Natural Dog Chews, Honestly Compared

The Treat Finder

Natural dog chews, honestly compared

Every chew and treat we sell, with its protein and fat figures, what it is made of and how long it tends to last. Answer three questions and we will narrow forty five treats down to a handful.

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Question 1 of 3

Find the right chew

How does your dog chew?

Be honest. It is the single thing that decides whether a chew is a good hour or a vet bill.

Most people start here

●●● Long lasting

Ostrich Metatarsus Bone

OSTRICH

Big, dense and unusual. A proper project chew for a determined dog.

Protein 26.7% · Fat 17.2%

●●● Long lasting

Calf Hoof

BEEF

Hard and hollow. Can splinter at the end, so swap it out when it gets small.

Protein 48.3% · Fat 4%

●●● Long lasting · Bestseller

Jumbo Beef Tail

BEEF

Chunky, bony and takes a while. Messy, so a mat or the garden helps.

Protein 69.3% · Fat 8.31%

●●● Long lasting · Bestseller

Braided Buffalo Collagen

BUFFALO COLLAGEN

Chewy rather than brittle. Gentler on the teeth than a horn.

Protein 62% · Fat 25.5%

●●● Long lasting

Camel Wrap

CAMEL

Around 24cm of rolled camel hide. Novel protein and lasts well.

Protein 76% · Fat 8%

●●● Long lasting · Bestseller

Buffalo Wrap

BUFFALO

Rolled buffalo hide. Softens a little as they work at it.

Protein 67% · Fat 7.5%

●●● Long lasting

Furry Buffalo Wrap

BUFFALO

Same wrap with the fur left on. Sheds a bit as they chew.

Protein 68.8% · Fat 4.4%

●●● Long lasting

Braided Tendon

BEEF TENDON

Three tendons plaited together. Tough, and it frays rather than snaps.

Protein 81.2% · Fat 5.3%

●●● Long lasting

Jumbo Paddywack

BEEF

30cm of neck ligament. Springy, and one of the highest protein chews we have.

Protein 84.3% · Fat 7.5%

What is paddywack?

●●● Long lasting

Venison Leg

VENISON

Fur, skin and bone, exactly as it comes. Not a tidy treat.

Protein 66% · Fat 18%

●●○ Everyday

Turkey Wing Tip

TURKEY

Small, crunchy and gone in a few minutes. Good for a first air-dried bone.

Protein 44% · Fat 29.3%

●●○ Everyday

Duck Wing

DUCK

Crunchy air-dried bone. Higher in fat than it looks.

Protein 45.8% · Fat 31.5%

●●○ Everyday · Bestseller

Turkey Neck

TURKEY

Bigger than the duck neck and softer going. Chicken free.

Protein 52.2% · Fat 22.7%

●●○ Everyday

Turkey Foot

TURKEY

Knobbly and odd looking. Dogs love them, people find them alarming.

Protein 31.9% · Fat 37.8%

●●○ Everyday

Duck Foot

DUCK

Tiny, crunchy and cheap. A good pocket treat for the stall queue.

Protein 50.1% · Fat 28.3%

●●○ Everyday

Bladder Twist

BEEF BLADDER

Twisted, light and very low in fat. Underrated.

Protein 56% · Fat 3%

●●○ Everyday

Buffalo Collagen Straw

BUFFALO COLLAGEN

Hollow straw. Fill it with pate if you want to stretch it out.

Protein 62% · Fat 25.5%

●●○ Everyday

Cod Skin Braid

COD

Plaited cod skin. High protein, low fat, and it smells of the harbour.

Protein 80% · Fat 4%

●○○ Soft and quick

Beef Biltong

BEEF

The highest protein treat in the range and barely any fat.

Protein 85.77% · Fat 4.29%

●○○ Soft and quick

Chicken Breast Jerky

CHICKEN

Plain dried chicken breast. Easy to tear into training-sized bits.

Protein 49% · Fat 8%

●○○ Soft and quick

Jumbo Sprats

BALTIC SPRAT

Whole dried fish. High in fat, so a few go a long way.

Protein 50% · Fat 38%

●○○ Soft and quick

Pure Meat Stick

KANGAROO, OSTRICH, RABBIT OR VENISON

97% meat, 3% tapioca. Protein 47 to 74% and fat 6 to 14% depending on the meat.

Figures vary, see the product page

●○○ Soft and quick

Mixed Meat Medley

KANGAROO, OSTRICH, RABBIT AND VENISON

All four sticks in one bag. Protein 47 to 74% and fat 6 to 14% depending on the meat.

