Hi my pup is nearly 4 months he’s a patterjack…loves to chew but he won’t touch kongs - no matter what I put in there. I won’t be giving him hide chews but have read that venison ears are ok ? but I wonder as they are high in protein so how does this work v his daily food allowance…
is there anything else that’s good for him to chew? thanks guys you are all so helpful
Being hypoallergenic sounds like a good chew to give. I haven’t read anything to the contrary .
The only thing to rememeber is to reduce the size of the meals slightly to compensate for the extra calories. Appropriate sized raw bones are also a great option for a real chewer.
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I’ve only given pigs ears but wouldn’t use them now as they caused diarrhoea in one of mine. Also, I suspect they are quite fatty. My vet doesn’t recommend them. Not tried venison ears and don’t know the protein and fat content. As David says, reduce the food to compensate, Bearing in mind your problems with puppy being itchy and just changing diet I think it would be best to keep his intake restricted to just his food for the time being - at least until he is stabilized.
Bones are a contentious issue. Many people think they are OK, especially the raw feeders. Others, particularly those whose dogs have had problems with them would probably caution against it. I remember reading that the British Veterinary Association and World Veterinary Association don’t advise giving bones but I cannot find the article just at the moment so cannot reference it. I suppose that they are the ones who have to deal with the fall out if the dog gets into trouble through eating bones.
If you are going to give them they need to be uncooked and it’s best to check which ones are safe. Also never leave a dog unsupervised when it has a bone. Personally I don’t give them because I am afraid of choking and the damage they can do to teeth, mouth and gut should they splinter. Also, I have three dogs and don’t want guarding issues. Mine get Nylabones and are quite happy chomping on those.
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I was going to suggest trying nylabones too. Mine has a good chew session with hers each evening. Then you don’t have to worry about fitting it in to the diet.
I also give her a bully stick occasionally. Often when we are on holiday and she needs extra calories. The last one I got lasted her about 4 days. She still usually loses weight on holiday despite extras. I sometimes wonder if chewing burns all the calories she is getting from the stick anyway.
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I managed to get some rabbit ears that went down well. Dried tripe sticks are a real favourite not too hard for a puppy either. Fallow deer antler, buffalo horn, anco root, beef jerky, chicken feet, pigs noses, paddy wack are all favourites in this house. Things to dehydrate in very low oven temp, slices of chicken breast, meats and fish, sweet potato is always a hit
I’m sure there’s something in that lot that would be suitable
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I got a small piece of antler today. It is going down very well.
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I had bought two bags of the tripe sticks but it made my male dog sick each time …so sadly I had to toss both bags.
He has a sensitive tummy though.
My boys love tripe sticks, pizzles, antlers, hooves and horns. My puppy seems to prefer eating/destroying the trunk of my Canarian Palm tree…the naughty little devil! I’ll throw them the odd frozen carrot stick on occasion as well. Nylabones aren’t suitable for my boys as they’re not hardy enough to stand up to their level of chewing and I rather they didn’t eat plastic. They’re absolutely fine for the less destructive chewers though.
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The only thing I would say about Antlers is that I have read several reports that dogs can break their teeth on them.
My daughters bought my girl one when she was a very young puppy. I’m sure she appreciated it when she was teething, but it was one of the points and I was always worried about her stabbing herself with it as she used to romp around with it and throw it around. Needless to say, I took it off her when I read about the teeth issue.
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The fallow deer antlers which are flat and paler in colour are a lot softer for them to chew on. Mine can manage to gnaw bits off but never even made a dent in the darker hard antlers. I do immerse in water overnight occasionally to stop it drying out.