Our German Shpeherd, Ben will eat anything and everything. He is a real greedy guts! He would happily sit and eat human food all day every day if he was given half the chance but sadly for him he is not allowed (aside from the odd little bit now and then). One thing he does really enjoy which is made for dogs is the Bakers Maxi Chew.

The Bakers Maxi Chew is a soft textured yet chewy dog chew which is supposed to help keep your dog's teeth and gums healthy as well as aiding digestion. They are similar to rawhide bones in the fact that they are chewy but they apparently taste like meat whereas I assume that the rawhide ones do not really taste of much. The Bakers Maxi Chews are brown in colour and look a bit like a stick of meat with a round twisted detail to it.

The ones I usually purchase for Ben are 300g and they are the most suitable size for a dog of his breed. They usually cost me around the £2.00 mark. They also come in a smaller size for a smaller dog and that is 120g.

The Bakers Max Chews come packaged in a foil type of pack. This packaging keeps the chew moist and fresh as well as keeping the smell of the product in. It is blue in colour with a picture of the maxi chew on the front, the Bakers brand and the name of the product on a red background but the name of the product is written in yellow. It is quite a nice pack and it looks appealing and friendly.

When I first got a Maxi Chew out of its packaging for Ben the first thing I did was wrinkle my nose up in distaste at the smell. It smells horrendous and I for one hate the smell. It is like a Pepperami smell but worse. To describe it as a fake meat smell would probably be more appropriate. To touch it is quite hard but yet has a moist feeling which is a little bit yuk! As soon as I had got it out of the packaging, I heard Ben's nostrils sniffing like a sniffer dog and he came trotting straight into the kitchen ready for this new treat.

The chew itself is about 7 inches in length and 2-3 inches in width. To me the chew also felt a little heavy but it didn't seem to be for Ben. This was the perfect size for Ben and he took it from me gently and trotted away to the living room to sit on his blanket with it. He got to work on it straight away, balancing it between his paws and chewing the life out of it. As he was chewing I could see that the harder exterior of the chew was a little misleading as he was getting through it as though it was as soft as bread and when I touched a bit that had fallen to the floor, the inside of it was really soft. It doesn't take Ben long to get through one of these chews, probably about 8-10 minutes in all. He would be more than happy to eat them all day long but I do restrict them a little bit and keep them as more of a treat.

A word of warning with these chews which I didn't know when Ben had his first ever one and that is they contain alot of red colouring. When the chew is chewed, the red colouring comes off of the chew and marks anything and everything! It absolutely ruined his blanket with reddish pink stains everywhere and his tongue was also a darker pink because of it! Ben also has a little blotch of tan colour on his chin as well as his paws being completely tan - these were also stained pink and he always ends up needing a bath after eating one of these!

The meaty smell of the chew does linger and gives your dog meat breath, just a word of warning! It is not the nicest of kisses to receive!

These are really nice treats for a dog and they are worth the money for an every now and again treat. Dogs love them and I am sure Ben would be more than happy to live in a house made of them! The only downside to them is the fake meat smell which lingers for ages especially on the breath and the fact thay they have a fair bit of red dye in them which does stain. I do recommend them as a treat every couple of weeks rather than a regular thing.