A dog and their bone. It’s a love story as old as time. Dogs love to chew on things. Usually, it’s bones or chew toys that we buy them, sometimes it’s household items like pillows or shoes. But for the most part, we try to steer them towards bones because it’s so much better for them than our sneakers. But there are plenty of benefits for chewing on bones, as well as plenty of reasons why dogs like to chew on bones.
Some of the benefits can be nutritional value as some bones have high-calorie bone marrow in them. As the dogs scrape away at the bones in order to try to get the marrow, the dogs are inadvertently getting their intake of calcium as they wear down the bone. It is also well-known that dogs will often chew things when they’re puppies. Chewing on bones is a way for puppies to relieve some of the pain of teething. But as they get older, the dogs chewing on bones can actually be beneficial for their dental health. It’s a way for them to remove plaque from their teeth.
But sometimes our dogs will turn to chewing because they are bored or anxious. If you’ve changed homes or something else in their environment has changed, they could chew as a coping mechanism. If it’s stress-related then it’s a good idea to remove any stressors or make sure that they get the mental stimulation that could be causing them to want to chew more frequently. Excessive energy will also cause them to want to chew on things more as well, so adding to their walk time can be a good solution.
But sometimes dogs will chew bones simply because they like it. And that is perfectly fine. But as a rule of thumb, you should keep an eye on your dog while they enjoy a bone as they could run the risk of breaking the bones up into smaller bits that could get then get swallowed. And never allow them to chew bones like chicken bones, which can break and splinter and cause injury.
