nylabones

Question
Hi Labman

Would you please give me your opinion about nylabones - I have not tried one yet for our 7 month old boy, but have heard mixed views, especially about the sharp shards that can come off them damaging throats when swallowed. Our boy loves a good chew, but I dont want to give hime anything that will cause a problem - have you used them, or heard about any concerns with them?

many thanks

Answer
A month ago we accepted a puppy to raise for a large dog guide school.  As part of our contract, we had to initial a long list of things such as not giving the dog a rawhide, rope, or any stuffed toy.  We were given a Nylabone and a Kong with it.  Highly experienced people, hundreds of dogs a year, forbid things known to be dangerous, but supply Nylabones.  

You do need to be a little careful about the size, and discard them when before they get small enough to swallow.  There are also reports of dogs getting them in the back of their mouths where they can bite down hard enough to crack a molar.  

Otherwise, in normal use they are among the safest chews and widely recommended by other experienced people.  Just stick to the fairly large ones and discard them if eventually gnawed down too small.  

Many dogs aren't interested in a slick, new Nylabone.  I think they are putting the nubby texture on more of them now.  I think it is part of the reason so many dogs like the hard to find dinosaur ones.  The ultimate is the Souper Size Galileo Nylabone.  It is about 7 inches long and 3 inches around.  It has the slick surface.  They are more attractive if you rough up the surface with sand paper or by rubbing it on a concrete floor.  Another technique is to jam a Nylabone into a Kong creating what I call a twofer.  The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

Nylabone makes a wide variety of shapes, many of which you won't find in even the largest pet stores, ''Y'' bones, rings, dinosaurs, dental balls.  A couple of year ago, my daughter wasn't happy with what she found in the infants department, so bought her son a Nylabone ring.  

Some of the better stuff you have to buy on line.  We have been happy with www.vetvax.com