Have you got a puppy in your life? Welcome to the wonderful world of doggo parenthood – a joyous place full of loving licks, playful antics as well as the odd challenge or two. Keeping your puppy entertained and occupied often involves shoving something in their mouth – ideally an object that isn’t precious (and therefore safe to be destroyed by needle-like teeth). If you opt for the natural alternative, the puppy chew toys that you choose will also assist to provide the nutritional support a growing puppy requires in order to develop into a healthy adult dog, ready for a long and happy life.
We all know that puppies LOVE to chew (glances regretfully at work boots missing the heel pull tag). These adorable little fluff balls are shoe, power cord and any-domestic-object destroyers sent from some part of satan’s harem in an innocent-looking package to wreak havoc on your home life. As much as you adore them (that face!) you’ll be sure to question your decision to welcome a puppy into your home at least once in the first few weeks of your puppy-moon. Never fear hoo-mums and -dads, natural dog treats for puppies are the answer to your destructive chewing woes!
Carefully chosen puppy treats can provide many hours of chewing enjoyment while successfully distracting over-energetic and sharp-toothed pupster’s attention away from your new Nikes – when even the best chew toys for puppies aren’t safe from complete destruction. There are a range of natural dog treats perfect for puppies that also provide many of the key nutrients essential for developing bones and tissue including joints, eyes and the brain.
The chew treats for puppies that we discuss in this article are suitable for all dogs from 12 weeks of age, however the significance of their nutritional value will change over time. While they won’t do any harm, not all of these puppy chews are ideal for very small pupsters – small puppy tums can be a little more sensitive than that of an adult dog and puppies’ teeth (despite their sharpness) are not as strong. Therefore, we’ve noted a few puppy chews in this selection that are also ideal for teeny tiny puppies from 8 weeks to happily munch on with contentment.
Fish Twist Puppy Treats
Tasty (and slightly stinky) Fish Twists are made from mackerel skin and are rich in important nutrients for growing puppies, including the omega-3 fatty acids that are essential for the healthy development of brain and eye tissues. For a medium-sized breed puppy we recommend feeding one tasty fish twist as part of a balanced diet every few days in order to provide a good dose of these nutrients. Fish Twists are ideal for slightly smaller puppies from 8 weeks of age too, as they are nice and chewy (great to replace artificial puppy chew toys) yet soft enough for little teeth to handle.
Mission Beach Fish Jerky
Fish Jerky is definitely up there with the best treats for puppies and is also among the best puppy training treats. Although the (delicious) smell means that you may not want to pop them in the pocket of our best jeans, fish jerky can be broken up into smaller pieces and kept on hand to be used for training treat rewards. Nothing motivates those good sits and stays like a piece of fish jerky!
When broken up into smaller pieces appropriate to your puppy’s size, fish jerky dog treats can also be fed to smaller pupsters from 8 weeks of age. Like Fish Twists, fish jerky is rich in important proteins, long chain omega-3 fatty acids, amino acids and vitamin D so is ideal as a nutritional supplement for puppies.
Rabbit Ears (Wabbit Wafers)
The feeding of animal fur is important to providing a balanced diet for dogs (read more at Hairy scary furry bits – Animal fur dog treats and digestive health). Being rich in fibre, fur promotes digestive health and is also rich in manganese, which is important for healthy liver and kidney function. While larger furry bits aren’t ideal for little bodies, rabbit ears are a great way to introduce fur into the diet of both puppies and smaller breed juvenile dogs.
Rabbit fur and meat in particular is a great source of a wide range of vitamins (see below an excerpt from our previous article, Rabbit for Dogs: Why wild is wonderful but farmed is pretty effed up);
Wild rabbit meat has the highest protein ratio compared to chicken, pork, turkey, duck, fish, lamb or beef. It also an excellent source of vitamins, minerals and trace elements. Rabbit meat is high in vitamins B3 and B12, phosphorus, potassium and selenium. It’s low in fat but contains a fantastic balance of fatty acids being richer in omega 3 than chicken or pork.
We recommend feeding furry bits to your puppy from 12 weeks of age. There are a number of rabbit dog treats – the best treats for puppies – which are ideal for introducing fur into the diet. Our favourite smaller wild rabbit bits (other than rabbit wafers) are Cotton Tails and Rabbit Paws. If your pupster is devouring these with gleeful enthusiasm you can also try slightly more robust rabbit dog treats such as Rabbit Backstraps and Rabbit Hoppers, which are perfect for larger puppy chews.
Moo Tubes
Moo Tubes are delightfully delicious and crunchy beef trachea tubes. These beef dog treats are free from bones, which makes them ideal for little teeth of all sizes. What is equally great about moo tubes is their nutritional content – these puppy treats are high in glucosamine and chondroitin which is important for the development and health of joint tissues. Like all Gully Road beef products, these are also from 100% grass-fed and -finished on farm processed beef.
This healthy grass-fed beef is full of nutrients that are essential for growing puppies. We source all of our beef directly from on farm butcher Provenir – read more about Gully Road’s beef sourcing story at ‘Where our natural beef dog treats come from and why it’s important’. It’s worth noting that these benefits are associated with grass-fed and grass-finished beef, not grain-fed beef (which accounts for most beef available in Australia). The difference is quite astounding – for example, grass-finished beef has around five times more omega-3s, anti-inflammatory CLAs, Vitamin D as well as a host of other fat-soluble vitamins.
Moo tubes make great natural enrichment toys for puppies too – we like to stuff them with mince and other goodies and you can even freeze the stuffed moo tube for a longer lasting chew (or a refreshing treat in warmer weather).
Beef Dongas
Like Moo Tubes, Beef Dongas (beef oesophagus) have all of the wonderful benefits of grass-fed beef. In contrast to moo tubes these have more elastic, chewy fibres which make great dental chews for puppies and Beef Dongas are therefore ideal for cleaning teeth. These are also rich in protein and amino acid as well as being 100% delicious! Beef Dongas are ideal treats for puppies of all ages from 8 weeks upward.
Fallow Straps
Naturally shed deer antler for dogs are famous for being long lasting dog treats perfect for enthusiastic chewers. Consequently, these are our number one recommendation for puppies that devour other treats with lightening speed. While larger antlers are too hard for smaller puppy teeth, fallow straps are taken from the flatter part of the larger antler. Being much softer than the pointy end section, fallow straps make perfect long-lasting puppy dental chews.
Antlers and fallow straps are also hypoallergenic, making them perfect for sensitive stomachs. In addition, deer antlers are rich in many vitamins and minerals. For the hoomans, the fact that they are odourless is a real win and makes them the perfect treato for travelling in the car or chewing indoors. We recommend introducing fallow straps from 12 weeks of age, choosing a size appropriate for the breed of your puppy.
Read more about these creepy-looking all natural dog treats at ‘All about antlers for dogs – source story, benefits and doggo dental health’.
These are just a few of our top recommendations for the best puppy treats to keep your junior doggo occupied (and nutritionally enriched). For the full selection of our puppy chews range, head to Treats for Pupsters.
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