Short answer: yes. Lamb ears are one of the better everyday chews you can hand your dog. They're a single-ingredient chew — just lamb, nothing else — they're lower in fat than pig ears, and unlike rawhide they're fully digestible. They're soft enough for puppies and seniors whose teeth can't handle a hard chew, and they give most dogs 10 to 20 minutes of honest work. The main thing to watch is calories and supervision, which I'll get into below.
I'm Preston Smith, co-founder of Bully Sticks Central. We've been sourcing natural chews for a long time, and lamb ears come up constantly from customers whose dogs can't tolerate richer chews. Here's what I tell them.
What exactly is a lamb ear?
It's the whole ear of a sheep, cleaned and slowly dehydrated until it's dry and crisp. That's it. No glue, no bleach, no basting, no flavor spray. A good lamb ear is 100% natural and 100% real meat — cartilage, skin, and a thin layer of connective tissue. Ours are ethically sourced from grass-fed American and Argentinean farms, and they're 100% high-quality guaranteed.
That single-ingredient part matters more than people think. Most chews that cause trouble cause it because of what got added — binders, preservatives, or the chemical processing used to make rawhide. The American Kennel Club has written about the concerns with rawhide, which is stripped, chemically treated, and doesn't break down the way real meat does. A lamb ear has none of that. If you want to go deeper on why we build the whole catalog this way, we wrote up the case for single-ingredient chews.
Are lamb ears safe for dogs?
For most dogs, yes — with normal chew-time common sense.
Lamb ears are soft and pliable rather than brittle. They don't splinter into sharp shards the way a cooked bone can, and they're softer than antlers or hooves, which are a known cause of cracked teeth. VCA Animal Hospitals makes the point in its guidance on dental disease that chews too hard to dent with a fingernail are the ones that fracture molars. Lamb ears pass that test easily.
The two rules I give everyone:
- Supervise the chew. Any chew, every time. Dogs get impatient and try to swallow the last piece whole.
- Take away the end nub. When it's small enough to fit fully in the mouth, trade it for something else. That's a choking or blockage risk, and it's true of every chew on the market.
The FDA has documented the injuries that come from bones specifically — obstructions, perforations, broken teeth. Dehydrated ears sit in a much safer category, but the supervision rule doesn't change.
Are lamb ears easy to digest?
This is where lamb ears earn their spot. They're fully digestible — the cartilage and skin break down in the stomach the way any other meat protein does. Rawhide is the counterexample: it swells and can sit in the gut. That's the whole reason we sell no rawhide, period.
Lamb is also a common choice for elimination diets because a lot of dogs have simply never eaten it. If your dog reacts to chicken or beef, lamb is often the protein that finally works. It's worth saying plainly, though: a food trial is a veterinary process, not a guessing game. If you suspect a real allergy, run it with your vet rather than swapping chews and hoping.
How do lamb ears compare to pig ears?
The honest comparison, since this is the question I get most:
- Fat. Lamb ears are noticeably leaner. Pig ears carry a lot of fat, which is a real problem for overweight dogs or any dog with a history of pancreatitis.
- Chew time. Roughly the same — 10 to 20 minutes for an average chewer. Neither one is a long-lasting chew.
- Texture. Lamb ears are lighter and thinner. Pig ears are greasier and messier on the carpet.
- Recall history. Pig ears have a rougher record. The FDA investigated a multistate Salmonella outbreak linked to pig ear treats in 2019. That's a sourcing-and-handling issue, not something inherent to the ear — but it's a reminder that where a chew comes from matters as much as what it is.
If your dog needs something leaner still, beef trachea is worth a look — same soft-chew category, even lower fat, plus naturally occurring glucosamine and chondroitin from the cartilage.
How many lamb ears can a dog have?
A lamb ear runs roughly 60–100 calories depending on size. The standing rule from the veterinary nutrition guidelines is that treats and chews should stay under 10% of daily calories, with the other 90% coming from a complete, balanced diet.
Practically:
- Small dogs (under 20 lbs): half an ear, a couple times a week.
- Medium dogs (20–50 lbs): one ear, two or three times a week.
- Large dogs (50+ lbs): one ear, up to every other day.
New chew, new dog? Start with a small piece and see how the next day goes. Rich chews introduced too fast are the usual cause of loose stool — not the chew itself.
Can puppies have lamb ears?
Yes, once they've got their adult teeth coming in and they're eating solid food comfortably — generally around 4 to 6 months. Lamb ears are actually a good starter chew precisely because they're soft. A puppy's teeth aren't built for hard chews, and this is one they can work on without risk to their bite.
Keep the portions small and stay in the room. We laid out the full progression of what to give a puppy and when in our guide to bully sticks for puppies, and lamb ears fit the same rules.
Do lamb ears clean teeth?
Somewhat. The mechanical scraping of chewing does help scrub plaque off the tooth surface, and that's a real benefit. But a lamb ear is not a replacement for brushing. The Veterinary Oral Health Council maintains a list of products actually tested for plaque and tartar control — dehydrated ears aren't on it, and I'm not going to claim otherwise. Treat the dental benefit as a nice side effect of a chew your dog enjoys, not as dental care.
The bottom line
Lamb ears are a solid everyday chew: single-ingredient, 100% natural, lower in fat than pig ears, fully digestible, no rawhide involved. They're a particularly good fit for dogs who need something gentle — puppies, seniors, sensitive stomachs, or dogs on a lamb-based diet. Supervise, pull the last nub, keep the count reasonable, and they'll do exactly what a good chew should.
This post was last updated at July 18, 2026 14:45
