What kind of you get, Jojoco? We have a deer antler that isn't split and an elk antler that is-- he never chews the deer and he only chewed the elk on occasion.

We have Goldens, too. Show, train, breed, etc. We have friends who sell Red Barn treats at the dog shows (great places to shop!) and I get the large size filled bones by the case. (And my dogs are powerful chewers, so I make sure I get bones with the thickest side walls at the ends.) When the bones are empty, I can put some peanut butter way down inside, and that's good for hours of entertainment all over again.

Red Barn filled bones

Come on over to Oklahoma where my dog's will gladly share true rawhide from a cow! My dh takes them on a morning walk in the fields and the other day one of them brought back a huge piece of hide, hair and all. They chew on it constantly. Then they get a milkbone when they come inside. ;)

Also, and you may be able to get this from a butcher, but the dogs bring back large chunks of bone that have been in the sun for a long time.

FTR, we don't farm, but live next to a couple of them, and a cow or two may die once a year and they're left out in the field.

Seriously, call a grocery store that cuts their own meat and ask if they have any discarded bones. The thick bones don't splinter. The dogs really like the joints, I think there's flavor left in them. lol

Sushipup, I looked at Red Barn and in the link below shows exactly what my dog's chew on. I haven't checked to see if Anele can buy just a couple of them because a case is very pricey. Anele, these are the bones that a butcher may have.

Beef Bones

Check the local pet shops for Red Barn products, I think they widely available. Those of us with multiple dogs get the case, and I also give them to friends who have dogs. Talk about an easy gift! I like Red Barn because they are American processed and great quality. I don't want foreign treats!

I give my pigs feet (which are edible) as a treat. Even though my dogs are raw fed and eat bone a lot, it takes them a LONG time to eat the pigs feet (over a hour).

If you know any hunters, the deer bones after they butcher the deer are excellent. My dogs will spend hours stripping them clean to get any lingering hint of the raw deer meat off (and they can't chew through the bones so they just strip them clean, which does an excellent job cleaning the dog's teeth) I also used to go to a deer processor near where I lived and he's let me take the bone pieces they didn't need after the processing.

No suggestions, but a warning of what happened to us. We had a shepherd/husky mix back in the day who demolished chew toys with regularity. So one day I brought home a 3' long chew bone....I said, this ought to last her. She grabbed the bone on one end, picked it up swung it around and crash onto the glass-topped coffee table! Fortunately, the table didn't break, but it scared the daylights out of us. No more 3' long chew toys!

you can get big marrow bones in the grocery store meat section or the frozen case... dogs love them! the only thing is my vet said he will occasionally see a dog who is a very aggressive chewer chip or crack a tooth on any very hard bone...

Goldens are known to be power-chewers, so be sure to get the thickest bone wall on the marrow bones. I rejected the thiner ones, knowing that the dogs would chip off pieces and possibly hurt themselves if chunks were ingested.

Our dog is gone but she was a big girl and chewed with gusto. We used to get the beef marrow bones at the supermarket and put them in the freezer. One would last close to an hour and then she would still be drawn to it. She loved the pig ears but she inhaled those.

Our local organic dog food place has cow femurs. Sort of gross-definitely for outside only-but our dogs like those a lot and they last for a very long time.

I've got a lab mix and one we believe is a border collie/Golden mix. I got the lab near the time the book "Marley and Me" came out -- adn I read it just after we got her or I might not have done it. LOL I was determined to keep her busy with things she wouldn't get into trouble with. I may have gone a little overboard, but we didn't have any shoe, furniture or other problems.

As pups, I gave them chew, but I didn't expect them to last. I'd buy rawhide sticks that were 6-8" long and know that they would go through them. I still give them to them at times, and often when I am leaving for a while so they have something busy rather than just watching me leave.

I would try to vary things -- chews, the kong with treats to keep them thinking and working at something, squeaky toys -- or the quieter ones that crinkle or have a high pitch sound humans don't hear as much as they do. GIve them several different kind things to be entertained.

Antlers.

Sushipup1, I think we emailed each other when I first got my puppy-- when you looked at his pedigree, you said he was related to one of your dogs! Thank you for the Red Barn link. I have seen those at the store and wondered how long it would take my dog to work through them, as he makes fast work for PB and other goodies in a Kong unless frozen. Do you freeze yours?

