Chew toys are toys designed to be chewed on by animals for stimulation and boredom relief. Gnawing on a chew toy can be soothing to an animal, as well as stimulating. In young animals, such as puppies, chew toys can help relieve pain associated with teething. There are several types of chew toys, made from materials including rawhide,

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...

, and

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ( ...

. Chew toys are commonly known as toys for

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

s. However,

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

s, and

rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

s can also use them as well. In addition to providing entertainment, chew toys can help an animal work out anxiety, distract animals from chewing on other "forbidden" items, and assist in maintaining healthy teeth and gums. A similar toy called a

teether A teether, teething toy, or chew toy is a device given to teething infants. Most modern teethers are silicone, but can also be made of wood or rubber. Some teethers are filled with a fluid or gel that can be frozen or refrigerated. They differ fr ...

is given to human children to help soothe inflamed gums during

teething Teething is the process by which an infant's first teeth (the deciduous teeth, often called "baby teeth" or "milk teeth") appear by emerging through the gums, typically arriving in pairs. The mandibular central incisors are the first primary te ...

Rawhide

Rawhide chew toys are most often associated with

s, though rawhide is suitable for all animals except

herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...

s, as it is made of animal skin. For example,

s cannot have rawhide toys because their digestive systems cannot process them. Rawhide chew toys are rather sturdy and can take weeks or even months for a small animal or bird to destroy. Examples of rawhide chew toys are twists and rawhide bones. 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.

Wooden

Wooden Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin tha ...

chew toys are made of 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 a small animal would find in the wild. They are often recommended if the owner has no knowledge of the trees and shrubs growing in the area. They are generally used by rabbits and small rodents. Wooden chew toys help to keep teeth trimmed down, preventing eating difficulties in pets and reducing the need for trips to a vet for teeth clipping. An example of a wooden chew toy is the commercial product toy ropes.

Cheese Dog Chew

Cheese Dog Chews
or Chhurpi, are made from yak milk, cow milk, lime, and salt. These chews are recommended to those dog parents who want their dogs to chew on toys that are not made from artificial materials like rubber or plastic. These are usually available in stick form or as puffed-up treats. These edible chews tend to be hard and dogs often take a long time to finish these.

Paper

Paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...

chew toys are made of non-bleached, non-toxic paper. They are inexpensive or often freely available. One common paper chew toy is an empty

toilet paper Toilet paper (sometimes called toilet tissue or bathroom tissue) is a tissue paper product primarily used to clean the anus and surrounding anal region of feces after defecation, and to clean the perineal area and external genitalia of u ...

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 A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

pages, old spineless books, and the commercial product ''Chubes'' are other commonly used paper chew toys.

Mineral

Mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ( ...

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 like bowls with fluffy minerals inside. A common mineral chew toy is the

cuttlebone Cuttlebone, also known as cuttlefish bone, is a hard, brittle internal structure (an internal shell) found in all members of the family Sepiidae, commonly known as cuttlefish, within the cephalopods. In other cephalopod families it is calle ...

, a toy for birds that helps to keep nails and beaks trimmed and healthy.

Rubber

There are a variety of

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

chew toys for dogs on the market that are molded into different shapes. Some are hollowed so that treats can be placed in them. This way, the dog has to "work" to get rewarded with a treat. A criticism of rubber chew toys is that some of these chew toys are not hygienic and harbor harmful bacteria.

References

{{Reflist Pet equipment Toys