BUYING GUIDE · DOG DEALS
How to Pick Safe Dog Chews and Treats
Hard vs soft, digestibility, and what we have stopped buying.
April 19, 2026 · 4 MIN READ
Hard vs soft, digestibility, and what we have stopped buying.
A chew that is too small is a choking hazard. The guideline: it should be larger than the width of your dog's mouth — large enough that they cannot get it entirely behind their molars. When a chew gets small enough to swallow whole, take it away.
This is especially important with larger dogs. A Labrador can swallow something a Beagle chews for twenty minutes. Match the chew to the dog's size, not to the general "large breed" label.
Hard chews (bully sticks, raw bones, antlers, hard nylons) are better for dental hygiene through mechanical abrasion. The "thumbnail test" applies: if you cannot press a dent into the surface with your thumbnail, it is too hard. Antlers and hard nylons are implicated in slab fractures of the carnassial teeth (upper fourth premolar). We have stopped recommending them.
Soft chews are easier on teeth but often higher in sugar and starch for palatability. Read the ingredients the same way you would for food. Some "dental" soft chews contain more glucose syrup than anything useful.
Rawhide is made from the inner layer of cow or horse hides. The processing — often involving bleach-based or formaldehyde-adjacent preservatives — is the primary concern, along with the risk of large pieces breaking off and causing GI obstruction. Country of origin matters significantly: rawhide from some manufacturers has tested positive for trace heavy metals. If you use rawhide, buy US or EU-sourced, pressed (not rolled), and supervise.
Better alternatives: bully sticks (digestible, single-ingredient), collagen chews (low-odor, slow to break down), and tendons or trachea (natural, digestible, softer texture). These cover most of what rawhide provides without the sourcing concerns.
Treats are often the junk food of the dog nutrition world — the ingredients list would embarrass a decent kibble maker. The main concerns: sugar and corn syrup, artificial colors, and vague protein sources ("meat by-products"). Single-ingredient treats — dried chicken breast, freeze-dried liver, dehydrated sweet potato — are almost always the cleanest option.
Treats should be less than 10% of daily caloric intake. At 125 pounds, Bodhan can handle more than a Chihuahua, but even large-dog treats add up fast if you are training multiple sessions per day. Use small pieces and count them as part of the daily diet, not an addition to it.