A chew toy is the one thing in Murphy's basket that earns its spot every single night. He is a 6-year-old beagle mix, about 28 pounds, and he is not what anyone would call a heavy chewer. He is a determined one. Before we found something that held up, he worked on the legs of the kitchen table and one dining chair, and a plush toy was shredded inside a day. That is how the Benebone Wishbone ended up in the house in May, and it has been in the basket by the couch ever since. Six months on, the ends are roughed up and the thing is still whole.
I am not a trainer and I am not a vet, so this is not advice about behavior or teeth. It is ten plain reasons a durable chew toy has been worth its place in our house, from someone who has bought plenty of dog gear that was not. If something about how Murphy chews ever worries me, that goes to our vet, not to a toy review.
The one chew still in the basket after six months
Medium Benebone Wishbone in chicken flavor. Roughed up on the ends, still in one piece, still the first thing he reaches for after dinner.
Amazon Check Today's Price on Amazon →It got the kitchen table off the menu
This is the reason I bought it, so it goes first. Murphy had been working the legs of the kitchen table and one dining chair, and he was not gentle about it. The Wishbone went into the basket in May. Within a week or so he was carrying it to the rug after dinner instead of wandering over to the table. That chair leg has grown back in. I will not pretend a toy trained him out of anything. It gave him a better thing to do with his mouth.
One toy outlasted a shelf of plush
Before this, a stuffed toy was an afternoon. I would find the squeaker under the couch and the rest of it spread across three rooms. The Benebone Wishbone has been chewed most evenings for six months and the ends are rough, not destroyed. For a 28 pound dog who is serious about chewing, that is the whole pitch. I am not buying a replacement every other week, and I am not picking stuffing out of the rug on my hands and knees.
It gives the evening a shape
Ours is a TV house after dinner. Frank has the remote, I have the crossword, and Murphy has the Wishbone. He settles on the rug with it around seven and works at it on and off until he decides the couch is softer. That quiet half hour is worth something. Anybody with a dog who gets a second wind at night knows exactly what I mean.
There is something to do when the walk gets cancelled
Two walks a day is our routine, but New Jersey weather does not always cooperate. On the days it does not, the Wishbone does more for him than a nap on the bed. The listing calls it a boredom toy and that matches what I see. Ten minutes of chewing and he is easier to live with than after ten minutes of me saying no in a raincoat.
It is easy for a smaller dog to pick up
Murphy is 28 pounds, so a chew he cannot lift is no use to him. This one is curved so it sits up off the floor and he can get a paw on it. The Benebone listing calls it a paw-friendly grip and I would not argue with it. He flips it over, finds a fresh end, and goes back at it. Small thing, maybe. But a chew that kept sliding out from under him would have been ignored by week two.
The chicken flavor is why he comes back to it
The Wishbone is infused with real chicken, and that is the difference between a toy he chews because it happens to be there and one he goes looking for. He has a strong nose even for a beagle mix. He knows which basket it lives in. I keep one chew in the house, so there is no guessing about which one he will pick when he gets that look.
One purchase instead of a standing order
I did the math on plush toys once and then decided not to do it again. A durable chew is one thing bought once that keeps working, rather than a thing bought every other week that stops working on a Tuesday. That is not a knock on anybody who buys plush. It is just where my money stopped going, and Frank has noticed, which is its own small victory.
It has some heft without being a brick
The Medium Wishbone is about six ounces and roughly seven inches on its longest side, so it has weight in the hand and it does not skid away across the floor. Murphy can get his back teeth on it, which is not something he could ever do with a soft toy. Benebone lists it as heavy duty and that has held up here. I still supervise, the same as the label says, and I would not hand it to a dog twice his size.
Checking it gives me a weekly look at his mouth
I check the Wishbone every week, and the label says to replace it when it gets small or starts to splinter. That five minutes has turned into a habit. If the ends are wearing faster than I expect, or if he is favoring one side when he chews, I notice it and I call our vet. The toy is not a medical device and I am not diagnosing anything. It is a weekly reminder to pay attention, that is all.
It stays where I can keep an eye on it
The Wishbone lives in the basket by the couch, not out in the yard. It is not water resistant, so leaving it out in the rain was never going to do it any favors. Keeping it indoors also means I know where it is when I want to check it. Six months in, the ends are chewed soft and it is still one piece. When it stops being one piece, it goes in the trash and Murphy gets a new one.
What I'd Skip
Two things I would not bother with again. The first is any chew sold as tough that a dog can take apart in chunks in an afternoon. If a chew is coming apart in pieces, that is a call to our vet and a trip to the trash, not something to keep in the basket and hope about. The second is a pile of plush toys bought on sale. Murphy loved every one of them, right up until he had them open, and then I was the one cleaning up.
What I would do differently is start with one serious chew instead of five hopeful ones. The Benebone Wishbone was not the first thing I tried and it is the only one still in the basket six months later. Everything else in Murphy's gear earns its place or it goes in the closet. This one has earned it, and the roughed-up ends are the proof.
Six months of evening chewing and the ends are rough, not destroyed. That is the whole review.
Six months in, still the one he reaches for after dinner
Medium Wishbone in chicken flavor. Check the listing for the current price and for the size that suits your dog.
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