For safe dog chews, offer durable rubber toys (like Kongs), bully sticks, yak chews, or dehydrated treats like beef trachea, but always match the chew to your dog's chewing style, avoid things that splinter (cooked bones), and monitor for deterioration or choking hazards, ensuring treats are free from xylitol.
21 Vet-Recommended Dog Toys for Aggressive Chewers
Here are some of the best options!
Types of Safe Dog Chews
Rubber Chew Toys – Sturdy rubber chews – like Bionic, RuffDawg, and Jolly Pet toys – are excellent options. They're durable, bounce unpredictably for play, and are even available in puppy dog chew toy sizes for smaller mouths. Fill them with treats or peanut butter for hours of enrichment.
Raw bones—Nature's best chews
For millennia, dogs have been chewing on raw bones for both nutrition and recreation. The hard, weight-bearing leg bones from beef can be cut into marrow bones and knuckle bones for your dog's gnawing pleasure.
The 90/10 rule for dogs means 90% of their daily calories should come from a complete, balanced dog food, while only 10% should come from treats, training rewards, and any extra human foods or toppers, preventing nutritional imbalances and obesity. This guideline ensures essential vitamins and minerals are met through their main diet, keeping treats as occasional indulgences rather than dietary staples.
Recommendations for Dental Chews for Dogs that Benefit Oral Health:
Regular brushing, dental chews, dental powder, chew bones, enzymatic dental dog treats, dog dental wipes and oral gels are great ways to keep your dog's teeth clean and fight plaque.
Here are a few that we recommend you avoid: Hard plastic and nylon bones: These toys are often made of a material that is harder than the dog's teeth, causing fractures as they chew. The most common teeth affected are the upper fourth premolars, which are two of the major teeth used to chew dog's food.
Vets often advise caution with bully sticks due to risks like choking hazards, potential for digestive blockages, high calories/fat (risking obesity/pancreatitis), and potential bacterial contamination, especially from less regulated sources; however, many vets do recommend them in moderation with supervision, emphasizing size and quality.
Non-Toxic Sprays
There are commercial sprays, such as Grannick's Bitter Apple, that is completely safe for your dog to ingest. You can also make your own with 2 parts apple cider vinegar, 1 part white vinegar, and water in a spray bottle.
Nutritional or mineral deficiency
This can also occur if your pet is fed an unbalanced home made diet or eats more treats than meals. A nutritional or mineral deficiency could be the result, and your dog may try to access nutrition from other sources such as sticks.
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Instructions:
Recommended Dental Wipes Brands
Some of our top recommendations include: TropiClean Fresh Breath Dental Wipes: These wipes are infused with baking soda and peppermint to freshen your dog's breath and remove plaque effectively.
Crunchy kibble and raw veggies help naturally scrub away plaque as your pup chews.
Using Baking Soda
Baking soda is the sodium bicarbonate that softens the tartar and balances the acidity in your mouth to prevent plaque formation. Make the baking soda paste by mixing a few drops of water and gently scrub your teeth using a toothbrush.
The best way to remove plaque is to simply brush your dog's teeth daily with a dog toothbrush and dog-safe toothpaste. Brushing your pooch's teeth every now and then won't get rid of a buildup of plaque, but regular brushing will help keep their teeth and mouths healthy.
Raw bones help naturally remove tartar as dogs chew on them, promoting good dental health. They should be the right size for your dog and should not splinter when gnawed on.
Our Winner: Greenies
While both are effective at cleaning your dog's teeth, the wide range of Greenies formulations, flavor, and sizes gives it an edge over the Pedigree Dentastix.
Raw Bones:
Raw bones are considered on our safest dog chew list and can be an excellent choice for giving your dog something to occupy their mind with (they're also great natural toothbrushes), but there are a few concerns to keep in mind when selecting your bones.
The 3-3-3 rule for dogs is a guideline for the adjustment period after adoption, representing 3 days (overwhelmed/hiding), 3 weeks (settling in/testing boundaries), and 3 months (feeling at home/bonding) to help owners manage expectations and provide patience, routine, and a calm environment, understanding that anxiety is normal as they decompress from a stressful past. It's a framework for recognizing stress and fostering trust, not a rigid timeline, but it helps owners understand why a new dog might seem timid or act out initially.
There's no single "number 1" healthiest dog food, as the best choice depends on your dog's age, breed, and health; however, look for foods meeting AAFCO standards (Association of American Feed Control Officials), with real meat as the first ingredient, and vet-recommended brands like Hill's Science Diet, Purina Pro Plan, and Royal Canin are often cited for balanced nutrition. Freshly prepared or raw diets can also be healthy but carry risks, so always consult your vet.
The hardest "commandment" (command) to teach a dog is often considered Recall ("Come"), due to powerful natural instincts to explore or play, followed by impulse control commands like "Leave It/Drop It", and complex obedience actions like the "Finish" (positioning at the handler's side) or "Heel", requiring intense focus and self-control, especially with distractions like other dogs or interesting sights/smells.