Chew cheese, cheese bone, Himalayan cheese, yak cheese. Four names for the same thing: a rock hard cheese that dogs chew on for hours. Anyone who has tried it once usually buys it again. Anyone who does not know it yet wonders whether cheese is okay for dogs at all. It is, and for a particular reason.
What is chew cheese?
A cheese made to an old recipe from Nepal. There it is called churpi and was originally provisions for people in the mountains. Yak milk and cow's milk are heated, curdled with lime juice and a little salt, pressed and then dried for months. In the process almost all the lactose disappears, and what remains is a block that is hard as wood. Our cheese bone is made exactly that way, without preservatives, without flavourings, without grain.
Can dogs eat cheese?
Normal cheese from the fridge only in small amounts, because of lactose, fat and salt. Chew cheese is different. Thanks to the long drying it is low in lactose, and it is not eaten but chewed off over hours. The amount that actually ends up in the dog per day is small. Only with a genuine milk protein allergy, which is rarer than you think, do you leave it out.
For which dogs?
- Dogs that want to chew for a long time: a medium cheese bone keeps a dog busy for days.
- Dogs with a meat allergy: for many, chew cheese is the only chew that lasts a long time and contains no meat.
- Puppies from teething onwards: in the smallest size and under supervision.
- Not suitable: dogs with brittle teeth, because the cheese really is hard.
Which size?
Our cheese bone comes in five sizes. The rule is the same as with chew wood: longer than the mouth is wide, so the dog cannot take it crosswise and swallow it. Small dogs up to 10 kilos take S, medium ones M, large ones L or XL. When in doubt bigger, the cheese then simply lasts longer.
Is chew cheese dangerous?
The worry is usually: too hard, breaks teeth. With healthy teeth that does not happen, the cheese slowly softens and wears away while chewing, it does not splinter. The second worry: the last remnant gets swallowed. For that there is the trick everyone should know.
The microwave trick
When a remnant of the cheese bone is left that is so small the dog could swallow it, take it away and put it in the microwave for 30 to 60 seconds. It puffs up into an airy cheese crunch, let it cool, and the dog can eat it straight away. Nothing is wasted and the swallowing problem is solved. By the way, it also works with a whole cheese if your dog does not like the hard version.
Chew cheese as a powder
For dogs that leave the bowl standing, the cheese is also available grated: natural cheese powder and with turmeric. A teaspoon over the food is enough to get even picky dogs eating. With us it has become standard when a dog eats poorly after illness or a change of food.
How often?
In principle the cheese lies around all the time and the dog fetches it when it feels like it. Many owners give it deliberately in the evening or when visitors come. A cheese bone of the right size lasts one to two weeks with normal chewers.
You will find everything on the subject in the category chew cheese for dogs.
