★★★★★ 4
Our dogs love these bones.
Flavor Name: Bacon, Size: X-Large
ALWAYS SUPERVISE A DOG WHEN THEY ARE CHEWING OR EATING. It doesn't matter what it is, they can choke on anything, we have had multiple instances where we have had to intervene to prevent or stop choking.
I also was going to give this a 5 star review, but after reading the other reviews I didn't. The pet product industry really needs to educate the consumer more about pets and what type would do best with their product. Either way, I think my experience might be helpful to some and we are pretty happy with these bones because the dogs are.
Here's the short version of my recommendations:
I do not recommend Nylabones for dogs that are teething
If an adult dog is chewing non-stop, Kongs with treats or peanut butter are great to help break up the chewing time. Even if they won't chew the Kong, they'll definitely stop whatever they are doing and lick out all of the peanut butter, which is actually calming and tiring for dogs.
It might be worth trying a much larger size bone if you have a smaller dog. I never had small dogs until now, but the large bone seems to tire our 20 pound dogs out quicker than the smaller bones ever did, and their little jaws seem to handle it just fine.
All of our dogs are gnawing with their back teeth at an angle on the white nyla part, as though they are rubbing their teeth against it to clean and sharpen them. The other type of chewing would use more of the front teeth and pull, like they're cleaning meat off of a bone, which isn't the right kind of chewer for Nylabones. Ours only occasionally chew them like that, so I know they are eating some pieces but it doesn't seem to affect their health since it's pretty limited and small (like a crumb).
Here's my experience with these bones:
We got our first Nylabone's for small breed puppies about a 18 months ago (not this product but same brand), and the puppies did try swallowing big chunks, so this type of bone was not great for them yet.
However, our old large breed dog decided he wanted to chew on the small puppy bones too, so I got him the large one of this bone because it's huge with four points, and more his size. It could be a challenge for dogs who don't use their paws like hands, but ours seem to figure it out comfortable ways to chew on it.
The old dog absolutely loved it, and had no big chunk issues. He very quickly figured out not to chew the red part because it is a totally different plastic than the white part (which is whatever "Nyla" is).
My understanding from the package is that the white part is somewhat digestible, or safely passes through in very small pieces. I specifically remember that being why I decided to try these. Our big dog used to choke on raw hides when he was younger, so we had to stop all chewing things (which just meant more treats and walks so he was happy!), but now that he is older he is really enjoying this bone.
Our old dog did wear one down to the nubs after about 3-6 months, and continued chewing on it occasionally (less often since there is less there to chew, and I knew I was supposed to toss it but he loved it so much). So I just got him a new one, but he still carries around the old one to show it off when we come in the door. He's chewing the new one now, so he seems to understand that the old one is 'done', and I haven't felt the need to take it away for safety reasons. The funny part is that the small dogs (now 2 yr old) actually chew on his large bone too, it's pretty comical given the size difference. I got them the extra-small versions and they haven't shown much interest in those.
I decided to also get one for our new 'store' dog who is about 1.5 yrs old and a lab/boxer mix and lives at the store full time. It was to help him transition away from his neurotic tail biting and rope bone that is falling apart from his prior home (where he was EXTREMELY bored and was getting into everything). He has enjoyed the Nylabone for about 2 weeks. I don't think it's worn down too much yet, but he's definitely going to wear his out faster (maybe 2+ months?) than our other three dogs combined, but his teeth are also sharper and he chews more, so that's fair.
So far, no pieces or chunks from the Nylabone. He also hasn't had a problem leaving the red part alone and he's learning how to use his paws more because of the shape of this thing. He still uses it when he's bored, but we've started increasing his training practice, so hopefully he'll be past the chewing phase by 2 yr old, and he has stopped getting into anything (like trash or 'stuff left out' that dogs manage to get into). He's also a huge and a very active dog, so having regular customers and activity help tire him out more than any bone can.
Best of luck!
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Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2019
