Chewing and Toys
By Scotty Valadao – Accredited Animal Behaviourist (Canine) (ABC of SA™)
Inappropriate chewing is a very common problem, but what we need to realize is that chewing for a dog is a natural behaviour, is bound to happen, especially with puppies. In his excellent book “Before & After Getting your Puppy” by Dr. Ian Dunbar, he advocates that all puppies should become ‘chewaholics’! I certainly agree with him and have used this method on countless occasions, both with my own and client’s puppies and adult dogs, and have never been disappointed. Basically we are giving the dog only ‘legal’ chewable toys and making this his favourite habit. It allows a dog to settle quietly, chewing helps to de-stress, exercises jaws and teeth and is excellent for a teething puppy. If we teach our pups to only chew on certain ‘legal’ objects then we will provide entertainment and cut down on the possibility of puppy chewing on inappropriate items.
Many of my clients tell me that their dogs have balls, ropes, stuffed toys etc but hardly ever play with them – I am not surprised! All they are talking about in inanimate objects, they have no life of their own, but a delicious chewy that the dog can really ‘get stuck into’, provides essential entertainment and helps with frustration.
I have had clients who swear that their dogs chew up the furniture etc just to spite them! Not true, a dog will chew out of boredom, frustrations, anxiousness, if it is teething, or, and this happens often, the reaction from the owner – the owner screams and shouts and as attention is attention to a dog, whether positive or negative, it will only reinforce the behaviour. The following can be used for both puppies and adult dogs. If you have a dog that is reactive to people or other dogs when toys and chew items are given, consult an accredited behaviourist
It is not necessary to spend a fortune on expensive chew toys, you can make your own, by filling a hollow object (such as a marrow bone or Kong) with dog food that has been soaked overnight so that it expands and the appearance is mushy. Smear honey around the inside of the marrow bone or Kong. The honey acts as an antibacterial agent then seal the top with a biscuit and leave the pup to chew to his hearts content. After your dog gets the hang of chewing at this you can freeze it making another Kongsicle (Dr. Ian Dunbar) which will help with teething. A raw marrow bone can be used for this as well. Ask you’re your butcher to cut it much longer than normally found in the shops (about 3/4 inches) and take the marrow out – this is just too rich for a puppy.
Another favourite is to take a 500ml empty water bottle. Boil the kettle, measure out 450ml and to this add a teaspoon of either Bovril or Marmite. Allow to cool, pop several small treats or pieces of dog food in the empty bottle and then add the cooled mixture and freeze. The reason why 450ml as opposed to filling the bottle, is that it will expand in the freezer. Initially you may have to cut the bottle in half till your dog gets the hang of it. This is excellent for sore teething gums but it is recommended that it is given outside! Simply pick up and throw away the chewed plastic before the dog ingests it. Being slightly neurotic about my dogs swallowing things myself, I normally take the top off the bottle. Dogs appear to love the noise that an empty water bottle makes (squeaky) noises and they can roll it and play with it which I believe mimics, to a certain degree, what happens with prey.
Other toys which make excellent chew toys are hooves. Not all vets are in favour of these as, with all chew toys, there is the danger of them being ingested and they do have a tendency to break into smaller pieces. Keeping an eye on what your dog is chewing and how chewed the object is - taking it away before it can become dangerous will go a long way to avoiding problems. Another way to make a hoof more appealing is to smear the inside of it with organic peanut butter (always use organic as peanut butter in large amounts can be toxic to dogs), stick a piece of biltong right in the bottom, really jammed in, and the dog will have great fun trying to get it out. Nearly all stuffed chewies can be frozen, turning them into ‘kongsicles’!
Another favourite is a large raw ox femur which you can get from the butcher. The bigger the bone the better as small bones can be extremely dangerous due to splintering. Avoid cooked bones as they tend to break and splinter much easier. I personally use this as the training bone for when a dog is being left alone outside at training times. The joy the dog has when he sees it returning is lovely and he can’t wait to get into the garden to get at his favourite bone! A word of warning here, don’t give these to young pups as it will upset their tummies, rather keep this particular chew toy for older dogs. Many of the pet shops sell a large Ostrich femur which has been smoked. This is excellent for older dogs and does not go off as quickly due to the smoking, but I would not recommend it for a young pup.
