It’s a brave new world out there when it comes to doggie chew toys; much different than when I last had a dog a couple of decades ago. My 7-month old puppy loves to chew and it keeps her busy when I’m painting so I’ve been exploring (and drawing) the many new kinds of dog chew toys.
My previous dogs chewed rawhide (now known to not be good for dogs) or bones leftover from making soup (also not good, can splinter), and when naughty chewed the occasional shoe, pillow, kids homework, or dirty clothes (one chewed the arm off my mother’s sofa). Chewing for dogs is like reading a good book for us.
Two of Millie’s favorites so far are in the sketch above: a circular Bully Treat and an ostrich leg purchased from an upscale pet boutique Millie dragged me into when we walked by. The roasted ostrich bone is light and has a texture like honeycomb; it’s all digestible and doesn’t splinter, but it’s huge and while not cheap, for its size it’s not that expensive.
If you don’t know what Bully Treats or Bully Sticks (aka Pizzles) are, prepare to be grossed out. A Bully Stick is a bull penis that has been stretched, twisted or even braided and then roasted. They are 100% protein, entirely digestible (unlike rawhide), take a fairly long time to chew and won’t break dogs’ teeth like bones can.
They’re pretty smelly (even the “low odor” ones), but don’t leave a mess (except the one Millie buried in the backyard for a couple of weeks to let it ripen). It was unbelievably gross. I confiscated it immediately and now only give them to her when I can be sure she won’t bury it outdoors.
Jana Bouc, Artist 
3 replies on “Dog Chew Toy Technology: It’s a Brave New World”
Lovely sketch. Did you eat the ostrich first?
Degas has rawhide and funny white chew bones (not real bones). She often takes them in the garden and buries them but often uncovers them again moments later. Crazy. She only has proper bones when I can get the vacuum packed ones from UK. oh of course she often eats chicken, sheep, goat and fish bones she scavenges around the village 😦 We are both fed up of me fishing (excuse pun) things out of her slobbery mouth.
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Haha. Nope, the ostrich bone came roasted without any meat on it. It’s all about the crunchy honeycomb-like bone. What is up with the burying thing? Millie leaves them a couple weeks until they get hideously gross. I know what you mean about removing stuff from their mouths, especially in the dark. My son did that one night when his dog slurped something up and grabbed a handful of poop from her mouth. YUCK! Millie is pretty good about the command “drop it” as long as I have treats in my pocket to trade with her. Yesterday on our hike in Wildcat Canyon there was a fresh partially eaten deer leg on the trail (a mountain lion must have taken down a deer overnight) and Millie was seriously considering taking it home with her. But a tasty treat from my pocket convinced her to leave it after a quick bite at the leg.
Sketchblog: JanasJournal.com Website: JanaBouc.com UrbanSketchers-BayArea,blogspot.com
On Sun, Mar 9, 2014 at 4:47 AM, JanasJournal.com wrote:
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[…] your dogs top ten. This bouncy fetch and chew toy is geared towards medium and large breed […]
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