With only 4 ingredients: cow milk, yak milk, lime, and salt; I’m kind of in love with these Native Pet Yak Chews. There are lots of options in this category, many of which I don’t recommend, but this is a sturdy and slightly indestructible option for everyone from the teething puppy to the adult dog who needs to work on keeping his teeth pearly white.

I bought the medium-sized, 15-count package so I could taste-test them on puppies and dogs of all ages. Hastings was the first canine guinea pig. I and he had the funniest reaction. I still haven't figured out what was going on in his little mind, but after reading the ingredient list, it might have been that he could smell an unknown creature in the mix. Having never personally met a yak, he wasn't entirely sure if they were edible or not.

I gave him the first one out of the bag; it was a rather bland-looking beige object about 7 inches long, feeling a lot like a Nylabone in density and weight. There was no smell to speak of, at least to my human nose, and overall, I’d say it was not particularly tasty-looking, but who am I to judge, not being a dog? 

Anyway, off goes Hastings with his new prize to his bed, where he proceeds to lay down beside it and whine, and cry under his breath. Sometimes he does this when he's really happy but I'm thinking he was a little bit more on the confused side of the track. After he decided that it was indeed his very own and that he was allowed to chew on it to his heart's content, all holds were off and he spent the next few hours going back and forth and picking it up and chewing it enthusiastically.

After all that chewing, I was sure he would have substantially reduced it in size, but happily, it resisted most of his efforts and just had a line of tooth marks on both edges, with about 6 & 15/16 inch remaining for future fun.

Quincy, a 12-week-old Cavachon puppy, pounced on his Yak chew and carried it around proudly in his mouth, waggling and woggling with puppy delight. It proved a huge success with the puppies and withstood their determined efforts and sharp little teeth without a problem. They did manage to make a slight impression along the sides, but after their chewing session, they enjoyed a blissful hour of napping, dreaming about unusual creatures on the African bush, I’m sure.

All in all, I see it being an excellent tool for both satisfying the urge to chew and providing hours of canine entertainment. It’s free of dyes and colors, and while I’d use caution if you’ve an elderly dog with dental problems, for the average healthy dog who loves to chew I think it’s a great product and will help eliminate plaque and tarter AND be a long-lasting chew you can feel good about providing for your pet.

I just checked the pricing on Amazon; they’ve got 10% off running now and an incredible 35% off subscription orders. I’d try the small package to start, and you can set your subscription for the longest window, as they do last forever!