[happygolucky]

I keep reading all sorts of  horror stories about dog teats bones, chews etc and now am totally confused, any dog we have  had as pups always chews on logs that are around, I try to keep them out of their way, they also always chew on chair legs or plaster on the room courners, that's also discouraged but, what is good for them to chew.......I now walk past all the dog treats as the softer chews last seconds and some give ours the runs, so the only treat at the moment apart for training treats, is a big carrot!!

[Woollysocks]

there were selling cow hoofs at pets at home at the weekend. our labrador swallows most treats whole. treats are very expensive nowadays. i remember buying dog chews for 5 with my pocket money as a kid 

[happygolucky]

I had to take a baby bird off my Lab yesterday, she  brought it to me but no idea where she got it from, Labs usually get through any treat super fast
 

[doganjo]

Mine get some of their food as treats when training.  Nothing else.  No need fro treats unless they perform something you asked them to do.

[happygolucky]

Maybe I was not clear but I did not mean treats more stuff to chew as young dogs in particular like to chew.....I have heard so many bad reports about all sorts of chews.....not sure what's best now and even balls apparently can be bad!! Mine do not play with balls either, I have a training dummy (one sank) then they have loads of soft toys but the 1 year old that slayed with us for a short break, took every dog toy we have plus took log after log and lots of my pegs, she never chewed anything up but did dig out some plants and did destroy the plastic collar we had from the vet but did not need!!

[doganjo]

Don't know then, sorry.  I don't seem to have chewers - had one Cocker that chewed once because I had to leave her alone for a couple of hours.  She was very remorseful  - it was an internal wall, chewed the gyproc a bit.

[jaykay]

ALL my dogs are chewers.

Nylabones are very good. Strong, long lasting, good for their teeth, and safe. You can buy different sizes and 'strengths'. Universal paws up from all of mine.

Some of mine like Kongs, and some don't.

[Bionic]

My dog has had a nylabone for 18 months. He loves it

[in the hills]

My Flattie has never been a chewer ..... just carries everything around    . The vet advised us to give him a raw bone once a week to chew on because even as a young dog he seemed to get "dirty" teeth. He does enjoy chewing these and it did help his teeth. I know some people don't like giving raw bones but the vet said that there were small risks with everything but this was the natural thing for a dog to gnaw. Alf isn't a greedy dog so chews them well. If my father visits and we give his labs similar bones they are occasionally sick afterwards ..... gobble them I think. 

[Beewyched]

ALL my dogs are chewers.

Nylabones are very good. Strong, long lasting, good for their teeth, and safe. You can buy different sizes and 'strengths'. Universal paws up from all of mine.

Some of mine like Kongs, and some don't.

Our Setters & Weimy love nylabones too 
Only Merlin, my Weimy, can get through the biggest ones in less than a week     The Setters still have some that are over 6 years old - well the ones Merlin's left alone 
 

[funkyfish]

Nylabones are a vets worst nightmare, that and the Stagbars. Trying to remove a fractured carnassial tooth is awful. We did one the other week 2.5 hours trying to remove one tooth- only a tiny bit of the crown was there the rest has snapped off.

[Bionic]

So what does a vet recommend?

[happygolucky]

Now that's what I am getting at, a person who has one of our Labs had to go to the vet due to a chipped tooth and the vet frowned upon nearly everything, even tennis balls, that's promoted me to ask the question, ours do not chew at all now but did as pups, one used to love chewing the fence and the other liked anything plastic!!! SO.....what if not those Nylon bones?  I did have some for the last lot of pups but not so sure!!

[jaykay]

Well, I've had 8 dogs chew nylabones all their lives, as have my parents 10 dogs, and not a snapped tooth among them.

Seems safer to me than stomachs full of splinters or bits of plastic.

[Mammyshaz]

There are so many horror stories about many items but I'd rather give my GSD pups something safe..er to chew on that them to start teething on my furniture or trying to find relief with sticks or door posts  ( yes, one did ).
It's choosing the safest option for the breed of dog. That said, sticks, stones and balls ( unless attached to a rope ) can be very dangerous as I know of many dogs that have lost their lives over the years. However in  25 years I've only seen one dog have a problem with a raw hide chew and it was a very small, narrow one still hard as unchewed.The large ones need some chewing to get bits off which softens them enough to help them through the digestive system. I love using the huge ones for pups.
The nylabone I wouldn't use again after I treated my terrier and GSD to one each of appropriate sizes. They are not edible yet both dogs chewed them up. Luckily it passed through them with no side effects.
Kongs are great, can be stuffed with breakfast or treats, frozen meat in for teething and great interaction with owner. Black ones are very tough red ones fine for gentler mouthed dogs.
Tried a stag bar after recommendation. Removed it after a few hours when it started splintering. Just like bone, it is indigestible and small pieces can build up compacting andcausing blockage or severe constipation. Or the risk of splinters piercing the stomach or intestines and causing peritonitis.

I personally think the choice  is in the type and nature of the individual dog. The health risks being taken into priority.

I use ball on a rope for training but would never leave my dog with one as he would chew the rope which is dangerous in itself and then the risk of the ball getting stuck.