Product Review: Nylabones

Nylabones are synthetic non-edible chew bones, the company also makes edible bones. They come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.

Photo by Erin Koski

Ru loves Nylabones like nothing else. He is an avid recreational chewer, and spends a decent amount of time each day happily gnawing these things. We have the full range of sizes around the house, but Brisbane won't chew anything that isn't edible, and Josie was equally unenthused. Ru has claimed all the Nylabones for himself.

We probably have well over a dozen of these things around the house, because Ru just isn't happy with a single Nylabone. He needs to have a pile of at least three or four, so he can lay atop them like a dragon on his hoard before he begins gnawing. He also enjoys burying them between the couch cushions, and they end up all over the house so I need to replenish his supply frequently.

Ru's Nylabone collection includes some opaque Daily Dental Durable bones, a Durachew textured ring bone, several spiky Dental bones, many clear Flexichew bones, and a pink Durable wishbone that is probably his favorite. Our foster chihuahua, Candy, was a much more powerful chewer and gnawed the knobs off a few of the Nylabones, but Ru doesn't chew pieces off them so I'm letting him keep them. The Durachew Ring bone hasn't gotten much love.

Nylabones claim to be flavored, some of them are supposed to taste like chicken, others like bacon. I haven't noticed any odor whatsoever, and even ventured a lick because I am ridiculous. They taste like nothing to me.

I wanted to get Ru a Nylabone Dental Dinosaur because I love dinosaurs, but there were so many Amazon reviews about dogs cracking teeth on them that I decided to pass.

Pros: Durable chews for dogs that love to gnaw. These come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes, and the petite chihuahua-sized ones are quite cheap. The harder ones were irresistible for my tiny power-chewing foster-uahuah. Other brands of durable chew bones are somehow not as compelling, it has to be a Nylabone.

Cons: Not all dogs like chewing plastic, or Nyla, or whatever these things are made of. I've heard stories of crazy dogs snapping them in half and eating them, so I would be careful to supervise a new dog with one. Nylabones are quite noisy when playing fetch on a hardwood floor.

Bottom Line: For dogs that love to chew for fun, nothing beats a Nylabone. They are cheap, easy to find, and appropriate for a wide range of dogs. I expect to be finding them in my couch for many years to come.