Gnawin’ Forever Treat Toy Product Review

It’s really hard to keep active dogs occupied for any length of time. But we have to, don’t we? Active dogs of any size can’t just sleep all day. So we give them rawhide and toys designed to keep their attention and prevent boredom-induced vices such as chewing other stuff.

The Gnawin’ Forever treat toy is a new toy from an old company, Ainsworth Pet Nutrition. It’s the first interactive long-lasting dog treat of its kind because the treat that is placed in the toy cannot be crunched up with the back teeth. The dog can lick, spin and nibble with the front teeth, but unless the dog gets the toy apart, she can’t chow down.

The Gnawin’ Forever includes a barbell-shaped toy with round ends and a “spool” through the middle, joining them. A hard cylindrical treat is slipped over the spool and the toy is locked together.

Our test sample included a bacon flavored treat. Although my do did not show any interest in it, a friend of mine tested it on her two energetic mid- to large-sized dogs and told me over and over again that, “they loved it!” Her dogs – especially one of them – are aggressive chewers, and very hard on their toys.  They both wanted to play with it when they first got it, and my friend had to make them take turns. The edible part for her lasted “an hour or two,” and then the dogs chewed the toy. They got the toy apart and were chewing on the middle spool within 24 hours, so my friend threw that part away. But a week later, the dogs are still playing with the red ends. The toy was a total hit with those dogs.

I would recommend this toy for all but the toughest chewers. And even if you have an aggressive chewer, you can still let him use this toy if you supervise, and take it away before the toy part is destroyed. That way, you can get additional treats to put on it and use it over and over again. It doesn’t stain carpets. The refill treats are made from food-grade ingredients (no plastics) and are easy on the digestive system.

The toy comes with a treat, and then you can purchase two-pack treat refills. It appears to come in one size, which is about five inches wide and seven inches long (great for even the biggest dogs). PetFoodDirect, which may be a partner or subsidiary of Ainsworth, has a dedicated page/department for Gnawin’ Forever toys and refill treats. The toy with treat is $26.98 and the refill two-pack is $9.99. Their page says, “A PetFoodDirect Exclusive,” but I see it’s also available at www.petstoreonline.com, www.thepetcenter.com (although they may not actually stock the toy; they may be affiliates of PetFoodDirect).

You can get a $5 off discount at www.gnawinforeverqr.com.