We have bought the marrow bones empty and filled them ourselves, but he never chews on the actual marrow and just gets the filling-- then he is done!

Oakley, I started to look online to see if I could find someone who sells real rawhide. So interesting-- I never knew about that! That would be ideal. I haven't found a source yet but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist! I keep wondering about bones from the butcher-- that since the ones from the store (made in USA) make him sick, would they also be too rich?

BeaglesDIB, where do you get the pig feet? Are there various forms of them in the way they are sold? (As in, frozen?)

Annie, oh no! That is both sort of funny and scary! Must have been cute to see your dog with such a big chew-- only an unexpected ending!

Sheila, I will try those out! Do I just ask for "marrow bones"?

Cyn-- very interesting! Are those a specialty item? Do you only let them chew for so long and then take them away?

Lascatx, if they weren't so $$, I would not expect them to last, either! But at $6 a day I'd be spending close to $200 on chews alone! He could easily eat a bully a day. We used to give our dogs rawhide all the time and they were fine-- but now the Internet has scared me into avoiding them for my current dog. He does have a big variety of toys but he is mostly interested in doing surgery on the stuffed ones and has not too much interest in the other ones unless we are actually playing or training. I am teaching how to retrieve a toy and then drop it in his toy box. I am hoping he will be the one animal in this house to clean up after himself! The small humans aren't doing so great with that with their things!

Tibbrix-- I'm still experimenting with those. He never touches the deer antler that isn't split and liked the elk one more that WAS split-- though he didn't chew it too much . . .and it was $25!

4Heidedesign, I looked up the toy and found it was a Nylabone chew. I haven't yet tried Nylabone for him but I will.

Thank you everyone!

With the big beef bones (femurs or whatever they are) you can ask the butcher to slice in half lengthwise. Though I wonder if a nice rounded bone (unsliced) would feel better on the gums and teeth.

Our dogs like a bit of freshly trimmed hoof, usually standing right under the horse who is donating it, and breathing into the farriers face.

No antlers here, unfortunately. Dead kangaroos are well thought of though.

Er... why is this in home decorating?

Anele, the femur bones are usually a Christmas treat here, but the store has them year-round I am not sure where the owner gets them, although there is a local old-fashioned butcher shop nearby, so maybe... I let them have them until they are either gone or too dirty to eat (we start on the deck, but they don't stay there). Our mama dog tends to dispatch them more quickly than her son, but they last almost a month usually. It is funny to watch our two and our son's dog all lying out there gnawing away. The biggest problem is when they decide to bring them inside with them! I am not sure they believe it is fair that we eat our treats in here and they can't. :-)

Tete, that is a good idea about the slicing! I have heard that kangaroo meat is great for dogs as they are typically not allergic to it. As for it re: home decorating- this is the conversation side where we can talk about anything. Many of us have been here for years!

Cyn, your description is too funny! There is a local butcher that I can visit and maybe he or she will have ideas. Maybe this is something that should only be a treat when the weather is OK as I certainly don't want it inside!

When she was younger, I tried giving our dog raw hide chews, bully sticks and pigs feet until our vet warned me against it. I was told that they can cause all sorts of problems like broken teeth, bacteria and even intestinal blockages. Items made in China have been of great concern as well. She suggested antlers as an alternative but our dog didn't have an interest. Fortunately, other than gnawing on her chuck it ball, she's not much of a chewer. I think I read somewhere too that Red Barn has experienced recalls on some of their products. I would urge you to do a little research before giving your dog any of the chews available.

anele, not nearly as funny as watching the mongrel horde. They are complete idiots sometimes.

I give my dogs soup/marrow bones from the supermarket. They also like antlers and those have lasted the longest. A caution for nylabones...my dog chewed into the material causing sharp ridges which cut her gums - I only noticed once there was blood all over.

anele_gw, we get our pigs feet from local butchers or the local farmer's market. They are "human food," not specifically for dogs. We do not feed our dogs ANY treats/food other than food intended for people b/c I prefer the higher standards applied to human food.

Pigs feet are not as hard as bone (unless you feed them frozen) so I think you'd have less risk of tooth breakage than you would w/ other stuff like marrow bones. My dogs digest the pigs feet perfectly w/ no problems (caveat- my dog's are raw fed and only eat meat... but I don't think that would make a difference)

Have you tried a water buffalo horn? You can get them at Petco for $6. My dog never made a dent in them and they don't splinter off into pieces.