My first dog was a Rottweiler named Hercules; he was an awesome dog but his need to chew was no joking matter. If I didn’t provide him with an appropriate item for his chewing enjoyment at least once a day he would chew other things – like the walls of my house (no kidding).
I took the chewing issue to my vet as I didn’t feel informed about all the items sold in pet stores for chewing and we had a few bad experiences with some of them.
I wanted a dog chew that was (1) safe for my dog to chew (well as a safe as a chew can be) (2) wouldn’t make a big mess when the dog chewed it (or smell bad) and (3) was affordable.
My vet introduced me to the CET Enzymatic chews by Virbac. CET’s are beefhide that is treated with an enzyme that helps with plaque build up on the dogs teeth. For our immediate needs at the time, a Rottie with a chew fettish, the benefit for Hercules’ dental hygiene was a side-perk – we were just looking for a decent “chew” option. Over 10 years later CET chews are the only chews I use with all of my dogs (they have been a good tool for all my dogs …Rottweiler to the Pomeranian).
For a chew, keeping in mind all chewing items carry risk for a dog, I have had minimal issues with my dogs choking or digesting these chews. I do have a 12 year old black lab that is a really aggressive chewer that will sometimes gag a little on the chew (gross I know but he manages it himself – it has never turned in to a choking incident). I will say, even after all these years, I supervise my dogs when they have chews – there is always the possibility of a choking incident with any chew. My dogs have not have experienced any digestive upset from the CET chews – even my chocolate lab with a hyper-sensitive stomach. The upside is that these chews also really do seem to help keep the dogs teeth clean.
My second criteria for a chew was that it didn’t make a mess all over the house when it was soaked with doggy saliva. (I learned the hard way that some dog chews will stain your carpet – sure makes ya wonder what it’s doing to the dogs tummy too). I will notice tiny little wads of the CET chew stuck to the carpet after the labs finish their chews. The little wads do clean up easy (manual pick up – even my Dyson doesn’t get them) but there is no staining or discoloration of my carpet from the chews. The CET chews don’t smell bad either.
The final criteria for a chew was that it was affordable. CET Chews are actually quite expensive – especially if you have multiple dogs like we do. Historically, I had always purchased the CET Chews at the vet office and would subsequently have a nose bleed after I wrote the check for them. The good news is that they are becoming more widely available and the price is coming down.
The purpose for this post is to share the history I have had with these chews and to highlight the best deal I have found on them which is on the American Diabetes Wholesale website. I pasted the link to the site here http://www.americandiabeteswholesale.com/product/cet-enzymatic-oral-hygiene-chews_5972.htm?source=SiteSearch . I purchase the chews in 5 Packs which gets me 56% off the retail price. If your order is over $100.00 the shipping from them is free. This works for well for us as I typically order multiple 5 packs and the Virbac toothpaste at the same time to take advantage of the free shipping. My experience with their service so far has been good – they process the order the same day and the shipping is fast and free. I have recently noticed a slightly better price for the CET Chews on another site, www.entirelypets.com. They have a sale price that is almost $1/bag lower than American Diabetes Wholesale (as of 4/24) and they offer free shipping on orders over $85.00. I did call them to see if this was a permanent sale price or temporary sales price and they did say it was probably a temporary sale price but its worth checking this site out too. I do not have any experience ordering from this company yet.
I hope you find this “BEST DEAL” post helpful. I am NOT a paid spokesman for any product or website mentioned on this page and I don’t write product reviews on any pet items unless I have had years of experience with multiple breeds interacting with the product. I am simply sharing our experiences in the hope we can help others with the learning curve on caring for their pets. I will close this post with a reminder that all chew items carry a risk for a dog – when I hand out chews to our dogs I make a cup of coffee or tea and sit down and relax with the dogs while they enjoy their treat.
As always, the first stop for any questions about a pet’s care for us will always be our veterinarian.