So, we were a little late starting with chews. When Laszlo was about 4 months and we were sick and tired of having chair legs, bookshelves and moldings chewed up, we decided to start investing in alternative chewing materials, because they are cheaper than replacing the furniture!
1) Nylabones: Loves 'em. We haven't tried the edibles, but he really likes the chicken infused polymer ones. We have to be careful though, because his jaws have gotten a lot stronger from chewing Kongs, and he started chewing through the toys for moderate chewers, so even though he's a little narrow-mouthed mini poodle, we have to get him the strong chewer toys.
2) Kongs: We feed Laszlo exclusively through Kongs (thanks, Dr. Dunbar!). This makes him calm and pacifies him when we have to leave the house, especially when we put wet food inside. When they are empty, though, Laszlo ignores them.
3) Rawhide bones: These are a favorite of mine, though not of Laszlo's. They are cheap, you can buy them anywhere, and they are long-lasting. Laszlo really likes the retriever rolls rolls, because of his narrow mouth, but we finally got him into the bones. The store-bought flavored ones often stain, but when we soak a natural rawhide in unsalted chicken or beef broth, he likes it almost as much and the color isn't as intense. They do seem to make the hair near his front paws sticky though.
4) Pork skins ("Chompz"): He loved these right off the bat. They don't last as long as rawhides and are slightly more expensive, but we don't have to convince him to chew them.
5) Pig ears: AWESOME! We get them individually wrapped for $1.39 from PetSmart. Laszlo goes CRAZY for them and they give him about 5 hours of chewing bliss. They do smell like a barbecue pit, but that could be a pro or a con depending on your perspective. I rather like the smell, to be honest...
6) Deer antlers: Laszlo likes antlers. He didn't when he was a pup, because his jaws were too weak to make much of a dent. Now, though, he likes them and they last for several months.
7) Soft toys: Laszlo likes to chew on his tug toy (Happy Moppy) and his other soft toys. When he was a puppy, we would correct him when he started playing too rough with them (mostly thinking about the possibility of one day having other small pets in the house), so he never got in the habit of disemboweling stuffed toys.
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