Toy and Himalayan Chew Review
Like most dog owners in developed countries, I am always on the search for great dog toys. (I doubt dog owners in remote parts of the world, like Kiribati for instance, are as concerned with their dogs' pastimes as we are.) For the purposes of this post, I am lumping things dogs chew and ingest into the toy category. I basically mean anything that you give your dog to keep him/her occupied. Requirements are that the toys don't make a mess, are not overly stinky, won't cause gastrointestinal distress, are not highly caloric, and have a favorable cost/longevity ratio (ideally, an expensive toy should last a long time, while it's okay if a cheap toy doesn't last quite as long).
Red Dog Squeaky Toy - $2.00 at Big Lots. Surprisingly, we've had this toy for several days now, and Cabana has not torn it to shreds! It has a very QUIET squeaker. In fact, much to the dismay of the other shoppers at Big Lots, I squeaked each one of these in the store and picked the one that was the quietest. For $2.00, it's hard to go wrong. I give this toy 4 out of 5 stars. It may not be the most interactive or interesting toy in the world--but the grin on this red dog's face is hilarious and makes me smile when I see it in Cabana's mouth.
Ugly Blue Spider Squeaky - $3.00 at Big Lots. When you squeeze this toy, all the legs unfurl like a party blower. You'd think all these skinny legs would be quickly eaten by now, but after a week, it still has 8 intact legs! Cabana loves to destroy rubber toys and stuffed toys, but for some reason, she carries this spider around very gently. It also has a quiet squeaker, so 4 stars for this one, too.
I've been really curious about these Himalayan Dog Chews for some time now. I couldn't find any locally, and I wasn't keen on spending $9 + shipping on something that might not last very long. But I finally gave in and bought one on eBay, hoping for a 5 star find. 
The chew is made of yak and cow milk, with a bit of added salt and lime juice. It's sort of a cross between cheese and wood (taste of cheese, hardness of wood). The reviews said these last a long time and that dogs have to work to soften it in their mouths, then they can get little pieces off the ends.
Cabana LOVED this chew. Unfortunately, it took her less than 15 minutes to devour more than half of it--she just broke big chunks off of it and gnashed them down. So I took it away from her, so I could save the rest for another time. In my opinion, these don't last too much longer than a big bully stick, so I give it 2 paltry stars. It might be a good choice for small dogs with delicate mouths, but for Cabana, I think we're going to stick with antlers, since I haven't been able to beat its cost/longevity ratio yet.
