Safe toys? What to get your dog for Christmas...  

A discussion from the dental boards about dog toys.

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Sometime ago you mentioned that the Toss N' Tug passed the 'Flossie Test'. Where do you get the Toss N' Tug?

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Toss N' Tug is available from Pet Stores. Flossie still has not destroyed it, although others have reported their destruction.

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Last month I had a vomiting Lab. Rads revealed evidence of an obstruction. (By now you're thinking I'm in the wrong folder - but wait!) Exploratory revealed a linear foreign body consisting of string from one of those rope bones that are supposed to floss the teeth when they chew it! The dog had dismantled it and eaten part of it. I now recommend that if they use it they only let the dog play with it under supervision. After the bill these owner's got, this particular dog will not be playing with one ever again! FWIW.

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I believe ALL toys are rated PG! (Parential Guidance), and the client should be advised of this before hand.

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Anyone care to comment on Kong toys as dental therapeutics? I'm so enthusiastic about these... hate to be disillusioned, and of course the therapy depends on pet actually chewing on the thing! But I've sold a few of the grooved kind, where you can put toothpaste in and the dog's teeth slip into the grooves, massaging the guns etc etc.... a good option for those clients who will NOT brush their dog's teeth more than the first week after the lecture! If my bird can't destroy it, I can't imagine a dog who would! Size-appropriate toys cannot be swallowed, and they make a dynamite grooming tool too. Hide treats inside, keep the rambunctious pup busy for quite awhile! I love these... any negatives?

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I agree with Steve: all chew toys must be monitored. Any pet can abuse any toy. I usually recommend the Kongs. BUT, I have placed crowns on a bomb sniffing police dog that has to have the largest Kong (1/2' + thick) in her mouth at all times, or she will destroy the $40,000 cruiser. She chews through a Kong in 2 weeks--cheaper than a new cruiser. But in the process has worn the distal surfaces of all canines (3 more than other because of the triangular shape of the Kong) so that I was worried they would fracture. Crowns have protected the teeth (and indirectly the cruiser) for 2 years, so far. This is the only dog I've seen with problems with Kongs, but the first 2 sentences are still true.

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All the Kongs I've bought must have been defective--my dog refuses to have anything to do with them :-)

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Kong toys have done well on the Flossie test.

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Let me tell you about Sebastian, a 155# Great Dane whose owner bought him a Kong ball because it was reputed to be indestructible. Well guess what? Two surgeries and nearly $4000 later, I am beginning to think that Sebastian may just be around awhile longer. He got a good size piece halfway down his small intestine before it got stuck. His small bowel was not a pretty sight and he ended up losing about half of it.

As a surgeon who also does some dentistry, my answer to people who ask me about chew toys is that if you give it to them long enough, you are likely going to have an opportunity to evaluate my surgical skills. Suggesting that supervision is required is nice in principle but dogs are like little kids. Eventually they are going to get it when you are not around. Most of the time nothing untoward is likely to happen. Then again, it only takes once.

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Extending that example (one case out of thousands), I probably should not get in my car this morning to drive down to the pool for a swim work out. I could get into an accident on the way, get injured and thousands of dollars in surgical fees. If I make it to the pool I might drown. We have thousands of patients using chew toys, and for the most part they do fine. In Sebastians case, he had a reputation, that should have been listened to. I agree with you in Sebastian's case, no chew toys for Sebastian, instead of trying to find one strong enough to withstand his onslaught, would have been better advise. However, if we are talking about money, I think this discussion started out with a $40,000 cruiser....

Our surgeon had a case a few months ago where the dog chewed up a bra. It caused major problems with perforation, peritonitis, and unfortunately the patient did not make it. Does that mean we should ban bras? ;-) As the saying goes (modified) 'Dogs will be dogs.' And being born is hazardous to your health.

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I agree with and applaud the comments made so far on the board. First, I should make everyone who does not already know aware of the fact that for the past 7 years I have served as dental consultant and Ombudsman for the Nylabone Company. My files are into the hundreds of cases of product liability I have worked with owners and veterinarians. In perspective, millions of chew devices have been sold. THERE IS NOT A PERFECT NATURAL CHEW STUFF...and there is not a perfect man-made chew stuff! Unfortunately, if veterinarians recommend or sell an item, a lot of folks expect it to be perfect. For the sake of discussion, let me throw out a couple of facts I have found interesting. 1) health problems resulting from chew devices are equally divided between fractured teeth and intestinal blockage. If the product is too soft, an aggressive dog will break it apart and swallow pieces. If the product is too hard, slab fractures of 108/208 result. 2) Problems are directly proportional to body size. If I plot body weight against incidence, the graph goes up rather quickly after 25 kg. (55 lbs). 3) The Galileo and the Kong may be the best soft devices on the market due to the fact that they to break up AS easy as other products, and the irregular shape diminishes the chance a dog bearing too much force on the great cusp of the 4th upper premolar.

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I've removed a lot of things from dogs' stomachs/small intestines, including rocks, baby-bottle nipples, coins, plastic bags, wads of carpet fibers, a WHOLE ball of twine (believed swallowed from one end to the other), a golf ball, bones, clothing, wooden sticks, stuffed and rubber childrens' toys, Xmas decorations, hunks of plant fiber, even dog food -- from one maltese who developed severe gastric distension after helping himself to a bag of dog food, paper wrapping and all! Other than one chunk of Nylabone (which should have been taken away from the dog at first sign of breaking up, which the owner knew), I have not removed toys which were deliberately designed for the dogs to chew on. If we don't give them toys, they will chew on something else ... the cruiser a case in point.

My own mastiff chewed up the seat belt holders in my truck when she got bored. Toys designed with dogs in mind are less likely to require surgical removal than are the objects dogs will substitute if left to their own devices. Owners who know their dogs are destructive should check the toys frequently for early signs of fracture, and take the last knot of rawhide away before the dogs gets a chance to swallow it whole. My goal is to know WHICH toys to recommend, based on both safety and attractiveness to the pet. Of course, I've never had to live with one of these 'problem children', or pay its vet bills. I will definitely be more cautious in my advice in the future though. Anyway, thanks for the feedback!

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Has anyone really seen surgical problems with rawhide chew products--generally I recommend the CET chews because they are flat and somewhat pliable. There seems to be two types of dogs when it comes to rawhides the chewers and gulpers. I have a standard poodle that constantly chews on them them discards for a fresher one. Gulpers are the ones that try to swallow the chew whole and sometimes gag on them. What do the rest of you think?

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I have never seen a problem with rawhides. However, if the dog is a 'gulper' and the owners know this, I recommend that they find something else to occupy the dog and maybe they should try brushing to deep the teeth clean.

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Thanks for your comments to the topic- I would like to add an observations with my own pets and clients- If you can convince the owners to buy large for small breeds and giant for large breeds the ratio of mouth to objects serves as a deterient to swallowing and chewing in pieces leaving gnawing as the primary function- thus massaging the gums and scraping plaque from the crowns, I find the Roar-A-Bones very effective and the Pedigree Dentabone similarly in my Lhasa as well as the large knotted rawhide chews.

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I find the chews very effective also and haven't seen or experienced the problems with swallowed pieces- My Lhasa chews and gulps when soft and small enough to swallow- which can be 11/2 in. diam. and I have never seen in the stool and there have been no obstructions- he is 3 yrs. now.