One toy that has done well for Worthy (Standard Poodle is the blue mint-flavored ball from Planet Dog. You wouldn't want to throw it for a dog to catch, because it is a bit too heavy to hit teeth like that and also could impact the neck. But Worthy is very fond of these, and hasn't chewed one up yet.

He did chew up cotton knotted bones, so we had to sliminate them due to safety. He also chewed up a couple of smaller sized Planet Dog balls. Measure the ball to your dog's mouth and make sure it couldn't possibly go down the throat. This also changes the angle of the teeth and helps keep the dog from chewing it up.

Hard Nylabones work for him, too, but they must be the big ones. It is horrible when a dog swallows a Nylabone that was too small. And the tooth angle when chewing a larger bone is safer and less likely to break a tooth.

There are risks with everything you give a dog--SIGH! I didn't know Standard Poodles could be such heavy duty chewers, but Worthy has educated me.

You really want your dog to chew the right things, because dogs who do not chew will have a LOT more dental problems. Chewing helps set the teeth firmly into the bone and helps keep them clean. So our challengt is to find chew items that are safe for our particular dog at this particular time. They change as time passes, too! Oy!
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

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