Chew Toys

Question
Hi,

I am trying to find some chew toys for our Yellow Lab Max.  Max is a 1 1/2 yr old neutered lab.  We have bought him the durable Nylabones which he loves; however, lately he has been choking on the little pieces that come off when he chews them.  Also, we have a new little one and when she is old enough to crawl I don't want her to eat the pieces that it leaves on the floor.

Do you have any suggestions for some chew toys that are durable enough and that Max will like?  He does like his Black Extreme Kongs but needs some variety.

Thanks in advance for your help :)
Dawn

Answer
The standard Nylabones should never have big enough pieces come off for a dog to choke on.  The consumable ones and the softer Gumabones may.  One thing is to make sure you are giving him large enough ones.  Even the larger Gumabones should be OK.  We were buying the Hercules size Gumabone Rainbow for our last Lab that was a strong chewer.  Make sure Nylabones or other hard chews are too big for a strong chewer to get in theback of its mouth.  Some dogs have cracked teeth that way.  

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.

Some people have done OK with Wubbas and Fire House toys.  If you try them, keep a good eye on them and be ready to discard them.  Avoid rawhide.  It has killed may dogs.  

Our daughter is waiting for her 15 month old to get a little older before getting a new puppy.  She was disappointed with the child chew toys, so bought her son a small Nylabone ring.  We have to clear the floor of chew toys when they come for a visit.