Chewing is one of the most beneficial natural behaviors for dogs, supporting dental health, jaw strength, and mental well-being. But the benefits depend heavily on what your dog chews. The wrong material can crack teeth, cause choking, or lead to intestinal blockages. Here’s what you need to know to make chewing work for your dog safely.
How Chewing Cleans Your Dog’s Teeth
The mechanical scraping action of chewing is one of the most effective ways to reduce plaque buildup on a dog’s teeth. As your dog gnaws on a chew, the surface friction removes the sticky film of bacteria that forms along the gumline. Left unchecked, that plaque hardens into tartar within days, eventually leading to gum disease and tooth loss. Regular chewing disrupts this cycle before it starts.
Not all chews clean equally well. The texture and firmness of a chew determine how much contact it makes with the tooth surface. Chews that are too hard don’t flex around the tooth. Chews that are too soft compress without scraping. The sweet spot is a material firm enough to maintain contact but yielding enough to conform to the tooth’s shape as the dog bites down. If you want a reliable benchmark, look for chews carrying the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) seal. Products earn this seal only after two independent clinical trials demonstrate they reduce plaque or tartar accumulation, with safety checks for gum inflammation, oral tissue damage, and toxicity built into the testing process.
Jaw Strength and Physical Development
Chewing is a workout for your dog’s head and jaw. Dogs chew in a scissor-like motion, closing the jaw vertically without the side-to-side grinding that humans use. This engages the large muscles along the sides and top of the skull, particularly the powerful muscles responsible for bite force. Regular chewing keeps these muscles strong and functional throughout your dog’s life.
For puppies, chewing is even more important from a developmental standpoint. When baby teeth erupt and a puppy starts chewing, the sensory feedback from the mouth triggers the brain’s chewing center to mature. The jaw bones and the ligaments anchoring each tooth strengthen in response to the forces generated during chewing, much like how bones throughout the body strengthen under load during exercise. Early, regular chewing essentially trains the whole system for adult function. When dogs lose this ability later in life, often due to gum disease or joint pain in the jaw, their bite force and overall chewing ability decline significantly.
Mental Health and Stress Relief
Chewing isn’t just physical. It’s one of the primary ways dogs self-soothe. The repetitive motion of gnawing releases feel-good neurochemicals that help dogs manage boredom, anxiety, and excess energy. Dogs that don’t have appropriate chewing outlets often redirect that drive toward furniture, shoes, or other household items. Providing dedicated chew time is one of the simplest ways to reduce destructive behavior, particularly in young dogs or breeds with high energy levels.
The Real Risk: Fractured Teeth
The biggest danger of chewing comes from materials that are too hard. A dog’s upper fourth premolar, the large shearing tooth toward the back of the mouth, fractures at an average force of about 1,281 newtons. That sounds like a lot, but dogs generate tremendous bite pressure, and any rigid object that doesn’t yield under that force puts teeth at risk. Antlers, dried bones, hard nylon chews, and ice cubes are common culprits.
A practical test veterinary dentists often recommend: press the chew against your kneecap. If it doesn’t give at all, it’s too hard for your dog’s teeth. A fractured tooth is painful and almost always requires extraction under anesthesia, so this is worth taking seriously. Cooked bones are especially dangerous because they become brittle and splinter into sharp shards that can puncture the mouth, throat, or intestines. Raw bones are somewhat safer in terms of splintering but still hard enough to crack teeth.
Choking and Intestinal Blockages
The second major risk is your dog swallowing large pieces of a chew. Non-digestible or poorly digestible materials, including chunks of rawhide, rubber fragments from toys, or pieces of bone, can lodge in the esophagus, stomach, or intestines. Signs of an obstruction include vomiting, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, diarrhea, dehydration, and lethargy. These symptoms can develop hours to days after ingestion depending on where the object gets stuck and how completely it blocks the digestive tract. An obstruction typically requires surgical removal.
To reduce this risk, always choose a chew size appropriate for your dog. If a chew has been gnawed down to a piece small enough to swallow whole, take it away. Supervise chewing sessions, especially with a new product you haven’t tested before.
Watch the Calories
Edible chews add up faster than most owners realize. A standard six-inch bully stick contains roughly 90 calories on average, though individual sticks can range from 54 to 132 calories depending on thickness. For a 50-pound dog, one bully stick represents about 9% of daily calorie needs. For a 10-pound dog, that same chew accounts for nearly 30% of their daily calories. If your dog gets a chew every day, you need to reduce their regular food accordingly or you’ll see weight gain over time.
Puppy Teething and Chew Choices
Puppies begin teething around 12 to 16 weeks of age, when baby teeth start falling out and adult teeth push through. This process is uncomfortable, and puppies chew constantly to relieve the pressure. Teething-specific toys, like rubber rings or textured chew toys designed for puppies, give them a safe outlet. Freezing a rubber chew toy can add a soothing cooling effect on sore gums.
Avoid rope toys and tug-style toys during the teething phase. The pulling force can damage loose baby teeth or emerging adult teeth. Dental chew treats sized for puppies are another option, but check the packaging for age and weight guidelines since many popular chews are formulated for adult dogs.
Choosing the Right Chew
The ideal chew has three qualities: it’s firm enough to provide a satisfying gnawing experience and clean teeth, soft enough to yield under bite pressure without cracking teeth, and large enough that your dog can’t swallow it whole. Here’s how common options stack up:
- Rubber chew toys (Kong-style): Durable, tooth-safe, and available in puppy, adult, and heavy-chewer versions. Can be stuffed with food for added mental stimulation.
- Dental chews (VOHC-approved): Designed to maximize plaque removal. Look for the VOHC seal on the packaging for verified effectiveness.
- Bully sticks: Highly palatable and digestible, but calorie-dense. Best used as an occasional treat rather than a daily staple.
- Rawhide: Effective for long chewing sessions but can swell in the stomach and cause blockages if large pieces are swallowed. Requires close supervision.
- Antlers, bones, and hard nylon: Too rigid for most dogs. These are the most common cause of fractured teeth.
Rotating between a few safe options keeps your dog interested while covering different benefits. A rubber toy for daily use, a dental chew a few times a week, and an occasional edible treat gives your dog variety without overdoing calories or risk.