Chewin' the Fat

My top five chews


Rawhide bones are good, too

A bone (or two) to pick
You know how I love to chew. Here's a review of my five favorite chews.

1. Soup bone
This is a classic. And, in my short life (17 weeks to be exact), one of my cherished favorites. Although they can be a bit sticky, soup bones are economical and tasty while giving hours of chewing enjoyment. (I know what I'm talking about. To date, I have 4 soup bones under my belt.) Soup bones come from a cow's leg and people use them to make beef stock. For doggies like me, soup bones are best enjoyed raw, and in their natural state - right from the butcher's cleaver. But, if you can't make it to the butcher, a frozen shank bone from the supermarket works, too. On average, it takes me about an hour to chew a soup bone clean of meat and sinew. Then, what's left is the marrow that I usually lick out. Afterwards, the bone can be reused by stuffing peanut butter or liver paté inside where the marrow used to be and freezing it for later enjoyment - a kind of doggie popcicle. Not a bad idea when your puppy gums are sore.

2. Piggy ears
Convenient, practical and tasty - you can't beat a dried pig-ear for chewy goodness. And, no mess. You buy them at the local pet store by the dozen. For those of you who have never seen one, they're actually pretty big. But the chewing enjoyment only lasts for about 30 minutes. They are delicious, though. (Note: cousin Tacy is also a big fan of pig ears and gave me my first bag.)

3. Wood & sticks
Firewood, kindling, sticks, bamboo knitting needles, twigs, branches - you name it - wood is wicked. It's easy to find, carry and chew. I like the fresh branches the best because I can peel off and chew the bark. Old fire wood kindling is good, too, if it's soft. You can't eat wood (believe me, I've tried!) but if you chew it up and spit it out it makes a great, inexpensive diversion for busy puppy teeth.

4. Dental chews
These are really doggie treats in disguise. Long, soft, chewy sticks that my vet says are good for puppy teeth and sore gums. You can only buy these at the vet's so stay away from dental chews if you're counting pennies. When I was a very small puppy it took me about 15 minutes to eat one. Now, they only last about a minute so you can hardly call them chews. But they do taste great!

5. Wooden clogs
Okay, you might say wooden clogs fall into the same category as wood and sticks. But, not really. These are wooden shoes worn by my person so they have a great fragrance that you just can't beat. The only problem with these is that they are forbidden fruit - meaning you have to chew really fast before your person discovers that both the dog and the clog are missing!