Many of the pet shops have excellent chew toys available as well as toys that can be pushed around the garden and pieces of food fall out. If you are going to be out on a regular basis, this is an excellent toy to leave for your dog. These need to be manipulated in a certain way to get the food to be released and some pups will need help initially to figure out how to. They are normally made of break resistant plastic, and due to the roundish shape, are hard for pups to chew on, but really do provide entertainment. Place breakfast or lunch in it and he will spend quality time pushing it around to get at the food.
Another way to keep a pup busy is to put a few pieces of kibble on the floor, let the pup sniff at this, then put either a plastic or metal bowl over the top. The floor obliviously needs to be tiles so that the bowl slips around. This keeps pups busy for ages. With some pups you may need to help them, by lifting up the bowl, letting them get a piece, putting the bowl down again and repeating dogs may associate the bowl used with fun, with the result they may try to get into your Tupperware. Don’t do this for long period of time, as some dogs can get really stressed and frustrated when they can’t get to the food below.
If children are given a toy for Xmas and spend the whole day playing with it, by the next day they are bored with it and will play with something instead. It is exactly the same with dogs – if they have the same toys every day, they too will get bored. Personally I have three cane baskets and each basket contains a mixture of different chew toys. I rotate these on a daily basis, picking up and putting away what is left at the end of the day. Not only does this keep my dogs entertained, the chewies last much longer, and a pack leader and provider of food, I increase by status with my dogs.
Take care when you buy toys from the pet shops. Although many of these are excellent, some contain small pieces such as squeaky toys which can cause choking and should not be given. Use your discretion and common sense when buying them. What you need to bear in mind is that any product that is swallowed can cause an upset tummy or even blockages, so the onus has to be on you to ensure that the chewy is taken away from the dog before chewed up into small sized bits that can be swallowed.
Some of the toys from pet shops that I recommend are latex toys, nylabones, Kongs, large sized rawhides, Greenies, beef and ostrich chewies etc. Here are a couple of do’s and don’ts for you to consider:-
Many of my clients tell me that their dogs have balls, ropes, stuffed toys etc but hardly ever play with them – I am not surprised! All they are talking about in inanimate objects, they have no life of their own, but a delicious chewy that the dog can really ‘get stuck into’, provides essential entertainment and helps with frustration.
I have had clients who swear that their dogs chew up the furniture etc just to spite them! Not true, a dog will chew out of boredom, frustrations, anxiousness, if it is teething, or, and this happens often, the reaction from the owner – the owner screams and shouts and as attention is attention to a dog, whether positive or negative, it will only reinforce the behaviour. The following can be used for both puppies and adult dogs. If you have a dog that is reactive to people or other dogs when toys and chew items are given, consult an accredited behaviourist
It is not necessary to spend a fortune on expensive chew toys, you can make your own, by filling a hollow object (such as a marrow bone or Kong) with dog food that has been soaked overnight so that it expands and the appearance is mushy. Smear honey around the inside of the marrow bone or Kong. The honey acts as an antibacterial agent then seal the top with a biscuit and leave the pup to chew to his hearts content. After your dog gets the hang of chewing at this you can freeze it making another Kongsicle (Dr. Ian Dunbar) which will help with teething. A raw marrow bone can be used for this as well. Ask you’re your butcher to cut it much longer than normally found in the shops (about 3/4 inches) and take the marrow out – this is just too rich for a puppy.
Another favourite is to take a 500ml empty water bottle. Boil the kettle, measure out 450ml and to this add a teaspoon of either Bovril or Marmite. Allow to cool, pop several small treats or pieces of dog food in the empty bottle and then add the cooled mixture and freeze. The reason why 450ml as opposed to filling the bottle, is that it will expand in the freezer. Initially you may have to cut the bottle in half till your dog gets the hang of it. This is excellent for sore teething gums but it is recommended that it is given outside! Simply pick up and throw away the chewed plastic before the dog ingests it. Being slightly neurotic about my dogs swallowing things myself, I normally take the top off the bottle. Dogs appear to love the noise that an empty water bottle makes (squeaky) noises and they can roll it and play with it which I believe mimics, to a certain degree, what happens with prey.
