If your doggo enjoys a gourmet treato selection that includes a variety of the most balanced, enriched and nutritious dog treats and meals (yes, welcome to the exclusive club of hoomans who spend more money on their humble pooch than themselves), you might find yourself feeling a little deflated when said gourmet treatos disappear in a matter of one large gulp and a few licks of the lips. The next stage will also likely be all too familiar – the expectant waiting for the next instalment (never mind that what just went down the hatch in a matter of seconds was meant to be the entire day’s treato allocation). Don’t despair faithful canine parent – there is a naturally sourced range of long lasting dog treats available that are perfect for enthusiastic chewers, gulpers and spoilt-rotten doggos who love to spend their days endlessly munching with contentment.
The natural dog treat alternative
While there are plenty of robust dog chews in the market (and plenty that aren’t so robust – which you will know if you’ve ever turned your back for 0.0002 of a second to find the room littered in small pieces of your pooch’s new favourite rubber toy) we always advocate for choosing the natural option. Are natural dog treats better? It will come as no surprise to say that ingesting bits of plastic toys, tennis balls and other not-so long lasting dog toys isn’t exactly good for your number one doggo’s digestive health. In contrast, there are selection of natural dog chews available which will last just as long (if not longer) than their synthetic counterparts and are perfectly safe – even nutritionally beneficial – for your dog to ingest.
Best long lasting dog chews for your hound
A range of factors will influence which type of long lasting dog chews are most suitable for your doggo as well as how long they will last. These include the enthusiasm of your dog’s chewing (whether or not they spend every waking moment munching on their beloved treato) as well as their size, breed and age. Regardless of these factors, naturally-shed deer antler chews are typically the longest lasting of all natural dog treats, followed closely by hock knuckles, cow ears, grass-fed beef ribbers and chewy skin scrolls. Each has their own set of benefits, from being nutrient rich to hypoallergenic and odour-free.
Deer antler dog chews
You know that you’re a natural dog enrichment enthusiast when you get excited about the magic that is a deer antler (yes, that’s definitely us). In what is an incredible natural occurrence in itself, deer shed their antlers each season. Creepy, huh? These missing antlers are then collected from our deer farmer’s paddock before being repurposed into the wondrous long lasting natural dog chews that they are.
Because of the nature of the deer antler’s structural make up, antler dog chews are incredibly strong however are not actually made of bone – where dried weight-bearing bones may be at risk of splintering, antlers do not share this tendency.
This means that a deer antler for dogs is perfectly safe for both rigorous chewing and ingestion – as your doggo gnaws away at the antler, tiny pieces come away in a powder-like form. This process takes a significant amount of time, meaning that your doggo will likely have some months of munching pleasure ahead of them. This powder like substance is also perfectly safe for your doggo to ingest. Unlike many other dog treats, these small amounts of ingested antler are also very low calorie, so are great for doggos in need of a weight-watchers diet (we’re looking at you, Bach). In addition, antlers are both hypoallergenic and low odour and are therefore ideal for dogs with stomach sensitivities (read more on this topic at Treats and Dog Food for Sensitive Stomachs).
What is the difference between deer antlers and fallow straps?
There are a range of different parts of the antler which are available as antler dog chews and these are divided into two categories – antlers and fallow straps. Essentially, the key difference is the part of the larger antler that each of these is taken from. Whole antlers are BIG and so we need to cut them down into smaller parts – antlers are typically from the harder pointy end, while fallow straps are the softer, wider part of the larger antler.
If you’re looking for dog chews long lasting enough to withstand a doggo munching Armageddon, we recommend antlers rather than fallow straps (and more specifically, a Gig-antler or Large Antler). Being slightly softer, fallow straps are ideal for gentler chewers, older dogs, smaller breeds and are the perfect long lasting chew for puppies. Refer to our previous article All About Antlers for Dogs – Source Story, Benefits and Doggo Dental Health for more information on these wondrous doggo delights.
Hock Knuckle Dog Chew
Beef hock knuckle chews are the perfect combination of chewiness, flavour and robustness to withstand chewing from larger breeds and bigger teeth (or smaller teeth with extra gusto – we all know at least one of those). Combining a high amount of sinew and marrow, dehydrated hock knuckles are great for canine dental health and provide a large range of essential nutrients as well as a good dose of healthy fats.
Like all dehydrated beef dog treats in the Gully Road range, hock knuckles are 100% grass fed and finished (read more about the benefits at Grass Fed and Good Fats for Dogs) as well as being low temperature dehydrated to preserve the full nutrient content. Hock knuckles are also reasonably low odour, although they are a little greasy when fresh so are best kept off the hooman’s favourite linen. Hock knuckles come in two sizes – large (more accurately, giant) and regular.
Cow ears for dogs
Cow ears may not be quite as long lasting as their (almost invincible) antler and bone counterparts, but they’re a hot contender for the double whammy of a long lasting chews for dogs with additional added health benefits. The (slightly creepy) furry goodness of a dehydrated cows ear treat has a stack of benefits other than giving your doggo hours of chewing pleasure. Animal fur, packed full of hairy fibre, is important for canine digestive health and can even be fed as a natural worm treatment (more on this at Hairy Scary Furry Bits – Animal Fur Dog Treats and Digestive Health).
So what makes cows ear dog chews long lasting? This part of the animal is made up of tough cartilage and is covered in skin and hair that is also very strong (cow skin is used to make leather, a famously long wearing material for shoes, apparel and myriad other uses). Consequently, humble cow’s ear makes a long lasting dog chew recipe fit for many hours of gnawing pleasure!
Grass-fed beef ribbers (dehydrated beef rib bones)
Beef bones are a great solution to the search for long lasting dog treats. We recommend fresh grass-fed beef bones as the number one option, however dehydrated beef ribbers are a great solution if you are unable to access grass-finished beef or have difficulty storing fresh beef bones.
While some dog owners have concerns about splintering when feeding dried bones, beef ribbers are non-weight bearing which means that they tend to be softer and more crumbly than other bones. Beef ribbers are also filled with delicious and nutritious bone marrow which makes them the perfect natural dog treat to feed as a simple way to incorporate marrow into your dog’s diet. Like other long lasting dog treats, the staying power of a ribber will depend on your dog’s chewing enthusiasm as well as other factors relating to their size and age.
Chewy Shark Skin Scrolls
We’re not saying that your dog won’t make one of these disappear in a decent days’ work (we’ve got to hand it to them for persistence), however shark skin scrolls do provide a great and nutrient chewy challenge. If your dog is an extra-proficient chewer or a larger breed we recommend Colossal Chewy Skin Scrolls – the much more hefty sibling of our regular chewy skin scrolls.
These are stinky (in a very-happy-doggo way) so are great for chewing outside – or inside if you’re partial to smells reminiscent of your last coastal holiday. Odours aside, the really exciting part about shark skin scrolls is their nutritional value. These are preservative free dog treats (like the rest of the Gully Road treato range) and contain high levels of omega 3s fatty acids, amino acids, vitamin D and beneficial proteins. Also similarly to other Gully Road treats, utilising shark skin forms an important part of our nose to tail philosophy – utilising those parts of animals that are not used for human consumption to help eliminate waste.
Other delicious and nutrient-rich recommended long lasting dog treats include;
- Weenie Peenies (no prizes for guessing that these are)
- Beef Dongas (beef tracheas)
- Gully Road RAW grass-fed beef bones
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