Whimzees Stix Chew – Large

Whimzees Stix Dental Chew – Large

Whimzees Stix are long, ridged dental chews made from potato starch and glycerin rather than hide or meat. They are vegetarian, and grain-free like everything Whimzees make except the Ricebone. The shape does the work: a stick is narrow enough that a dog has to take it back onto the molars instead of crunching it off at the front, and the ridges give the teeth something to scrape against on the way through.

The Large is 174 kcal a chew, which is not a trivial addition to a dog's day and ought to come off the main meal rather than sit on top of it. Whimzees are clear that one properly sized chew a day is the intended rate. They are equally clear that this is not a treat for a young dog — nothing in the range is suitable under nine months.

Performance & Benefits

• Ridged stick shape, made to be chewed back on the molars where plaque actually builds up.
• Vegetarian and grain free: potato starch, glycerin, powdered cellulose, lecithin, dried yeast, malt extract, sweet lupine meal, alfalfa extract and paprika extract.
• Very low in fat at 2.0% and protein at 1.1%, so it does not skew a controlled diet the way a meat chew does.
• Crude fibre 7.2%, which is where most of the substance of it comes from.
• No hide, and therefore none of the digestibility questions that come with rawhide.
• 174 kcal per Large chew, declared by Whimzees, so it can be budgeted into the day properly.

Suitable For

• Adult dogs nine months and over, at the chew size Whimzees specify for the dog's weight.
• Dogs 18–27kg, which is the band Whimzees put the Large in.
• Dogs on a vegetarian diet, or households avoiding animal-protein treats.
• Owners who want a daily dental chew rather than an occasional novelty.
• Not for dogs under nine months, and not for any dog under 2.3kg — Whimzees exclude both, whatever the size chosen.

Feeding

• One chew a day, at the size Whimzees specify for your dog.
• Take the 174 kcal off the day's main meal rather than adding it on top.
• Give it somewhere you can see the dog, on a floor you can wipe.
• Fresh drinking water alongside it.
• If a Large disappears in under a minute, the dog is not chewing it. That is a reason to stop, not a reason to buy a bigger one.

Composition & Analysis

• Composition: potato starch, glycerin, powdered cellulose, lecithin, dried yeast, malt extract, sweet lupine meal, alfalfa extract, paprika extract.
• Analysis: crude protein 1.1%, fat content 2.0%, crude fibre 7.2%, crude ash 2.4%, moisture 12%.
• 174 kcal per chew in Large. Whimzees give XS at 22 kcal, S at 44, M at 87 and XL at 348.
• Grain free. Every shape in the Whimzees range is grain free except the Ricebone, which is built on rice.
• Sold here as a single chew; the same Large Stix is also stocked as a box of 50.

Care & Caution

• Not suitable for dogs under the age of nine months.
• Not suitable for dogs under 2.3kg in weight.
• Whimzees' own wording: as with any edible product, monitor your dog to ensure the treat is adequately chewed. Swallowing any item without thoroughly chewing it may be harmful or even fatal to a dog.
• Always give the size Whimzees specify for the dog in front of you. A chew that is too small for the dog is the one that gets swallowed whole.