones till next year.