5 Best Chew Bones for Mastiffs
We've Narrowed A Crowded Field To These Top 5

by Ken Alden

Chew bones are enjoyed by all dogs, including Mastiffs. However, as Mastiffs are larger animals, you need to make sure the chew bones you’re buying are appropriate for your dog’s size. 

Here are the Top 5 Best Chew Bones for Mastiffs:

• Petstages Chick-a-Bone Dog Chew Toy
• PetQwerks Dinosaur BarkBone Chew Toy
• ValueBull Bully Stick
• Pawstruck Monster Braided Bully Stick
• DreamBone Grill Masters Ribs

But before you decide on a bone to buy, you need to take a few factors into account to make sure the bones you’re buying are the right fit for your dog. For example, there are disadvantages to using natural rawhides and hard bones such as femur bones. To learn about these factors, as well as some other important topics regarding Mastiff chew bone selection, read on... 

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Why Do Mastiffs Chew On Bones?

Dogs evolved from wolves, and as such, some of their characteristics stem from their ancestors’ wild lifestyle. These qualities are especially apparent with larger dog breeds, which are typically more powerful and more aggressive than your average poodle. 

Chewing bones provide dogs with a host of benefits from avoiding boredom to meeting their nutritional requirements. While puppies and young dogs typically exhibit chewing behavior as they start to teeth, older mature dogs also need to be given bones to chew on since chewing bones helps them maintain their teeth. Bones are also  rich in calcium and other micronutrients, which are essential to the growth and development of the canine body.

Although all dog food sold these days will fulfill your Mastiff’s nutritional needs, a bone to chew on gives your Mastiff a fun way to spend their time, and it also provides adequate support to your canine’s dental health. 

Bones also serve other utilities. Dogs, much like humans, are easily bored. A bored Mastiff can easily turn a house upside down and make your life miserable if not taken care of. And as they’re a large and smart breed, they require frequent bouts of exercise and decent mental stimulation as well. Chewing on bones provides this mental stimulation so that you can keep your dog away from boredom with minimal effort.

Chewing on bones also lets your dog keep his teeth sharp and healthy. In fact, studies have found that chewing on chew bones contributed to better dental health for canines and lesser visits to the vet for the same. In fact, dogs that chew on bones tend to require lesser dental workups and plaque removal visits than others. 

The fibers that are released when a dog chews on a chew bone cleans and removes dirt and other debris from your dog’s teeth, similar to how humans use a toothbrush. The stimulation from chewing on a hard bone also promotes healthy gums. Dog teeth are also naturally sharpened when they chew on a hard bone because of its abrasive and hard nature.

In addition to this, active teething dogs naturally find and chew on hard structures to clean their teeth and get rid of boredom. You wouldn’t want your mastiff to chew on your boots or those fancy coffee table legs, would you now?

So, to summarize, dogs like to chew things because:

• It keeps their teeth clean and healthy
• It provides a natural way to promote gum health
• It relieves them of their boredom
• It helps them get essential nutrients and minerals such as calcium
  
  

Qualities That The Best Chew Bones For Mastiffs Have...

Broadly speaking, the ideal chew bone for any dog depends on the dog’s age and size.

Whatever you do, you should always get a chew bone that is larger than the dog’s muzzle so that they don’t swallow it accidentally. In the case of a Mastiff, since they’re a large breed, you should look for chew bones that are labeled large or XL while shopping. 

Depending on your dog’s age, you can feed them different types of bones ranging from soft poultry-based bones to hard leg bones and even antlers if they get through bones too fast. Young teething puppies do better with softer and smaller bones and flexible chews such as chicken thighs & bully sticks, whereas large adults can be given pork and beef shoulder or leg bones.

Manufacturers also add other nutrients and minerals in their chew bones so as to provide a healthy supplement to your dog. So, when choosing a chew bone, you should also look at the levels of these nutrients in the product before making a purchase decision. 

This is essential because these bones are meant to complement an otherwise healthy diet that should be customized to your dog’s nutritional needs. Chew bones should not be seen as stand-alone meals; rather, they should be regarded as an after-meal treat.

