Best natural chews for dogs: how to match the chew to the dog

Get the chew wrong and even a good one can end in a vet visit. The right chew is the one that matches how your dog chews, is too big to swallow whole, and isn't harder than a tooth.

What kind of chewer is your dog?

Watch your dog with something you already trust. The nibbler works at the edges and needs something with give: tough rather than hard. The steady worker grinds through with the back teeth over half an hour; tendons, backstrap, tail tips and feet all suit. The power chewer tries to snap it and needs a tough, long chew and a close eye, not something so hard the chew wins. The gulper doesn't chew at all, and shouldn't have anything they could get down whole.

How hard is too hard?

Press your thumbnail into it. If it leaves a dent, a tooth can cope. If it doesn't, it can break a tooth — that's the rule veterinary dentists use, learned from slab fractures on the big upper chewing tooth (AVDC). Horns, antlers and weight-bearing bones fail the test. Tendons pass.

From a quick crunch to an afternoon's work, our range runs: lung crisp; chicken and duck feet; bone-in necks and tail tips (chewers only, never gulpers); tendons and beef backstrap, the everyday long chew for most adult dogs; and goat horn, the hardest thing we sell. Puppies, seniors and any dog with dental history stay at the tendon end.

How do you size it, and when do you take it away?

Bigger than the back of your dog's mouth. If the whole thing could fit across the molars, it's too small, because eventually they'll try. Between two sizes, take the larger. Size to the mouth and the habit, not the scale.

Retire it when it's small enough to swallow, which comes sooner than it looks. A tendon the length of your hand becomes a risk at the length of your thumb. A horn that cracks is finished.

Chew safely. Size it so it can't be swallowed whole, supervise, and take it away once it's small. Very hard chews can crack teeth — not for puppies, seniors or dogs with dental issues. Fresh water always. A treat, not a meal.

A few times a week is plenty. Chews are food and count against the 10% of the day's food that treats should stay under. The Chewer's Box puts a few textures in one box, and the chews and bones range is the full ladder.

Keep reading: Can chewing help a dog's teeth? What chews do, and what they don't · Are goat horns safe for dogs? What to know about a very hard chew

Sources

• American Veterinary Dental College. Chew toys and dental fractures. avdc.org
• RSPCA Australia Knowledgebase. Should I feed bones to my dog? kb.rspca.org.au

Pudel · Reviewed September 2026 · Single-protein, naturally dried dog treats, made in Australia. General information, not veterinary advice.