Categories: Resources

Does Your Dog Swallow Dog Chews Whole?

Dogs love to chew; they need to chew. However, some dogs get so excited chewing high value dog chews, such as bully sticks, that they swallow an entire bully stick whole. If you’ve ever had this happen before,

it’s a scary situation. Some dogs choke, gasp, throw up the chew, or need surgery to remove the dog chew. If this happened to you or it’s a concern, check out this tip.

Choose The Correct Size

Of course, choosing the correct size dog chew is important. For small dogs (under 20 pounds), choose a bully stick or “chewie” under 6-8 inches. With medium and large dogs, choose bully sticks 8 inches and longer. To maximum your dog’s chewing time, choose chewies that are thicker (larger circumference) or braided bully sticks.

Get Out The Vice Grips!

Yes, you read that correctly. Grab a pair of vice grips and place it in the middle of the chewie. By placing it in the middle of the dog chew, it prevents the dog from swallowing the entire chew. Once in place, lock the vice grip into place. While it looks a bit odd, give the chew and locked vice grip to your dog, and let them chew away. Most dogs will use the locked vice grip as a handle, and will happily chew each side of the chewie. When done, there’s a half inch of the dog chew left inside of the vice grip, which you should throw out (this prevents the dog from choking on the remaining piece).

A Few Suggestions

Obviously, you should always supervise your dog when he or she is chewing on a bully stick or other dog chews, to ensure they don’t choke on a large piece that was chewed off.

Personally, I’ve found smaller vice grips work better because larger versions, when given to larger dogs, can easily unlock the vice grip, which causes it to let go of the chew.
When your dog is done, say “Trade” to retrieve the remaining dog chew and throw out the small remnant sitting between the vice grips jaws.
If the visual of a vice grip dangling from your dog’s chew is alarming, there are devices that work the same way, however can cost over $20. As for effectiveness of these devices, it’s unsure so check reviews carefully.
If your dog tries to chew the metal vice grip, discontinue using it and try other devices that work the same way, however are safe to chew on.
Be careful of using vice grips around hard wood floors, this hard metal can cause some damage some flooring. It’s best to provide carpet or a rug for the dog to chew when using a vice grip. Or, the dog can enjoy inside his crate.