Giving a dog a bone seems like such a simple concept. Considering what most dogs will put in their mouths, it shouldn’t be that hard. Unless, you’re talking about two of the three dogs I own.

When Brandi Duis offered the chance to do a taste test of her all-natural Chew gourmet dog bones, I thought, why not? This should be a breeze.

Four medium-size bones came in one package, and I kept two for my dogs and gave the others to two co-workers. They had no problem conducting the taste test. Their dogs actually knew what to do with the bones. That would be to chew them.

Daxter, a schnauzer, loved the treat, which is the femur bone of a cow cut to expose the marrow.

“It has become another chew toy,” says his co-owner.

Maya, a Shepherd mix, also loved her bone.

“She cleaned it,” says her owner.

Maya, her owner points out, had some trouble holding the bone in her paws.

Now, we come to my dogs. I tested the bones on Conan, a Rottweiler, and Nala, a Rottweiler mix. They get chew bones on a regular basis, so I thought these two would love the Chew bones.

I was wrong.

Normally, they have no problem chewing, and that includes about anything they can wrap their jaws around. However, Chew on Ms. Duis’ bones, they did not. They licked them. Conan quickly lost interest, and Chew became just another discarded bone. My very timid Nala, on the other hand, turned into a guard dog. She didn’t want to eat her bone, she just wanted to make sure the other dogs or me didn’t take it. She got her first scolding when she growled at me.

A growling match erupted when Nala decided that Conan’s bone looked more appealing than hers. He walked away and when she growled at me again, I took both bones and tossed them in the trash.

While my two dogs behaved badly, the bones have received Maya’s and Daxter’s seal of approval.

But like Maya’s owner, I do agree that the hickory-smoked smell is overwhelming. Nala was given her bone in the house, something I will not do again if I decide to purchase more. Like Maya’s owner, if I do purchase more Chew bones, I will opt for the smaller size, that way my other dog, Madison, can actually try the treats.

And I know that Madison won’t have any trouble knowing what to do with a chew bone.