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Chewing Plastic

Basenji Talk
  • J

    Joey loves to chew on plastic. He chews on plastic water bottles, plastic frisbees, etc. Does anyone let their B do this? Has anyone had problems with the plastic cutting their gums or damaging teeth? It takes a long time for him to get through these things and it is the first kind of "chewy" he goes for.

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  • MaxBooBooBearM

    Max loved chewing anything plastic–including ball point pens. Although I don't think he ever swallowed anything--some dogs do. I always tried to keep anything that was not intended to be chewed away from him (I wasn't always successful as you can see since I know he loved chewing pens....) because he could accidentally swallow something, and I do think it can cut the gums. The enamel on his teeth was pitted also, and I think that was from chewing on things that weren't meant to be chewed--so tartar built up on his teeth more quickly because the enamel was rough and pitted.

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  • jys1011J

    Chewing the plastic is not SO bad..but I would not let my B's do it for fear that they may wind up eating plastic :eek: and that can be dangerous. It can get wedged into their intestine & rupture. We had a terrible experience with this not too long ago.

    Basenji Mom of C3PO & TOPAZ

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  • B

    I agree with MaxB. All of mine would just love to chew plastic and do when they can. I don't think I've ever seen them swallow any of it, but I usually take anything like that away from them. I also notice they like to chew thorny or picky branches, looks yummy.:D

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  • jys1011J

    I also notice they like to chew thorny or picky branches, looks yummy.

    What is the deal with that?! Mine do too :eek: I hate that..I think they may swallow a piece & get a splinter in their tongue or something :eek: :D :D

    Basenji Mom of C3PO & TOPAZ

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  • J

    Bummer. I will take Joey's plastic away. (Sounds like a title to a song :D)
    I guess I knew it really wasn't the greatest, but it keeps him busy for a long time. I watch him and he always "seems" to spit out the pieces he breaks off, but I just don't want to have an accident. I am going to try an edible nylabone today and see how long that lasts. Haven't seem him go for the pricky branches yet.

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    Anyone have tips on how to get a Basenji to stop chewing?

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    Combs, pens yes, especially toothbrushes! I always thought they were bone alternatives. Plus combs and pens smell like us and the Bs know their not supposed to do that which is a bonus. I've never seen them go after water bottles or other random plastic. Now soft paper! Like paper towels etc. That is great fun. Plastic and paper is also great. Once Cody got down stairs when my brother and family were visiting. They had two boxes of Huggies down there. Cody was so quite for a while. We found him downstairs and my sister in law yelped "It's a huggies massacre!" He had neatly "shredded not chewed" the contents of both boxes.
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    What kind of chew toy?

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    @YodelDogs: Raw soup bones from the grocery store. I have the "butcher" cut them into 1 1/2 inch lengths so they are too large to crack open and small enough for the dog to get all the marrow out. After they have been licked and chewed up and are smelling "funky", I boil them which sterilizes them. They can then be kept "forever". Mine also lone the hard Nylabones, preferably the dinosaur shaped ones. The poor things get decapitated rather quickly though. :p Too funny! These two things, soup bones and dino bones, are the only things that my two B's LOVE! I would also add the Galileo bone made by Nylabones is super sturdy too. :)
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    Rawhide and chew toys???

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    B
    @tanza: Hoofs can also cause slab fractures of the teeth, so be careful… and there is nothing worse then getting up in the middle of the night and stepping on a well chewed hoof.... NOT I've stepped on one of those and danced around a little.:eek: