30/03/2026
Janet's Mentoring Monday:
A question I'm frequently asked: "How do I stop my dog from chewing?" All dogs need things to chew, especially puppies who want to gnaw on our hands. For our own preservation, we need to teach them early to choose other things. We try to help handlers identify appropriate chews for each dog so they can be redirected. For strong chewers, avoid anything with stuffing, fabric, or squeakers that they could tear up and swallow. I've found black Kongs work well, but even those can be torn into small pieces by some dogs. Nylabones are great and come in lots of sizes; if they get sharp points on them, they can be filed or sanded smooth. Another favorite in our house is natural-shed elk antler. (I don't like deer antlers because my dogs splintered them into sharp, glasslike shards.) But elk stays smooth and lasts a long time. Yak cheese is another chewy all my dogs have loved, though some say their pups weren't interested. It's a hard, pure cheese made from yak milk. Today, I successfully took a small leftover piece I'd normally toss as a choking hazard and turned it into a cheese puff. I soaked it in water for 5 minutes, then microwaved it until it expanded to about 3 times its original size, and then put it in the freezer to cool. Jenny was confused at first, but she loved crunching it. Plus, zero waste: win-win!
