The 10 Best Puppy Chew Toys for Teething Puppies

Once puppy teething starts, it seems as though some object must constantly be in your puppy’s mouth. And if it’s not, your window sill or stair risers or your shoes and socks will make delicious teething objects as well.  Save yourself some heartbreak and expense by starting your puppy off right with these durable and safe teething toys. 

At all costs, avoid cute puppy toys that look like objects you don’t want chewed up; rubber squeaky shoes and cell phones are toys that teach your puppy some of the worst lessons.

Note: When comparing our puppy play results to user reviews, we found that many people with negative opinions were giving puppy chew toys to adult dogs, often with unfortunate consequences.

Keep in mind that many of these toys are made for small, soft deciduous puppy teeth.  Some of these chew toys are not appropriate for a heavy chewer’s adult teeth. Watch for wear patterns on them, and remove or discard toys if look like they are getting worn to a point where they are likely to break or rupture.

Note: We recently updated this article with the latest natural chew toy that is making in-the-know puppy owner's puppies content the world over.  Scroll down to learn about this sustainable harvested puppy root chew. Look for the "Bonus Chew Toy."

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Our Number 1 Pick: The Chilly Bone by Multipet

This is our favorite of the puppy chew toys for teething puppies.  This toy seems to calm the teething frenzy, making puppies easier to live with. Puppies with this toy settle into a calm, almost hypnotic chewing state.

It comes in two sizes, medium at 5.5 inches, for small to medium sized breeds, and large at 7 inches for large and giant puppy breeds.  The canvas bone is filled with a nontoxic gel that freezes quickly when placed in the freezer. The bones stay cold for a fairly long time, 1-2 hours which is great for soothing your puppy’s sore gums.

Once it warms up, rinse the bone after use, and just place the wet bone back into the freezer for later use.  Overnight freezing will keep the bone frozen one to two hours.  2 hours in the freezer should get you 20-30 minutes soothing playtime.

#1 in Customer Satisfaction the Benebone Peanut Butter Flavored Wishbone Chew Toy (also comes in Bacon Flavor too)

The Benebone chews have an interesting curve up design.  This allows dogs to put their paw on it and chew easily on their toy.  Brilliant, why didn’t someone think of this sooner?  Benebone says they now have a patent on this design.  As an added bonus, this toy is made in the USA, for these factors alone we give this a very close second to the chilly bone. Additionally, each sale supports Animal Welfare, although how that is accomplished and to what extent is somewhat unclear.

Teething Rings by Nylabone

Nylabone makes a variety of shapes and sizes of these durable, hard plastic teething rings.  Their popularity with the puppies was surprising.  

These durable plastic key rings and pacifiers have no scent infused into them, but they seem to be just good fun to puppies. Our puppies tossed and pounced on them, then held them tightly in their paws for a fanatical chew fest.  They also made good puppy on puppy tug toys. 

Nylabone Durable Dental Dinosaur Chew Toy

This toy is designed for both teething puppies and moderate adult chewers, so it is possible for it to last into adulthood, given your particular puppy’s chew capacity.  It is described by Nylabone as a toy for heavy chewers, but we don’t think that this would be appropriate for an adult heavy chewer over 30 pounds, based on our test results.

The Nylabone chew toys are designed to develop raised edges to facilitate dental cleaning under the gum line.  And as a bonus, they are a delight to see around the house for those of us still enthralled by dinosaurs!

The Puppy Kong by The Kong Company

This scaled down version of their classic red and black Kong toys, comes in pink and blue.  Made with a slightly softer rubber for teething puppies, just load it up with treats and toss across the room. The Kong jumps in unpredictable ways when it lands, providing endless delight to puppies that like to bat at and pounce on toys.  Great for crate training, when loaded with treats the Kong toys act as puzzle toys for young and old dogs alike.

Note: If you have a large breed puppy, go ahead and size up to the red Kong chew toys. 

Nylabone Puppy Teething Star Chew Toy, Chicken Flavored

This durable chicken flavored toy has different textures on the various star points for added interest for puppies. This is a toy that held many puppies’ interest and was a favorite toy for 2 of them. Puppies seem to prefer one particular “nubby” pattern of the star, and those star points get the most chewing.