Figures vary, see the product page

●○○ Soft and quick

Duck Training Treats

DUCK

Soft little cubes. From four weeks, so fine for small puppies.

Protein 38.5% · Fat 31.8%

●○○ Soft and quick

Turkey Training Treats

TURKEY

71% protein in a training cube. Chicken free.

Protein 71% · Fat 14.3%

●○○ Soft and quick

Venison Training Treats

VENISON

Soft, rich and a strong smell, which is what you want in a distracting field.

Protein 38.5% · Fat 31.8%

●○○ Soft and quick

Turkey Pate 400g

TURKEY, SWEET POTATO, SEAWEED

Per 100g as fed. For stuffing, smearing and hiding tablets.

Protein 16.3% · Fat 6.3%

●○○ Soft and quick

Duck Pate 400g

DUCK, SWEET POTATO

Per 100g as fed. Richer than the turkey one.

Protein 12.6% · Fat 12.1%

●○○ Soft and quick · Bestseller

Pork Sausage

PORK, WHEAT FLOUR

The one treat in the range with wheat in it. Soft and very popular.

Protein 29.9% · Fat 13.6%

●○○ Soft and quick

Pawsome Pick n Mix

MIXED

Build your own bag. Contents vary, so check the label in the bag.

Figures vary, see the product page

Read more, if you want to

How hard is it? The three chew levels

We sort everything into three levels. It is our own judgement rather than any industry standard, based on how a treat behaves with an average adult dog of the size it suits. Some dogs will make a mockery of it, and that is fine.

●●●

Long lasting 14 treats

Hard chews that take real work. Antler, horn, hoof and the rolled hides. These are for dogs who settle down with something and stay there. They are also the ones to be most careful with, see the safety page.

●●○

Everyday 15 treats

Ears, necks, wings, feet and braids. Ten to thirty minutes for most dogs. This is where most people start and where most dogs are happiest.

●○○

Soft and quick 16 treats

Jerky, training cubes, pate, fish and the puffed treats. Eaten in seconds to a few minutes. Good for puppies, old dogs, fussy eaters and anything involving a recall.

Worth knowing. If your dog bites down hard and cracks things rather than gnawing at them, stay away from the hardest level altogether. A cracked tooth costs a great deal more than a treat does.

Shop the lot: Long Lasting, Soft, Training Treats, Rawhide Alternatives

Protein and fat, and what our labels mean

Protein is the bit most people look at first. The amino acids in it do the everyday work of keeping muscle, skin and coat in order, and meat is a more usable source for a dog than plants are. Anything we label high protein is 40% protein or over in the dried treat. Fat is where the calories hide, and our low fat label means 10% fat or under.

Worth knowing. High protein does not mean better for every dog. Dogs with certain kidney or liver conditions are often put on a lower protein diet, so check with your vet if that is your dog. Low fat does not mean low calorie either, and a big chew is still a big chew.

Further reading: How much fat is in dog treats? Every chew we sell, compared

Sensitive stomachs and single proteins

If you are working out what your dog reacts to, the useful thing is not a label on the front of a bag, it is a short ingredients list. Thirty eight of the forty five treats here are a single ingredient and nothing else, so you can introduce one protein at a time and actually see what happens. These are the seven that are not.

The seven that are not What is in them
Pure Meat Stick 97% meat, 3% tapioca to bind it.
Mixed Meat Medley The same sticks in a mixed bag.
Turkey Pate 400g 94% turkey, sweet potato, seaweed, vitamins and minerals.
Duck Pate 400g 94% duck, sweet potato, vitamins and minerals.
Pork Sausage 82% pork, wheat flour, glycerol, vitamins and minerals.
Pawsome Pick n Mix Contents depend on what you put in the bag.
Rabbit Medley Two kinds of rabbit ear, both single ingredient, in one bag.

Worth knowing. There is no such thing as a treat that no dog can react to. A dog can react to anything, including a novel protein they have never met. Introduce one new thing at a time and give it a few days before you add another.

Chicken

Only two treats in the range contain chicken, so if chicken is the problem, everything else is open to you.

Grain

One treat contains grain, the pork sausage, which has wheat flour in it. The rest of the range has none.

Single ingredient

One thing and nothing else, which is the easiest way to work out what agrees with your dog.

Meat free

One treat, for the dogs who cannot have any of it.

