What to Look for in Dog Chew Toys

by Kim Fleming

Dog chew toys are some of the best gifts you can get yourself and your dog. Dogs have the natural inclination to chew. Toys for chewing are the best solution to stop them from gnawing on your shoe, sofa, bags and clothes. At the same time, chew toys can help decrease pet anxiety and prevent accidental swallowing of foreign objects. Your dog’s enjoyment, safety and satisfaction, however, depend on finding the right toys.

Proper Size

Different dogs are in different sizes, and you should choose just the right size toy for your dog. If the toy is too big, many dogs do not want to play with it at all. On the other hand, however, if the toy is too small, you dog might accidentally swallow it and choke on it. So, you really should know about your dog’s breed and size very well to pick the right toy size. Fortunately, many reputable dog toy manufacturers often have detailed description on the toy label to help you decide if the toy is for your pet.

Make Sure the Toy is Safe

Your dog’s safety should always be your number one concern. Dependent on your dog’s breed, a chew toy that is too hard can damage his teeth. If the toy is too soft, it could lead to accidental ingestion of torn or chipped parts. As a general rule, you should avoid chew toys with small beads, buttons, strings, wire, bells and fake fur. Even if your dog is mild mannered, he could rip off small parts and swallow them. Such accident will in turn result in choking, mouth wounds, and damage to the intestines and constipation.

Pick a Variety of Toys

It would not be such a good idea to have a whole box of dog chew toys but you should at least have a handful of them. Dogs do eventually get bored if they only have one kind of chew toy. To avoid this, you should rotate chew toys. It would also be a good idea to occasionally give your dog chew toys with edible treats in them. This will encourage your dog to play with them.

Durability of Toys

Even with the best kind of toys, you should still keep one eye on your dog. Accidents could happen. You could save yourself and your dog a whole lot of trouble and pain if you could immediately bring him to a vet.

From time to time, you should check the status of the chew toys. A defective or partly damaged toy could become a health risk for your dog. Replace toys that have tears, partly dislodged parts or extremely worn out surfaces.

Your Veterinarian Counts

You may like to consult your veterinarian when you are not certain whether a chew toy is suitable for your dog. A veterinarian sometimes is even able to recommend good toy brands and retailers.

As said, dog chew toys can bring enormous benefits to a dog’s physical and psychological health. With all the tips discussed in this article, you are certainly able to pick up toys that are not just enjoyable but also safe to your pet.

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