Hi,

Firstly I would like to introduce myself, I am Julie and we live on the edge of the new forest. We are very excitedly waiting for the arrival of Jester, a golden retriever puppy on Saturday!

I have got a rope toy, an animal toy with a tennis ball inside, but am a bit stuck on what to get him to really chew on. Are all dog chews and the hard chews you see in shops suitable for puppies? Am just a bit concerned re choking. What can I give him to really get his teeth into?!

Any help greatly appreciated,
Julie

Big no no to rawhide chews too many chemicals used in the production & they are just not safe

Some big knuckle bones ? Depending on what you are going to feed your puppy on I give mine chicken wings, legs etc, pigs trotters All fed raw & my puppy loves them frozen !

Asda do a great rubber chew,  my lab x has had them for a year, chews it every day not a mark on it. And its under £3.

Our puppy loves Kongs.  They come in all shapes and sizes and you can fill with them with little bits of food.  He sits and chews his for hours on end.  They are really great.

my two loved kongs when they were pups-they still do! They also loved nylabones, but Wilkinsons do their own version for a lot cheaper. They also do nylon rings in chocolate or vanilla flavour. I had a choccy bone and a vanilla ring-they'd chomp on them for hours!

nicola

Maybe its me but you know when you say raw - do you mean totally uncooked and frozen as if just purchased from iceland.  If i am going to give anything to Poppy apart from dog food - i always make sure its cooked - the only thing i ever give her frozen is her kong and it never had a raw contents.

Yes Poppys Mum when we say raw we mean totally uncooked, however not necessarily frozen.  But frozen raw food can be safely given to dogs.

Raw meat IS dog food, after all in the wild they don't pop off to the shops to pick up a couple of cans do they? :D

If you choose NOT to feed raw and/or frozen food that is entirely down to personal choice, you don't HAVE to! :D

Some of us prefer it and so do some of our dogs ;D

OK - i will have to try it and see - but thanx.

Nylabones are expensive, but are fantastic and last ages. Get the largest one you can - they're about £8 for the large one but my pup's first one lasted a good 8 months with him and my old dog giving it some serious chewing. They seem to like the original more than the chicken variety.

I find the gernades, hurculies, kongs, nylon bones, galeio (sp) are great for chewers... I have to agree stay away from rawhide they are not safe since they get soggy and they end up swallowing chunks which can cause a blockage.

Cocopops please be wary of tennis balls. I have known dogs die due to eating and swallowing parts of tennis balls.  Also the covering of tennis balls is abrasive and can wear away the enamel of the teeth...............

Tennis Balls can get shredded in a matter of minutes (well with my dogs anyway!) so I would stay away from these.  There are some indestructable balls on the market - a good test for me is if they squeek or I can depress them in any way its a definate no no!! 

Rope pulls can still get shredded so I would only use this for supervised play/tuggie games.

Definately get a kong and a nylabone - these are the only things that don't get destroyed and last for ages!!!

Jester is a lovely name - I hope he turns out to be as cheeky as him name suggests!!!

Good luck for Saturday!!!

Just thought of something really cheap and very popular with a lot of dogs/puppies. An empty 2 litre pop or mineral water bottle. Make sure you remove the lable and the cap and ring. They're great fun for the dogs who chew, throw and slide them about - just make sure if Jester chews it he doesn't swallow it. Probably best when the puppy is supervised.

Mine liked the conservatory wicker furniture, tasted alot better than any chew. :-D :-D

Thanks for all your replies, that is a real help. Cocopops x

what about a towl with abunch of knots in it. you could freeze it as well , very cheap and the dogs love it!

Our dog adored the nylabone puppy teething keys when he was a pup he was heartbroken when we had to take them off him