Busy Bone Ultimate Chew

What THEY Say:

Give your big dog a Busy Bone® Ultimate Chew™. Designed with your big dog in mind, the meaty middle will keep your dog blissfully busy letting him do what dogs do…chew! He can enjoy the fun twisted shape of a Busy Bone® Ultimate Chew™ while you relax, visit with friends, or work around the house. Get Busy! 

What WE Say:

So, the inspiration for our blog came from me, standing in line at Target, frantically trying to make a decision about whether the new bone we were buying for our perky puppy (who is not exactly a puppy) was a good buy. I logged onto my phone internet and after the initial lag which required us to go ahead and buy the bone, finally found a non-pet specific site with reviews that  ranged from "BEST BONE EVER" to claims of DEATH. Seriously, death. We figured there had to be something better than this which led our friendly Target cashier Will to suggest I make my own. Why not? Being a fifth grade teacher, board member, active church participant, and all around over achiever was only filling 23 out of my 24 usable hours. 

So, onto the review.

The bone was immediately snatched up by Jaq which was strange for him because he is hesitant with new toys and treats. He still doesn't really understand tug with the rope, and would much rather just let his Mommy have it. He was instantly intrigued and we were rewarded with an hour and a half of uninterrupted, no whining TV time (which took us right into bed time, meaning he did not require a FOURTH walk of the day- like he usually does.) Jaq seemed very engaged by the smell and taste and when he got to the end of it, he made sure he was right in our faces to finish it (so he didn't have to worry about choking- or because he thought we might want to share?) The treat was thoroughly enjoyed but it didn't last as long as I expected. This is supposed to be for LARGE dogs, and our medium sized dog ate it in about 90 minutes. We probably would not have bought it if it wasn't on sale at Target this week- but it was still five dollars, which seems like an outrageous amount for only an hour and a half of play time. The other big down side is that everywhere Jaq chewed, a slimy trail of bacony sticky mess followed and stayed behind. The outer part of the bone flaked a little and got on the surface of wherever he was chewing, which was occasionally on the couch in our faces. It definitely did not last as long as the compressed rawhide, and being that it claims to be 10% of a 75 pound dog's weekly energy allowance, I felt that it might have been too much of a caloric commitment as we try to keep him away from the high calorie cheese and peanut butter he loves but isn't best for him. If you choose to buy this treat, make sure your pup has PLENTY of water because Jaq went through more than a whole bowl of water while eating it! Which is probably going to lead to 3 AM bathroom trips!

Next Morning: (Fondly entitled hindsight is twenty twenty.) 

Did Jaq love this bone? Absolutely.


What he did NOT love, however was his trips outside to potty the next day. This bone messed his tummy UP. It was an unfortunate experience for my husband- who was once again walking him as I was late AGAIN. 

Would we recommend?

Does your puppy have a stomach of steel? Then give it a try- Jaq really took to the bone right away and it did, as described on the package, keep him busy. It did NOT do good things for his stomach again, so I would probably steer clear my most beloved friends and family of dog owners. As always the decision is yours, but Busy Bones will no longer be keeping our Pup busy. 

Aw, poor Jaq. This too shall pass.