Gnawlers Wisebones Grain-Free Dog Dental Chew - 200g - Salmon With Lemon

Gnawlers Wisebones are grain-free dental chews built on potato starch and cellulose rather than meat, which makes them low in protein and high in fibre. The point of the shape is the chewing: the longer a dog works at it, the more the chew rubs against the teeth. Sold in salmon with lemon or turkey with parsley.

Key Features

• Grain-free: Built on potato starch rather than wheat, which suits dogs you are keeping off grain.
• Two flavours: Salmon with lemon, or turkey with parsley -- different recipes, not just different labels.
• High in fibre: Powdered cellulose is the second ingredient, and it is what gives these their bulk and their fibre content.
• Low in protein: Unusual for a chew, and genuinely useful for a dog on a protein-restricted diet -- but it means this is not a protein source.
• Long-lasting: Designed to be worked at rather than swallowed in two bites.
• One a day: Gnawlers' own guidance, and not for dogs under six months old.

What Is In Them, And Why

• Potato starch and powdered cellulose make up the body of the chew. The cellulose is insoluble fibre -- it is not digested, it just passes through, which is where the fibre claim comes from.
• Sodium hexametaphosphate is the ingredient actually doing the tartar work. It binds the calcium in saliva so it is less available to harden soft plaque into tartar. It is the same approach used in a lot of veterinary dental diets.
• Magnolia bark extract is included by Gnawlers for breath.
• Xylo-oligosaccharide and yeast cell wall polysaccharide are prebiotic fibres -- food for the gut bacteria rather than for the dog.
• Rosemary extract is a natural antioxidant, used here instead of a synthetic preservative.
• Salmon with lemon also contains schizochytrium algae powder, an algal source of DHA omega-3. The turkey with parsley recipe does not list it.

What A Dental Chew Can And Cannot Do

Chewing disrupts soft plaque before it hardens, and the polyphosphate in these slows that hardening down. Neither of those removes tartar that has already set on the tooth -- only a vet scale does that. If you can see brown deposits at the gumline, smell real bad breath, or your dog is pawing at their mouth or eating more slowly, book the vet rather than buying more chews. Used daily alongside brushing, a chew like this earns its place; used instead of everything else, it will not keep a mouth healthy on its own.

How To Give It

• One chew per day, as a complementary treat rather than part of a meal.
• Not for puppies under six months, whatever their size.
• Stay in the room. Dogs who try to swallow a chew whole rather than work at it are the ones who get into trouble, and that is a choking and blockage risk.
• Take what is left away once it is small enough to swallow in one go.
• Gnawlers warn that these can stain carpet and light fabric, so pick where your dog chews.

Who Makes Gnawlers

Gnawlers is a brand of Foshan Phoenix Pet Products Co. Ltd, a Chinese pet chew and treat manufacturer founded in 2002 and based in Foshan, Guangdong. Gnawlers say the plant runs to 30,000 square metres and that they export to more than 50 countries.

Good To Know

• Gnawlers sell Wisebones in several breed sizes elsewhere. This listing does not state which size it is -- ask us before ordering if your dog is at either end of the range.
• A chew is not a meal. Count it in the day's food and take the equivalent out of their bowl.
• Introduce it gradually. A new treat on top of a full day's food is the usual cause of a loose stool, and that is not the same as an intolerance.
• Dogs with a history of a gut blockage, or dogs who bolt their food, should not be given hard chews without asking your vet first.
• Keep fresh drinking water available.
• Store somewhere cool and dry, and reseal the pack after opening.
• Not for human consumption. Keep it out of reach of children.