Whimzees Alligator Daily Dental Dog Chew

A dog will do more for its own teeth in one determined session with a chew than most owners manage with a toothbrush in a month, mainly because the brush involves a negotiation and the chewing does not. The catch is that the chew has to last long enough, and be awkward enough, for the shape to reach anything.

Whimzees are moulded rather than baked out of meat. The composition is potato starch, glycerin, powdered cellulose, lecithin, dried yeast, malt extract and lupine, coloured with alfalfa and paprika extract, and the alligator is shaped hollow and knobbly so there is something for teeth to catch on. Analytical constituents are crude protein 1.1%, fat content 2.0%, crude fibre 13.7%, crude ash 2.4% and moisture 12%, with calorie content declared at 2940 kcal/kg. Whimzees' own guidance is one a day for dogs 9 months and older, with fresh water available and the dog supervised while it chews.

• Large size, alligator shape with hollow and knobbly sections
• Potato starch, glycerin, powdered cellulose, lecithin, dried yeast, malt extract, lupine
• Crude protein 1.1%, fat content 2.0%, crude fibre 13.7%, crude ash 2.4%, moisture 12%
• Calorie content declared at 2940 kcal/kg
• Vegetarian and gluten free, with no meat in it
• Whimzees advise one a day, for dogs 9 months and older

There is almost no protein in this, and no meat at all. Crude protein is 1.1%: it is potato starch and cellulose in an alligator shape, which is not a criticism if that is what you came for, and it is genuinely the chew to reach for when a dog reacts to animal proteins. It is worth saying plainly, though, because "dental chew" makes most people picture something else entirely. Two more: Whimzees call it low calorie and declare 2940 kcal/kg, and since no weight per chew is published there is no way to work out what one large alligator costs a dog for the day. It also contains lupine, a legume, which matters if you are steering around those.

Who it's for: owners of bigger dogs who want a daily chew, and particularly anyone managing a dog that reacts to meat proteins and has run out of things to offer it.