Chew toy
Encyclopedia
A chew toy is a toy
designed to be chewed by animals for purposes of stimulation and relief from boredom . There are several different types of chew toys, including rawhide, wood
, paper
and mineral
. Chew toys are commonly associated with puppies and dogs, though they are also used for birds, rodents, and rabbits.
Chew toys are a vital part of happy, healthy animal's life. In addition to providing hours of entertainment, they also allow the animal to work out anxiety and boredom by being occupied with chewing a toy. Chew toys also distract small animals from chewing on other "forbidden" items, and they assist in maintaining healthy teeth.
chew toys are made of a safe, non-poisonous, softer wood and are often coated in bright, vegetable-based dyes or paints. Wooden chew toys are given in place of the wood that small animals would find in the wild. They are a safe alternative for a small animal owner to purchase, as most young bark/branches found in nature are lethal to small pets. They are generally used as either small rodents toys or rabbit toys. Wooden chew toys help to keep teeth trimmed down, preventing eating difficulties in pets and unnecessary trips to a vet for teeth clipping. An example of a wooden chew toy is the commercial product toy ropes
chew toys are made of non bleached non-toxic paper. They are an inexpensive, or often free, option for small pet owners and can provide hours of stimulation and play for small animals. One common paper chew toy is an empty toilet paper
tube. These can double as tunnels for very small rodents, and can also be used as modified piñatas for larger small animals. Wadded up newspaper
pages, old spineless books, and the commercial product Chubes are other commonly used paper chew toys.
chew toys are made of flavored animal-safe minerals. These range from flavored fruit-shaped blocks for birds to ice-cream cone shaped mineral treats for rabbits. They also come shaped as bowls with fluffy minerals inside. A common mineral chew toy is the cuttlebone
, a necessity in any bird's cage that helps to keep nails and beaks trimmed and healthy.
chew toys for dogs on the market that are molded into different shapes. Some of them are hollowed so that treats can be placed in them. This way, the dog has to "work" to get a treat. Rubber is a good chew toy for dogs but is unhealthy for small animals
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
designed to be chewed by animals for purposes of stimulation and relief from boredom . There are several different types of chew toys, including rawhide, wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
, paper
Paper
Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
and mineral
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
. Chew toys are commonly associated with puppies and dogs, though they are also used for birds, rodents, and rabbits.
Chew toys are a vital part of happy, healthy animal's life. In addition to providing hours of entertainment, they also allow the animal to work out anxiety and boredom by being occupied with chewing a toy. Chew toys also distract small animals from chewing on other "forbidden" items, and they assist in maintaining healthy teeth.
Rawhide
Rawhide chew toys are most often associated with puppies and dogs, though rawhide toys are plentiful in the bird toy section of most pet stores. Rawhide is suitable for all animals except herbivores, as it is made of animal skin. Rabbits, which only eat vegetation, cannot have rawhide toys because their digestive systems cannot process them. This is a rather sturdy kind of chew toy and it can take months for a small animal or bird to destroy. Examples of rawhide chew toys are twists and rawhide bones. Compressed rawhide can dangerously splinter when dry as well as break off in large pieces that may be ingested, and thus are generally not recommended for large breeds of dogs. Chew toys made of leather are not recommended for dogs as they cannot be properly digested in the stomach and may cause blockage in the intestines.Wood
WoodWood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
chew toys are made of a safe, non-poisonous, softer wood and are often coated in bright, vegetable-based dyes or paints. Wooden chew toys are given in place of the wood that small animals would find in the wild. They are a safe alternative for a small animal owner to purchase, as most young bark/branches found in nature are lethal to small pets. They are generally used as either small rodents toys or rabbit toys. Wooden chew toys help to keep teeth trimmed down, preventing eating difficulties in pets and unnecessary trips to a vet for teeth clipping. An example of a wooden chew toy is the commercial product toy ropes
Paper
PaperPaper
Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
chew toys are made of non bleached non-toxic paper. They are an inexpensive, or often free, option for small pet owners and can provide hours of stimulation and play for small animals. One common paper chew toy is an empty toilet paper
Toilet paper
Toilet paper is a soft paper product used to maintain personal hygiene after human defecation or urination. However, it can also be used for other purposes such as blowing one's nose when one has a cold or absorbing common spills around the house, although paper towels are more used for the latter...
tube. These can double as tunnels for very small rodents, and can also be used as modified piñatas for larger small animals. Wadded up newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
pages, old spineless books, and the commercial product Chubes are other commonly used paper chew toys.
Mineral
MineralMineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
chew toys are made of flavored animal-safe minerals. These range from flavored fruit-shaped blocks for birds to ice-cream cone shaped mineral treats for rabbits. They also come shaped as bowls with fluffy minerals inside. A common mineral chew toy is the cuttlebone
Cuttlebone
Cuttlebone, also known as cuttlefish bone, is a hard, brittle internal structure found in all members of the family Sepiidae, commonly known as cuttlefish....
, a necessity in any bird's cage that helps to keep nails and beaks trimmed and healthy.
Rubber
There is a variety of rubberRubber
Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
chew toys for dogs on the market that are molded into different shapes. Some of them are hollowed so that treats can be placed in them. This way, the dog has to "work" to get a treat. Rubber is a good chew toy for dogs but is unhealthy for small animals