Toy/chew supervision

[duchiesmom]

I have always kept an eye on Duchie when she has a chew- she LOVES pig ears (yuck) but I am getting ready to get her some bully sticks and flossies for dental health. She is in her crate 7 am - 2 pm each weekday and would love to have something to DO while we are gone- is there ANYTHING we can get her that would not be harmful for her to have without supervision? I don't want to put her at risk. (Sweet Husband says I might be a wee bit overprotective, but she is my baby and I accepted the responsibility of taking care of her!) :dunno1:

[Sausage Mom]

I have a bully stick (the super huge one) in all the time with Pixel, but he is NOT an aggressive chewer. I will never leave anything like that with Pogo because I would be worried about him choking. The only chew / toy I trust Pogo with is the kong. When I was feeding kibble I would peanutbutter in the kong, fill with his breakfast and then work a round piece of rollover right under the rim so he REALLY had to work at it...and that would be his breakfast.

[duchiesmom]

That sounds good- Duchie loves PB and the Kong as long as it is the new one with the hole in the end ought to be fine. I guess I worry too much but I would rather her be bored than to choke on something. I am afraid to leave the bully in there with her because I think she still has food issues from when she was in the bad place before she came to her forever home.

She will devour a pig ear in no time, and would eat until she exploded and then ask for more...

SO- maybe PB in the Kong and that is it.

Thanks

[Tasha's Mom]

I don't know about other dogs, but Tasha swallows the last 2" or so of the bully stick whole, a potentional intestinal blockage problem, so we have to monitor her as it gets smaller. She has passed several of them successfully when her bad hooparents weren't paying close enough attention, but I don't want to tempt fate. Other than Kongs, I don't consider anything else safe enough to leave with her.

[SirOliversMom]

Kongs are about the only safe thing you can leave with them. I use cheese whiz in mine with little kibbles. For healthier snacks I will put plain yogurt and stuff in them and pop them into the freezer.

I can leave Oliver with bully sticks etc. No problem because he's not an aggressive chewer, he's mostly a hoarder. Tammy on the hand is also a mill dog and she will chew whatever it is you give her until it's gone so she has to be supervised. What about a fresh raw marrow soup bone once in awhile?

[kpm_tex]

No bullies, flossies, pigs ears or rawhides of any type here after I had to pull a slimy stand of raw hide out of Merry's throat. I only allow mine Nylabones. But I can't even leave them alone with that because no matter how many nylabones are in the house (and there are many) they only want one of them... so Badger will steal it, then Bart, then Merry and then it starts all over again. :rolleyes: So to avoid squabbles they can't have it when I am gone.

With just the one dog Kongs or durable (not the regular or edible) nylabones are your best choice.

[Irminsul]

I agree, the Kong will do. Mine love to chew, but they don't chew when I'm not home :dizzy: As soon as I get in they grab stuff and run to their favorite chew places. Silly girls :heart:

[Patt]

ITA with the others, Kongs's are the only safe toy to chew unsupervised. Our Kongs are layered with kibble, yogurt, Kong trail mix, PB, kibble, yogurt with a one piece of trail mix on top then frozen. The girls love 'em it, they actually look forward to us leaving so they get their treats. :D

[Bella's Mom]

ITA with the others, Kongs's are the only safe toy to chew unsupervised. Our Kongs are layered with kibble, yogurt, Kong trail mix, PB, kibble, yogurt with a one piece of trail mix on top then frozen. The girls love 'em it, they actually look forward to us leaving so they get their treats. :D
Which kong do you use? There seem to be several types?

[dutchman]

I have to agree kongs for safety. I had once close call with the last bit of a billie (at least I think that was what it was. Once day Dexter came running to me from the back room pawing at his mouth wheezing a bit. I could soon tell he was choking but couldn't locate any thing with my finger to try and pop free.I've posted this before so to make a long story short at one point he stopped breathing for what must have been at leat 10-15 seconds till I gave a small puff into his nose and got him going again. He finally managed to get what ever it was back up while I was waiting for the call back from my vet putting the other boys up and grabbing the VTH to tell them I was heading their way with an emergency. They still get bullies and they are one of their favorite special treats but I would never consider leaving one with them when I'm not around.

[Bobbiesmom]

Unsupervised, Bobbie only gets her Kong. She's got the jaws of steel & we can't trust her with anything else.

[Patt]

Which kong do you use? There seem to be several types?

I like this one http://www.kongcompany.com/
Be sure to check out Tips & Advice and Recipes.
I believe they recommend small for Dachsie's but I have medium size.

[Doxie Duo Mom]

Do you all put the filling on the inside? I smear mine with fat free Jif PB, and then warp in wax paper and freez. I've never put anything inside for fear of them not cleaning it out well and getting ants.

[doxyzoo]

Which kong do you use? There seem to be several types?

I have the regular (medium and small), extreme (large) and puppy (blue and softer) for my pups. They play with them all. I especially like the kong balls since it takes Oscar all of 2 seconds to tear a tennis ball apart and they haven't destroyed a kong ball yet (and we have had them for years). I'm now looking for treats to go inside the kong large enough not to fall out easily. Their kibble is way to small! I am checking out the kong web site listed above and will probably find MORE stuff to spend my $$$$s on :rolleyes:

[Patt]

Do you all put the filling on the inside? I smear mine with fat free Jif PB, and then warp in wax paper and freez. I've never put anything inside for fear of them not cleaning it out well and getting ants.

I put everything inside and freeze it. When we return home I soak the empty Kongs in hot water and then air dry. Have not a any problems so far.