Shop the lot: Sensitive Stomachs, Grain Free, Chicken Free

Puppies, adults and senior dogs

Age is only half of it. Size matters just as much, which is why a hard chew can suit a twelve week old large breed puppy and be completely wrong for a small one of the same age. When you are not sure, wait a few weeks.

Puppies from four weeks

Soft training treats and pate. Nothing hard, nothing that needs real jaw strength, and nothing left with them unsupervised.

Puppies from twelve weeks

Most of the range opens up here, but a twelve week old labrador can manage a chew that would be far too much for a twelve week old chihuahua.

Adults from six months

The hard chews. Antler, buffalo horn and the ostrich bone are six months and over, and even then only for dogs who gnaw rather than crunch.

Senior dogs

Older teeth do not want hard work. Soft, puffed and pate treats give them something to enjoy without the risk.

Shop by age: Puppies 4 Weeks +, Puppies 12 Weeks +, Senior

Fur and fibre, and fish

Fur and fibre

Some of our treats arrive with the fur still on them. Cow ears, rabbit ears and venison legs. It looks odd on a shelf and it is entirely deliberate. Fur is indigestible fibre, it passes through rather than breaking down, and it is a very old tradition among raw feeders for that reason. It is not a substitute for worming, so keep to your normal worm counts and treatments.

Cow Ear, Furry Rabbit Ear, Venison Leg, Furry Buffalo Wrap

Fish and Omega-3

Oily fish is the easiest way to get Omega-3 fatty acids into a dog without reaching for a supplement bottle. We keep three. Sprats are 38% fat, the highest figure on this page, so they are a treat to hand out a few at a time rather than a handful. Everything fish smells, and it gets on your hands.

Cod Skin Braid, Jumbo Sprats, Venison Training Treats

Shop the lot: Furry Treats, Primal, Fish, Omega 3

Feeding, storage and safety

  • Always supervise. Every treat in this guide is a supervised treat. Not because anything here is dangerous, but because a dog can get into trouble with any chew given long enough and no one watching.
  • Take the stub away. Most chewing accidents happen at the very end, when the piece is small enough to swallow whole. Swap the last inch for something else.
  • Fresh water, always. Air dried treats are dry. Dogs get thirsty on them.
  • Introduce one at a time. If you are working out a sensitivity, one new treat every few days tells you something. Five at once tells you nothing.
  • Mind the daily allowance. Treats should sit alongside meals, not replace them. The usual guide is no more than a tenth of what your dog eats in a day.
  • Store them dry. A sealed tub or bag in a cupboard. Air dried treats keep for months, but they do not like damp.
  • Know your dog. A dog who bolts food, or who bites down hard instead of gnawing, should not be given the hardest chews at all. There is no shame in sticking to the soft end of the range.

The full range in one table

All forty five, sorted by chew level then by protein. The two pates are measured per 100g as fed, so their figures are not comparable with the dried treats.

