Hagen BIONIC Bone - S

The Hagen BIONIC Bone is aimed at the dog that gets through everything else. Thick ridges run along the shaft where the bite force lands, and there is a pocket at each end for food.

Key Features

• Two Treat Pockets: One at each end, so a dog works along the whole toy rather than losing interest after the first mouthful
• Ribbed Where It Counts: The ridges sit across the areas a dog bites down on, which is also what gives it something to get hold of
• Bounces And Floats: Unpredictable bounce off hard ground, and it floats -- which is what matters at the beach, because a sinking toy is a lost toy
• Three Sizes: Small, medium and large
• Dishwasher Safe: Top rack of the dishwasher, or hot water and a brush. Rubber holds the smell of old food, so wash it after anything greasy has been inside

About The BIONIC Range

BIONIC toys are built around what the maker calls defensive geometry -- thick ribs and curves placed so that a bite lands on the strong part of the shape rather than on a thin edge. The material is a rubber-like polymer, harder than a latex squeaky toy and more forgiving than nylon, and the whole range comes in the same bright orange.

How Hard Is Too Hard

A chew toy should give slightly under a thumbnail. Anything that does not flex at all can fracture a tooth, and a slab fracture of an upper molar is one of the commonest dental injuries in dogs that chew hard objects. Rubber of this kind sits in a reasonable place -- firmer than a soft toy, softer than nylon or bone. Keep an eye on an older dog or one with worn teeth, and let a vet look at any dog that suddenly stops chewing on one side.

Getting The Size Right

Pick by the dog, not by the price. A toy small enough to sit behind the back teeth can be swallowed or can block the airway, so when a dog is between two sizes, take the larger one. A toy that is too big simply gets ignored, which is the safer mistake.

No Toy Is Indestructible

Hard rubber toys last far longer than soft ones, but every one of them has a limit. Check this over whenever you pick it up: a split along a seam, a chunk missing or a chewed-down edge means it goes in the bin, not back in the toy box. Swallowed rubber does not show up on an X-ray and is a common reason for emergency surgery. Dogs that destroy things in minutes should only have a chew toy while someone is watching.

If You Stuff It With Peanut Butter

Check the jar first. Some peanut butters are sweetened with xylitol, sometimes listed as birch sugar or E967. It is harmless to people and can kill a dog from a very small amount -- it causes a collapse in blood sugar and can damage the liver. Use a plain peanut butter whose only ingredients are peanuts and perhaps salt. Freezing a stuffed toy makes it last much longer, and whatever goes inside counts as part of the day's food, not as an extra.

Who Makes It

Rolf C. Hagen was founded in Montreal in 1955 and is one of the largest privately owned pet product companies in the world. Its brands include Catit for cats, Dogit and Zeus for dogs, Living World for small pets and birds, Exo Terra for reptiles and Fluval for aquariums.

Good To Know

• Chewing is a need rather than a bad habit. A dog with nothing legitimate to chew finds the skirting board, and a dog left alone with nothing to do is the one that eats the sofa.
• Freeze a stuffed bone for a dog that empties one in two minutes. It can take the time from minutes to most of an hour.
• Stuffing counts as food. Take the equivalent out of the day's meals, or you will see it on the dog within a month.