Like so many of you, my wife and I are meticulous shoppers. Whether it be online or in-person, we tend to put a lot of research into the things we purchase so that we know we're putting our hard-earned money on the proper products. There are so many options for even basic items like leashes and collars that it's easy to get lost in what we're buying.

We will be writing reviews as we purchase and use these items ourselves. As you do your research for products you're planning to buy, our goal is to add another layer to that research.

As an early Christmas gift a few months ago, we had given Markus a BeneBone. The BeneBone is a hard chew toy that's made out of nylon and it’s an alternative for dog owners to not have to use real bones, but supposedly tastes like food (and it’s even shaped like a bone). We gave one to Markus because we felt that he had a compulsion to chew, so instead of letting him work through things like his blanket or our couch, we gave him a BeneBone to work instead.

At first, I was a little skeptical of the BeneBone because of the nylon material and the fact that the dogs end up swallowing it as they’re chewing through it. I didn’t know how safe it was for dogs to ingest flecks of nylon. I came to realize that because the nylon on the bone is so hard, Markus hardly removes any flecks in one sitting. For the little pieces that do come off, they’re so small that it's harmless and if Markus swallowed it, it'd go right through his system since his body won't be able to digest it. Between this and the risk of chewing a real bone that could crack and do damage, I like the BeneBone as an alternative.

With all chew toys, you'll want to monitor the dog as they're working it. That said, I do feel much more comfortable giving Markus the BeneBone than a real bone. Obviously a BeneBone doesn't come with the taste of meat that comes with a real bone, but it's also a lot less messy and it doesn't smell. If the goal is to release the tension by letting dogs chew and exercise their teeth, then the BeneBone does the trick extremely well.

Part of the reason why we gave Markus a BeneBone to begin with was because he would consistently chew through his blankets and dog toys. With dog toys, it's fine since they're meant to be played with, but we were having trouble with his blankets and cotton beds. Since giving the BeneBone to Markus, he's had more of an outlet where if he's starting to show signs of being destructive, we hand him the bone and he's able to use that as his outlet instead.

What also works well for us is that we just leave the bone with Markus these days. When he starts to get riled up, he tends to fling his blankets around first. What’s great about that is since the BeneBone’s on his blanket, flinging it around ends up launching the bone which makes a loud clanging noise as it hits the ground. As soon as it does that, Markus’ attention is diverted from the blanket and he pounces on the BeneBone immediately and starts working it. We’ve been able to keep this blanket for a lot longer than this first one!

The BeneBone comes in different sizes, flavours and shapes. Their most popular shape is the bone, but they also have other shapes that are easier for the dog to grip or ones with grooves that supposedly help clean their teeth. I can't speak to the effectiveness of these grooves for teeth cleaning since I don't have one of them. We've only had the ones that come in the bone shape and we've given him the chicken flavour so far (there’s also a bacon flavour we think he’ll like. We just know he won’t like peanut butter.)

We're about 4 or 5 months in already, but we're happy with our BeneBone purchase and we recommend it where we can. It is weird that it’s made of nylon and dogs ingest it, but the pellets are so small that it does no harm. It certainly works as an outlet for Markus when he gets riled up and needs to chew on something, which is great because he no longer does it on his blankets. Of course, there are differences between chewing a BeneBone and a real bone, but the cleanliness factor of not having to deal with a real bone is what makes it worthwhile for us.

We’re so grateful for your support of The Markus Project. We mostly choose our locations through searching and word of mouth. If you know of a park, trail or location you think we should check out, please share it with us. We’d love to know!