Dog Bones

Whether you are a dog trainer hard at work at keeping a dog in line or a dog owner just looking to give your dog your appreciation, dog treats in the form of dog bones are one such positive reinforcement that you should consider. In fact, there is no better way to reinforce positive behavior in your dog than through the giving of treats such as dog bones.

What Is Dog Bone?
It is exactly what its name suggests. No, it’s not a bone from your dog. Rather it is a bone from some other animal that your dog can chew on.

There are many kinds of dog bone recipes available in the market. Most are fortified with vitamins and minerals, supposedly to help enhance your pet’s health. Others come in the form of dog bone candy which is used as a treat to “reward” a dog’s attentiveness during training.

Dog bones may be made of any kind of animal bone that a dog would normally eat. However, many veterinarians recommend dog bones that are hard and don’t easily splinter. In that regard, chicken dog bones are not advisable as they easily splinter and may injure a dog’s mouth or his digestive tract when he swallows.

On the other hand, dog bones taken from the femur, or the leg, are ideal. This is so because the femur is naturally dense, which prevents splintering, but at the same time of just the right size for your dog to easily handle.

Why Dog Bones?
Chewing comes naturally to your dog. This is true even if your dog is no longer a puppy. Puppies like to chew on things because they want to relieve the discomfort in their gums as a result of new teeth growing. An adult may want to chew on things for several other reasons.

There are many benefits that come with chewing dog bones. Between your shoe, your wallet or a bone commercially processed and fortified with vitamins, which would you rather have your dog chew on? Letting your dog have a bone to chew on not only prevents the destruction of expensive household items, it also teaches your dog at an early age what are the acceptable things to chew on.

Besides the two benefits mentioned above, chewing on dog bones can help enhance your dog’s health – specifically, his dental health. The act of chewing on hard bone can help remove tartar, plaque and promote the production of saliva that discourages the growth of bacteria in your dog’s mouth.

Moreover, having something to chew on can help relieve boredom, frustration and loneliness while you are away or unable to attend to your dog.

Dog bones are especially important in training a dog. Any dog trainer would tell you that positive reinforcement is an integral part of dog training. The giving of treats such as dog bones every time a dog gets an instruction right speeds up the learning process as the dog starts to identify the treats with doing a good job. Once the dog figures out that if he does it right, he can get “rewarded” he will continue to do what the trainer asks him to do.

Kinds Of Dog Bones
As already mentioned, there are many different kinds of dog bones available. Depending on how aggressive a chewer your dog is, there are dog bones that are made of nylon-based material, which is virtually indestructible. These bones will wear slowly without splintering. If you are worried that your dog might end up swallowing pieces of nylon, you need not trouble yourself. Nylon is plastic and harmless. It will simply pass through your dog’s digestive system and get eliminated in the stool.