chewing needs

I seem to have a thing with elderly rottweilers. I had a roommate with a rottie, and after she moved out, she took a job with frequent travel. I ended up caring for this old lady rott for several months. I learned quite a lot from her, actually, about the breed and about the kind of mellow energy they have. She was a real character, but it took awhile to really 'get' her. One funny thing she did was interrupt dinner with a crescendo of growling. It is frightening! I realized, though, that she was trying to include herself in the conversation. Nothing was wrong, once we looked at her and talked to her. But just conversing amongst the humans and eating dinner was not to her liking. (As a training issue, of course I wouldn't go for a regular dinner interruption.)

Anyway, this year I have cared for an 11 year old intact male Rottweiler, Salvador. He's a well trained dog and a big sweetie. Daphne loves him. He stands tall with a ball in his mouth, growling, while she wiggles up to him and licks his mouth. They give each other hours of entertainment.
I dropped her off at his house for an overnight, just to keep each other company. They seemed to enjoy it, but after I picked up Daphne, she was wanting to have more action. I was just hanging out with the family, so I gave her a nylabone. She had not been very interested in it before, but she sat on the floor and chewed it up once she realized it was going to be mellow time. In fact, I had to hold onto it for awhile, sometimes playing with it and other times just keeping it from her. I finally made her sit and gave it to her, and shortly after, Mona had it and started to chew it. Finally, all this desire for the nylabone made Daphne suddenly find its value.

What I reflect on is the variety of activities she needs. She did not seem to chew at all in the two days at Salvador's house. But when it was time to just lay around and chill, she really relished that chew session. She holds the bone so it touches the floor and makes a huge racket. I suspect this is part of making sure she is in everyone's awareness. Sort of like when I pet Mona, Dapnhe suddenly needs to hack and cough, for attention.