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Hi, I'm hoping to get some ideas on chew toys that my dog might like. She's very picky, or else she doesn't like to chew. Has anyone had a dog that doesn't want to chew anything? (I guess I should consider myself lucky )What, if anything, did you find that they do like?
So far I've bought her a rope toy, beef bones (baked? I think, from Petsmart they look like rib bones, with some meat and gristle on them, yummy), pigs ear, rawhide sticks, dental-bone rawhide sticks, a rawhide bone with some kind of filling...the only thing she's remotely gone for is a rib bone leftover from my friends' lunch! (I guess it was fresher than the Petsmart version!) Everything gets sniffed once, and then ignored.
I'd like to find something, to help clean her teeth, and because I feel kind of sorry for her, when we're at work (she comes to the office with me) I'd like for her to have something to occupy her. Otherwise she just sleeps, and I assume it's pretty boring for her.
She's also not real big on toys - doesn't go for balls, squeakies, ropes, plush, or sticks.
Anyway, I'd love to hear some ideas or experiences you might have had with similar picky pooches.
Different dogs like different textures it seems. One of my dogs likes soft toys - plush toys. This is not the type of toy I'd normally buy because the dogs destroy them in minutes, but after she kept stealing the cat's toys I went and bought her some cheap plushies....and she promptly destroyed them! But she enjoyed every minute of it .
This same dog never had toys before she lived with us (did not even recognize them ), so I've had to entice her to play with them. I do 2 things:
1) Whenever I give her a "cookie" (dog biscuit), before I wash my hands off, I rub my cookie-smelling hands on her favorite nylabone.
2) When I want her to settle down and focus on chewing, I take the dog bone and very excitedly tell her it's MY dog bone and pretend to chew on it, etc. I make a fool of myself and it makes her want to steal the dog bone from me...works every time .
Try Greenies or baby carrots. Both help in reducing the tartar on the teeth and freshen the breath. When was the last time her teeth were examined by the vet? If there's one bothering her that might be your answer.
Buy her a Kong - appropriate to her size - and fill it with Peanut Butter. They also make Kong Filler in a can (which I've never tried)... My dog loves peanut butter in his! And, even though they're supposedly indestructible, we're on our second or third Kong... since birth.
There are treat holders that you actually put their food into and let them roll it around to get fed... if you want to teach / encourage them to play... and work for their food.
If you're just worried about cleaning the teeth, they've got doggie toothbrushes with doggie flavored toothpaste. My dog loves to have his teeth brushed!
My dog also loves brocolli stems. When I wash brocolli, I cut off the bottom inch and then cut off the stem and cut it into pieces. It's not like a chew toy because he eats it right away but it's really good for them!
Did you say what kind of dog you have or how old she is?
First, don't give her rib bones left over from lunch - cooked bones can splinter and embed in the stomach or intestine.
See if you have a butcher in the area and get a marrow bone - a whole raw bone. And scoop/push most of the marrow out, freeze it, and give it out in VERY small doses. Marrow will cause diarrhea in quantity and it is not pretty. You can use a marrow bone repeatedly - we find them gnawed on, stuff some peanut butter in the very center of them, freeze them, and then pull them out when we feel like refereeing six dogs who all want every bone there is.
We do a raw diet and none of our dogs has ever had cause to have their teeth cleaned - we call them the Pepsodent dogs. If you aren't up for the full raw thing, you might just try a chicken back, neck or wings - bony parts - once or twice a week in place of regular kibble, or in addition to. Don't know what size dog we're talking about here...but cut the piece so that they really have to chew to get it down. Scrapes gunk off the teeth in a major way. I've had one dog who had a little trouble adjusting to the raw diet but it was offered with a decreased amount of kibble until she got the hang of it...and once she got the hang she didn't want the kibble so much anymore. To get her started I soaked the raw pieces of chicken in beef broth overnight and then began cutting back on the broth until it was just plain old chicken and veggies. We feed whole chicken parts but we have monster dogs, but a wing should be fine for any size and there isn't enough marrow to cause...ummm....problems.
Thanks for the suggestions. I'll definitely try the broccoli and marrow bone ideas. So cooked beef bones are bad? I didn't know that, thought it was just chicken that splintered. Thanks for the warning. Does it make a difference how they're cooked?
The dog...she's 2 years old, Pomeranian mix, and her teeth are good. The vet looked at them about a month ago, and she doesn't have much tartar or anything.
She's just darn picky! Or else just doesn't like to chew. I don't think she'd go for the Kong since I tried smearing peanut butter on a pressed rawhide chew, which she sniffed and ignored. Ignored peanut butter! She doesn't like carrots either. I just got her these chewies made by Beggin Strips, that are flavored like Beggin Strips, thinking surely, a dog that eats Beggin Strips would like them....but nope.
Now I'm thinking this might be related to what she does with food as well. She gets very distracted when eating, and will wander away from the dish and forget to eat if I speak, or something distracts her. Or she'll sniff the food and leave it. I switched her over to canned food (Blue brand) and it didn't make a difference. But, if I put her in her crate and leave her there with the food, then she'll eat right away. Maybe this comes from having been in the shelter? She's a very submissive dog also, maybe this is anxiety-based behavior?
Have you just had her a short time? You said she was a shelter dog... maybe she's been in cages and crates her whole life and is still learning about freedom...
Maybe she's never had toys before, either......
How do you get a 2 year old to play?
Have you tried rolling a small ball to see if she'll chase it? ... once you get them interested, it will become theirs... whatever it is.
You can try freezing the kong w/ low-fat yogurt or peanutbutter - it'll keep her busy, getting the stuff out and it might be somewhat refreshing when it's hot out - would prob. crate her w/ the kong though as it can make for a messy cleanup - another thought w/b bully sticks, they have spiral ones too which keep them busy and s/b safe - have also heard of antlers, was going to order them (online, can't rem. the company though) a while back but they were sold out but have heard good things about them. She sounds like a sweet dog (just saw a black pom (mix?) on one of the Animal Planet grooming shows, the official name escapes me now but they did a before and after grooming demo on her/him and the dog was beautiful afterwards.
I've bought these from the health food store...are they unsafe?
The dogs ate the marrow out (no diarrhea issues...whew! ), and then worked on the bones for a bit. The bones held up well, we still have them.
Castor And Pollux Pet Works: Innovative, Natural and Organic Pet Products (http://www.castorpolluxpet.com/store/castor_and_pollux/wet_nose_meaty_center_bone - broken link)
Riv, I don't know - they specifically mention how they cook the bones to make sure they have plenty of moisture. I'm going to let someone else weigh in on that, I just don't do it, period. And it may be that the marrow being cooked made the fatty content that causes the diarrhea to boil off. I just know with raw meaty bones from cow, deer or bear, we've had to really limit their time with the bone due to the aftermath. Ick.
OP, I would offer the food and let her eat what she wants within 10 minutes or whatever, then pull it up. Trust me, she won't starve herself! If she only nibbles at it, then she should be hungrier the next meal and get more down. She'll find her own level of eating. I do think it is a good idea to feed inside the crate, and surely don't free feed. She may just be extremely stressed over all the changes in her life but you can get her on a schedule and used to your rules pretty quickly.
How long had she been at the shelter, and do you have any idea why she was surrendered? Any other behaviors you can't make sense of?
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)What, if anything, did you find that they do like?
.
), so I've had to entice her to play with them. I do 2 things:
She doesn't like carrots either. I just got her these chewies made by Beggin Strips, that are flavored like Beggin Strips, thinking surely, a dog that eats Beggin Strips would like them....but nope. 
), and then worked on the bones for a bit. The bones held up well, we still have them.