Choosing A Mastiff Chew Bone

Like most things in doggy care, you need to choose a chew bone that satisfies your dog’s requirements. Your Mastiff puppy won’t be able to take much away from a bone if he can barely wrap his mouth around it. Similarly, since chew bones come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and tastes, it might take some trial and error before you ultimately find the best option for your dog. 

As mentioned above, you should always buy a chew bone that is larger than your mastiff’s muzzle to prevent the accidental ingestion of the whole thing. You should also look for something that comes in the shape and texture that your dog would appreciate.

Chew bones usually won’t last for long unless they are hard bones such as those from beef or venison. You might need to refrigerate these harder bones when your dog isn’t chewing on it.  If you don’t, it will likely need to be thrown away after 2-3 days to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria and fungi on the bone. You also want to make sure that your dog doesn’t go overboard with chewing.

Bones made out of inedible material such as nylon also exist in the market. These are primarily sold as products to improve your dog’s dental health and might come with flavorings and textures similar to actual animal bone. 

However, being inedible, accidental ingestion of such chew bones can cause trouble. Nylabone’s product disclaimer even goes as far as to say that if your dog eats large pieces of the product, they should be rushed to a vet. Such chew bones, however, are beneficial when properly used, as they aid better dental health for gnawing dogs.

As a general rule of thumb, if you’re giving your dog a chew bone, make sure it’s not too dry or cooked. Dried or cooked bones tend to be brittle. If ingested, they tend to lodge themselves in the dog’s intestines and can potentially cause perforations (tearing up of intestinal walls). 

It is also suggested that bones be given after your dog has had a meal so that they don’t chew as aggressively. Keeping the chew time to around 15 minutes or less can also lead to a reduced likelihood of injuries.

Risks With Chew Bones

Experienced veterinarians would advise a cautious approach to feeding your Mastiff bones. This is a double-edged sword, though, as the benefits associated with giving your dogs chew bones also come with certain risks.

Rawhide

Rawhide chew toys are generally a cheap and effective alternative to animal bones or protein for gnawing dogs. However, you’ll need to make sure that the rawhides you buy do not contain any poisonous ingredients in them, such as heavy metals or artificial colors. Rawhides are actually a by-product of the leather industry, hence watching out for common toxic substances used in a tannery is a good idea.

Hard bones

Hard bones such as femurs from cattle also tend to be quite tough to chew and should never be fed to dogs that haven’t reached maturity nor to older dogs with dental problems. Even for young adults, the feeding of such bones should be strictly monitored so as to make sure that your mastiff doesn’t accidentally ingest any fragments. Such ingested fragments can get lodged in their intestines requiring surgery to undo the damage. 

Soft bones

Softer bones from poultry, for instance, like chicken wings and thighs, also present a risk in that once they dry out, they become too brittle and break into shards or splinters. A piece of sharp bone that makes its way to a dog’s digestive tract can wreak havoc, leading to cases requiring emergency surgery due to the perforation of the intestines even.

Fatty bones such as pork ribs should also be avoided as much as possible since dogs don’t deal with saturated fats well. Excess fat in their diets can cause pancreatitis, which might prove to be fatal as well.

The Best Mastiff Chew Bones You Can Buy

Keeping the above in mind, it can get pretty confusing to choose the right product for your dog. With so many brands and products to keep track of, getting the best for your pet is again a big hurdle. However, we have put in the extra effort to list down the best options you can get without wasting much time on researching them yourself.

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Conclusion...

Giving your dog a chew bone is, without a doubt, the easiest way to better their dental hygiene and provide valuable mental and physical stimulation in the process. Similar to how dogs come in different shapes and sizes, chew bones also come in different varieties, each with their own USP.

While there are safer as well as potentially more dangerous alternatives to natural animal bones, every one of them will require the dog owner’s supervision to a point as any experienced veterinarian will tell you.

Choosing a chew bone has everything to do with how your dog might handle it. An educated purchase hence needs to take into account everything from the dog’s age to how aggressive they chew normally. Preferences in terms of the kind of tastes your dog likes also play a factor as some dogs might not even touch bones with flavors they don’t like.

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I’m Ken Alden. This website
is a labor of love from years of research and personal experiences with Mastiffs.

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