Other toys which make excellent chew toys are hooves. Not all vets are in favour of these as, with all chew toys, there is the danger of them being ingested and they do have a tendency to break into smaller pieces. Keeping an eye on what your dog is chewing and how chewed the object is - taking it away before it can become dangerous will go a long way to avoiding problems. Another way to make a hoof more appealing is to smear the inside of it with organic peanut butter (always use organic as peanut butter in large amounts can be toxic to dogs), stick a piece of biltong right in the bottom, really jammed in, and the dog will have great fun trying to get it out. Nearly all stuffed chewies can be frozen, turning them into ‘kongsicles’!
Another favourite is a large raw ox femur which you can get from the butcher. The bigger the bone the better as small bones can be extremely dangerous due to splintering. Avoid cooked bones as they tend to break and splinter much easier. I personally use this as the training bone for when a dog is being left alone outside at training times. The joy the dog has when he sees it returning is lovely and he can’t wait to get into the garden to get at his favourite bone! A word of warning here, don’t give these to young pups as it will upset their tummies, rather keep this particular chew toy for older dogs. Many of the pet shops sell a large Ostrich femur which has been smoked. This is excellent for older dogs and does not go off as quickly due to the smoking, but I would not recommend it for a young pup.
Many of the pet shops have excellent chew toys available as well as toys that can be pushed around the garden and pieces of food fall out. If you are going to be out on a regular basis, this is an excellent toy to leave for your dog. These need to be manipulated in a certain way to get the food to be released and some pups will need help initially to figure out how to. They are normally made of break resistant plastic, and due to the roundish shape, are hard for pups to chew on, but really do provide entertainment. Place breakfast or lunch in it and he will spend quality time pushing it around to get at the food.
Another way to keep a pup busy is to put a few pieces of kibble on the floor, let the pup sniff at this, then put either a plastic or metal bowl over the top. The floor obliviously needs to be tiles so that the bowl slips around. This keeps pups busy for ages. With some pups you may need to help them, by lifting up the bowl, letting them get a piece, putting the bowl down again and repeating dogs may associate the bowl used with fun, with the result they may try to get into your Tupperware. Don’t do this for long period of time, as some dogs can get really stressed and frustrated when they can’t get to the food below.
If children are given a toy for Xmas and spend the whole day playing with it, by the next day they are bored with it and will play with something instead. It is exactly the same with dogs – if they have the same toys every day, they too will get bored. Personally I have three cane baskets and each basket contains a mixture of different chew toys. I rotate these on a daily basis, picking up and putting away what is left at the end of the day. Not only does this keep my dogs entertained, the chewies last much longer, and a pack leader and provider of food, I increase by status with my dogs.
Take care when you buy toys from the pet shops. Although many of these are excellent, some contain small pieces such as squeaky toys which can cause choking and should not be given. Use your discretion and common sense when buying them. What you need to bear in mind is that any product that is swallowed can cause an upset tummy or even blockages, so the onus has to be on you to ensure that the chewy is taken away from the dog before chewed up into small sized bits that can be swallowed.
Some of the toys from pet shops that I recommend are latex toys, nylabones, Kongs, large sized rawhides, Greenies, beef and ostrich chewies etc. Here are a couple of do’s and don’ts for you to consider:-
- Virtually all chewy items can cause choking or blockage so be vigilant
- Always supervise the pup/dog chewing especially when first offering
- Always take the chewy away before it get too small
- Never give a pup a marrow bone full of marrow, it is too rich.
- Only purchase top quality chewy toys to ensure that your dog is getting the best possible product with little risk of contamination
- Avoid vinyl chew toys. This substance is very hard and does not break down easily and is one of the chew toys that can cause severe obstructions. Either use latex which is more pliable and will pass through the digestive system easier if swallowed.
- Always give a chewy that is much bigger than the expected size for the particular breed.
- Don’t give pups pig’s ears. They are far too rich for the puppy and can contain salmonella.
- Don’t give pups/dog coloured chew bones. These contain additives and can cause allergies and upset tummy.
- If the dog has a runny or upset tummy or appears to be itchy after chewing it could be that your dog has an allergy to the product. If this occurs go to the vet and when the problem has cleared up and the dog is healthy again, offer the same product, but only for a short period and then take away and see if there is a reaction. It is better for the vet to be involved with this process.
This article is copyrighted and remains the property of the author. Individuals are welcome to print or copy same for their own use in furthering their knowledge of dogs. However, no reproductions or alterations/variations are allowed without the express written consent of the author.
