Chews for a Growing Pup

Quinn was very “mouthy” as a pup. And she had a bit of aggression for a short while. Chewing on things seemed to soothe her so we went through a lot of stuff to find what kept her interest yet didn’t go away after one session.

When she was small, we used the Yak milk chews. Wonderful things. She loved them. But as she grew, they didn’t last as long because she would bite off chunks and then barf them up.

Then we switched to Benebones. They were lasting a long time and The Boys liked them, too. They’re not exactly edible but as long as the dog is able to chew off only rice-sized pieces or smaller, all is well.

Except for Quinn. She’s always had a sensitive stomach. She started eating dirt. And was almost frenetic about it. Even if we went somewhere, the first thing she would do is look for dirt to eat. We put her on a vitamin for a while and that seemed to work. But then she took up the culinary arts of eating raw grass.

Then we had the accident. Quinn was put on an eye drop antibiotic in NJ but when we got home, our vet (Charlotte Street Animal Hospital) switched her to an oral one. The first antibiotic our vet gave her made her sick so they switched to yet another. Then she started vomiting almost every night between 1 and 4 am. Nothing in it, just the usual stuff. No grass even though she was eating it and dirt again.

Took her back to the vet and we opted to put her on two things: FortiFlora (probiotic) and Pepcid (20mg BID). Slowly the grass eating decreased as did the vomiting. We eased off on the FortiFlora. All is well. Eased off on the Pepcid. Not so much. Our vet (Dr K) believes Quinn is ulcer prone. That’s why she wanted the dirt and grass. Then the accident (high stress), the antibiotic switching, and more anxiety from other events, and Quinn had an ulcer. Dr K believes that when Quinn laid down to sleep, all that acid just sat there in her stomach. A few hours later, up it comes. So giving her a treat every night gave the acid something to do. And it works.

Back to the Benebones. Quinn’s stomach was doing relatively well until we got new Benebones. We’d not had any for various reasons and the dogs were happy to get them again. And the nighttime vomiting started again, too. We took them away and after a few nights, the vomiting stopped.

Two weeks ago, Quinn found one in the dog lot and had fun with it. And that night vomited. Our assumption is the hard tiny pieces she is ingesting is irritating her stomach. There’s nothing wrong with Benebones (as far as I can tell and I’ve done a LOT of research). We got this Nylabone antler shaped thing and gave the dogs that. They love it. And no barfing. She can chew on one for hours and there be little to no change in the shape of it.

I suppose this is a very long review! The Himalayan chews are fantastic IF you have a soft chewer. A dog who finds pleasure in the chewing (Mike), not the breaking it up (Sam). They are edible but should be taken away if they get too small for the dog. Allegedly you can put the pieces in the microwave and they bubble up into another treat? I’ve never done it.

The Boys did not have any problems with the Benebones and neither does my brother’s family dogs. I highly recommend them. I do NOT recommend the figure-8/tug toy shaped one. Quinn almost got her lower jaw hung in it.

I’m not a fan of Nylabone but these antlers are good. The dogs all love them so much, we had to get 3. Mike doesn’t normally chew things but he likes these.

FortiFlora is available without a prescription. Quinn will be getting it any time she has antibiotics (which has happened several times since the accident).

I don’t recommend you give your dog Pepcid without consulting your vet. The amount a dog can take varies on the weight and reason. For example, Quinn takes 40mg a day total. Sam, who also sometimes (once every 3 yrs or so) gets acidic and drools. He only takes 10mg a day and outweighs Quinn by about 10lbs.

By the way, please get your dog treats, chews, and toys locally from an independent supplier. I only gave the links above as reference. Buying local helps the small business owner which is good for the local economy. We go to the Weaverville Pet Pantry and Asheville Pet Supply for almost everything.