Treat Made from Chew Protein Fat From
Buffalo Horn Buffalo ●●● 91.4% 1.6% £8
Jumbo Paddywack Beef ●●● 84.3% 7.5% £3.50
Braided Tendon Beef tendon ●●● 81.2% 5.3% £4
Beef Pizzle (Bully Stick) Beef ●●● 79.2% 3.2% £6
Camel Wrap Camel ●●● 76% 8% £6.50
Jumbo Beef Tail Beef ●●● 69.3% 8.31% £3
Furry Buffalo Wrap Buffalo ●●● 68.8% 4.4% £6.50
Buffalo Wrap Buffalo ●●● 67% 7.5% £6.50
Venison Leg Venison ●●● 66% 18% £5
Braided Buffalo Collagen Buffalo collagen ●●● 62% 25.5% £6.50
Yak Bar Yak milk ●●● 59.2% 5.2% £8
Calf Hoof Beef ●●● 48.3% 4% £2.50
Antler XL Antler ●●● 36% 0.1% £20
Ostrich Metatarsus Bone Ostrich ●●● 26.7% 17.2% £10
Cod Skin Braid Cod ●●○ 80% 4% £2
Beef Trachea Beef ●●○ 72.12% 17.87% £1.50
Large Pig Ear Pork ●●○ 68.4% 20% £2.50
Buffalo Collagen Straw Buffalo collagen ●●○ 62% 25.5% £3
Bladder Twist Beef bladder ●●○ 56% 3% £1
Cow Ear Beef ●●○ 54.6% 6.4% £2.50
Turkey Neck Turkey ●●○ 52.2% 22.7% £3
Duck Foot Duck ●●○ 50.1% 28.3% £0.50
Hairless Rabbit Ear Rabbit ●●○ 48.9% 34.4% £0.75
Furry Rabbit Ear Rabbit ●●○ 46.8% 21.5% £0.75
Duck Wing Duck ●●○ 45.8% 31.5% £1
Duck Neck Duck ●●○ 45.8% 27.9% £1.50
Turkey Wing Tip Turkey ●●○ 44% 29.3% £0.50
Turkey Foot Turkey ●●○ 31.9% 37.8% £2.50
Rabbit Medley Rabbit ●●○ varies varies £7
Beef Biltong Beef ●○○ 85.77% 4.29% £3
Beef Tripe Stick Beef tripe ●○○ 82.5% 6.9% £0.50
Turkey Training Treats Turkey ●○○ 71% 14.3% £4
Puffed Pig Snout Pork ●○○ 58% 22.3% £2.50
Jumbo Sprats Baltic sprat ●○○ 50% 38% £4
Chicken Breast Jerky Chicken ●○○ 49% 8% £5
Puffed Chicken Foot Chicken ●○○ 42.8% 34.2% £0.50
Duck Training Treats Duck ●○○ 38.5% 31.8% £4
Venison Training Treats Venison ●○○ 38.5% 31.8% £4
Pork Sausage Pork, wheat flour ●○○ 29.9% 13.6% £2
Turkey Pate 400g Turkey, sweet potato, seaweed ●○○ 16.3% 6.3% £5
Duck Pate 400g Duck, sweet potato ●○○ 12.6% 12.1% £5
Sweet Potato Slices Sweet potato ●○○ 1.3% 0.5% £6
Pure Meat Stick Kangaroo, ostrich, rabbit or venison ●○○ varies varies £0.50
Mixed Meat Medley Kangaroo, ostrich, rabbit and venison ●○○ varies varies £6
Pawsome Pick n Mix Mixed ●○○ varies varies £4

Chew level: ●○○ soft and quick · ●●○ everyday · ●●● long lasting

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Common questions

What is the best natural chew for a dog?

There is no single best one, which is why this page sorts them by how hard they are and what is in them. Match the chew to the dog. A determined chewer who settles down for an hour wants something from the long lasting group, such as a buffalo horn or a braided tendon. A puppy, a senior dog or a gentle chewer is better off with something soft, such as tripe sticks, biltong or a puffed pig snout.

How do I know how long a chew will last?

We give every treat a chew level. Long lasting chews are the hard ones, antler, horn, hoof and the rolled hides. Everyday chews, which is most ears, necks, wings and braids, keep an average dog busy for ten to thirty minutes. Soft treats are gone in seconds to a few minutes. These are averages. Your own dog may be quicker or slower than any of it.

What does high protein or low fat actually mean on your labels?

High protein means 40% protein or over in the dried treat. Low fat means 10% fat or under. Both figures come from the analytical constituents for that product and are printed on every product page and on this one, so you can check rather than take our word for it.

Are your treats suitable for dogs with sensitivities?

Thirty eight of the forty five treats we sell are a single ingredient and nothing else, which makes it much easier to introduce one protein at a time and see how your dog does. Only two contain chicken and only one contains grain. No treat is safe for every dog, so introduce one new thing at a time and give it a few days.

At what age can a puppy start on chews?

Soft training treats and pate suit puppies from four weeks. Most of the range opens up from twelve weeks, though size matters as much as age, so a small breed puppy should wait longer than a large one. The hardest chews, antler, buffalo horn and the ostrich bone, are from six months and only for dogs who gnaw rather than crunch.

Is rawhide in any of your treats?

No. Nothing in the range is rawhide and we have no plans to stock it. The rolled buffalo and camel wraps and the collagen braids are the usual alternatives people are looking for.

More honest guides

We write one of these every time a customer asks a question we cannot answer in a sentence. No filler, and we say when a treat is not worth it.

Keep a copy

The whole guide as a 16 page PDF, handy at the vet or in the car. Free, no email needed.

Download the PDF

We do not make these treats. We source them, try them on our own two dogs, Rory and Ralphie, and only then do they go on the stall or the website. We are not vets and nothing on this page is veterinary advice. Figures correct at the time of publication, September 2026. Wag & Whistle is a family run business trading as J. Yardley. Treats are complementary pet food and are not a substitute for a balanced diet.