How do I know when my dog's chew is too worn or unsafe to use?

No, it is not safe! The pieces can cause a blockage in the intestinal tact. You might try something harder, such as a Nylabone, if your dog is an overly-enthusiastic chewer. Another possibility is to have the dogs chew only when you are present--so you can monitor the toys frequently for any signs of pieces coming loose.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Kyro. I typically start recommending small blood panels at 2-3 years of age to gain baseline values. The exception to this would be any necessary pre-anesthetic bloodwork if the dog were to be anesthetized. Hard toys such as the antlers and Nyla bones can fracture teeth in dogs. So be careful for any aggressive chewing. However, they are durable toys that the dog is less likely to break off a piece and swallow. This becomes an emergency surgery if the toy becomes lodged in the stomach or intestines. So they are safer options in that regard. Rotating toys will give your dog more variety and not force you to buy new ones frequently. I recommend leaving two toys out at a time and then rotate a new one in every couple of weeks. Even if your dog has seen it before, it will seem new to him again. I hope this information helps!

These tiny pieces should pass through without an issues. It is when larger pieces break off and are ingested that there is cause for concern. Always monitor your dog when he is chewing. Replace the NylaBone if it breaks into several parts or if he can fit the entire bone into his mouth.

"Long-lasting" is a very relative term. I get massive bully sticks labeled the same exact way for my pit bulls. Even the biggest ones they can go through in an hour or so. I wouldn't be alarmed by what happened unless he is swallowing them completely whole. One of my dogs likes to swallow them and then store them in her throat. As you can imagine, this is not a very safe thing to happen. In terms of healthy, good quality chews, this is what I feed my dogs. They are a little pricy, but honestly compared to the same stuff they sell at Petsmart the prices are better. www.bestbullysticks.com Hope this helps!

As long as you are monitoring Oliver when he is playing with this toy he should be fine. Make sure he is not tearing off pieces and ingesting them. A small piece of fluff will probably not harm him and if ingested will be able to pass through. However, if he were to ingest large pieces they may cause a blockage. If you are unable to keep Oliver from destroying and ingesting the toy then you should probably find another toy that won't be as risky for him to chew on.

Great question! I personally do not recommend these for dogs. These can easily break teeth, and dogs can choke on them if they swallow too big of a piece of them at a time. Breaking teeth will lead to a potentially costly dental surgery, and choking would mean an emergency visit to the vet. Now if you do want to allow Joey to have it, monitor him closely the entire time, keep him from breaking it down with his molars, and take it away when he has piece that's small enough for him to try to swallow. Good luck, I hope this helps and thanks for contacting Pet Coach :-)

Hi there. Yes, I would definitely recommend giving Lirril some things to chew on. It's normal for puppies and adolescents to be very mouthy and want to chew constantly at this age. I normally recommend things like all-natural sturdy rawhide chews, bully sticks, and puzzle toys such as a frozen Kong stuffed with peanut butter. These do not cause cancer, and are generally safe for dogs to chew on.