This flexible chew toy is designed specifically for puppy teeth, and is not appropriate for puppies once their adult teeth have come in.

West Paw Design Zogoflex Dog Toy, Tux

Like the Kong stuffable toy, the West Paw Tux toy provides hours of entertainment. This toy is rubber, latex and toxin free and recyclable.  Better yet, it is made in the USA. The pliable Tux toy also bounces erratically to provide added interest for puppies.

The zogoflex has proven to be amazingly strong.  Weeks of heavy chewing have no produced any damage to the exterior. Some puppies became infatuated with it, sleeping with the toy and carrying it around the house.

Pumpkin Ring by N-BONE 

Tasty and healthy, the Pumpkin jerky in this teething treat is surprisingly tough.  This ring comes in chicken flavor too, however we prefer the pumpkin and sweet potato as they are incredibly nutritious for people and pets alike.  As an added bonus, pumpkin aids in digestive health, for those of you who may be changing puppy foods on your new pup.

4 Puppies in our test took turns chewing and tugging on it, and it lasted for 3 days!  These teething treats are low fat, gluten free and a good source for DHA.

The puppies loved the taste and the light weight of it made it fun and easy to carry around during games of chase.  However, big dogs with adult teeth will make short work of this teething ring; it lasted about 45 minutes with an adult dog.

Ingredients: Rice Flour, Gelatin, Vegetable Glycerin, Water, Cellulose, Calcium Carbonate, Sweet Potatoes, Pumpkin, Natural Pumpkin Flavor, Citric Acid, Brewers Yeast, Cinnamon, Fennel, Tuna Oil (natural source of DHA)

Naturally Shed Antlers

Both deer and elk antlers are naturally high in calcium, manganese, potassium and zinc, and are incredibly palatable to all breeds of dogs.  Dogs tend to chew on them from the side of their mouth, effectively cleaning tartar from under the gum line. This is a chew toy that they should only be allowed to enjoy for approximately one hour each day, and it should be discarded once it wears down to a size the dog could easily swallow.

Nylabone Puppystix Chew Toy

This toy comes in two sizes, the small is appropriate for dogs up to 25 pounds, and the large is good for puppies 26 pounds and up. Chewing on this toy, as with many of the Nylabone products, raises bristles on it to help clean tartar from teeth and adds chewing satisfaction to the toy. This toy can be frozen to help sooth inflamed gums, although it will not stay cold as long as the Chilly Bone. Be aware that this is one chew toy made with two colors, not two in one package.

This is another toy designed specifically for puppies, and is not to be given to dogs with adult teeth.

For more information on Puppy Teething visit 10 Puppy Teething Survival Tips!

Bonus Chew Toy - Himalayan Corporation Ruff Roots 

The Ruff Roots Sprout Size - Puppies cannot resist this chew
The seedling size is recommended for small breed puppies.

The latest in natural chew products for dogs, these roots are sustainably sourced from the tuber roots of trees.. The tuber is removed and a new one sprouts in its place.

We had heard the praises of this root which is guaranteed not to splinter, so we had to try them out.

We ordered two to be tested by 10 adult border collies and two puppies.  The roots arrived looking like hard cork. Would the dogs even be interested? We tossed them into the puppy pen, and mini frenzy ensued. Yes, they really liked them!  With 12 dogs taking turns on these roots for 3 weeks, one has been reduced by two thirds of its original size. The other seems to have disappeared in the back yard.  Warning, you are unlikely to find this chew toy again outdoors, especially in the fall leaves.

We gave this natural chew two thumbs up.  The dogs level of interest remained high, and it lasted much longer than an antler. Typically, antlers last two days at the most with 12 dogs taking turns on them.

For puppies we recommend the Himalayan Corporation Ruff Roots Sprout size treat for medium and large breed teething puppies. The Seedling Size is recommended for small breed puppies..  If it is too big for them to get their mouths around the root, they will lose interest quickly. 

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