Bully sticks!

[Gardening Grandma]

Since it's been 15 years since we've had a puppy, I am on a learning curve. The house breaking is going well (1 accident in nearly 3 weeks), but it seems I have a few things to learn about safe chew toys.

I asked a friend who raises puppies to become seeing eye dogs for recommendations.  "Bully sticks" she responded. Puppies love them, they are safe to eat and take a long time.

Off I went to the pet store where I discovered
a) they are expensive! A plain, straight 6" bully stick was $5
b) they come in all kinds of shapes (corckscrew) and sizes 4" to a 12" braided stick
c) they are made from bulls' penis
d) after being chewed on they stink!

Yikes!

[Deleted]

My lab liked those heavy braided ropes so much.  She would just shred them, but when we had her put down at age 12 the vet said he'd never seen such beautiful teeth on an old dog.  It was like she was constantly flossing.

[ArchietheDragon]

Just think of it as a conversation stater for when friends and family are over. 

While they are oohing and ahhing over your pup, throw in a phrase like "and he just loves his new bull penis" and let the conversation flow from there. 

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

My pup is 2 years old and REQUIRES a fair amount of chewing each day.

We tried the antlers and the yak milk chewies, but our vet warned us that some dogs can actually break teeth on them.  For us, she gave us the test of whether or not my fingernail will make an indent in the chewy.

She has several dogs and highly recommends bully sticks -- the slim, rolled ones, so that our small dog doesn't choke.  And, yes, they STINK.  Unfortunately, my dog can devour one in just an hour or so which gets expensive.  I do worry about all of that stuff in his stomache at once...

We've started saving them for when we need a chunk of time free from dog-monitoring (dinner guests, important household chores, etc.).

The only other thing that helps is LONG walks -- sometimes twice per day.  Tired dogs don't chew as much.  

[sarcasticgirl]

bully sticks STINK! but my beast loves them so we get them every now and then.

we once got "bully flakes" in his bark box that you could sprinkle on the dog's food. I called it "penis zest" 

[Wisconsin Beth]

I keep thinking of those swagger stick type. Lol

[aprilleigh]

I just noticed that Costco carries these! $27.99 for 12. Hope that info helps someone! 

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

I'm also really careful about where my pup's food and treats are made.

There have been some very tragic stories in recent years about pets being poisoned from Chinese-made pet foods and treats.

I haven't lost him or stepped on him or caused any other harm to him so far.  I'm not about to feed him something deadly.  

[Gardening Grandma]

So I decided to limit the amount of time she gets to chew a bully stick - especially while we are figuring out whether it will upset her tummy.  We give it to her in the evening when we want to relax and watch TV.  The first one is about 3/4 gone, so she's eating about a fourth each day. No tummy issues (knock wood).

She likes nylabones, but I only let her have one when I can supervise. 
She does love to crunch ice cubes - are those ok, do you think?

Yes, at lunch the othe day with some long time friends, I said "Puppy sure loves to chew on dried bull penis"

[Gardening Grandma]

Apr 5, 2016 13:34:02 GMT -5 sarcasticgirl said:

bully sticks STINK! but my beast loves them so we get them every now and then.

we once got "bully flakes" in his bark box that you could sprinkle on the dog's food. I called it "penis zest" 

What's a "bark box"?

[justme]

I think it's like a birch box (and all the other ones) but for dogs. Ie a monthly box that includes several trial sizes of things for you to try out.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

My pup was taking nicks out of the Nylabones, so we stopped giving them to him.  I'd rather he have chunks of bull penis in his stomach than plastic.  

[jeep108]

My pug loves Etta Says Duck Chews, I order them from Amazon.

[sarcasticgirl]

Apr 5, 2016 15:52:47 GMT -5 Gardening Grandma said:

Apr 5, 2016 13:34:02 GMT -5 sarcasticgirl said:

bully sticks STINK! but my beast loves them so we get them every now and then.

we once got "bully flakes" in his bark box that you could sprinkle on the dog's food. I called it "penis zest" 

What's a "bark box"?

it is what spoiled doggies get! a monthly subscription that comes with treats and a toy or two. we spoiled our little guy for a while... but don't get the box anymore. Now anytime a package comes he goes nuts and thinks it is for him. 

[Spellbound454]

We got a lot of hard chew toys for our pup ...Kong was the favourite.... and I'd spread thin peanut butter on it and put her breakfast kibble inside.

Wouldn't fancy a bulls penis lying on the carpet though.
I know they like smelly stuff.....but I don't.

[violagirl]

Usually a few friends and I get together and purchase bully sticks in bulk from Bullysticks.ca. There is 15% off promo right now. Not sure if they ship to the US. The monster odor free bullysticks are a bit more pricy but worth it for a less odoriferous experience. I wouldn't say they are completely no odor, but 95% less odor. If I am sitting beside the dogs and they are chewing, I can't smell them. 

Also kongs stuffed and frozen are good for teething puppies - and adult dogs. Keeps them busy. Some of my dogs get too impatient with the frozen kongs and are smart enough to leave them until they thaw. One dog learned from a friends dog that kongs that are thrown down the stairs often divulge treats easier than chewing them. 

[Abby Normal]

Our lab\Bc is an aggressive chewer. Always has been. Only thing we found is a femur bone and that will last a while. He likes to break off huge pieces of other things and swallow them. We joked when he was young that we needed to put in a zipper because he would eat stuff that would get stuck. The femur bones were the only thing that we never had to worry about.

Younger dog likes to chew on whatever you give her. She's not picky bit not much of a chewer either.

So basically it depends on your dog.

[zibazinski]

It might be worth getting a dog so I can make conversation about bull penises. Do you think it'll raise a few eyebrows? I'm thinking its a great pick up line ?

[ginpin]

My boys chew on Kongs, nylabones, and knuckle bones.  My big boy has a Goughnut Maxx, which he hasn't been able to destroy yet.  They are pricey, but worth the money.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Apr 7, 2016 4:33:23 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

It might be worth getting a dog so I can make conversation about bull penises. Do you think it'll raise a few eyebrows? I'm thinking its a great pick up line ?

There's our girl!!!

Someone's finding her spunk and her sense of humor again.

So glad to see so. We know the past few months have sucked and that there is/will be fallout for awhile. We just miss "our" Zib. :-)

[zibazinski]

It's been hell thats for sure. I'm hoping the worst is over. Or at least tolerable.

[zibazinski]

This apartment overlooks a dog park. Plenty of guys down there with their dogs. I can see a rip roaring conversation about bull p in their futures and mine. I've always enjoyed bringing civilized conversations to a dead halt

[Gardening Grandma]

Apr 7, 2016 10:50:10 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

It's been hell thats for sure. I'm hoping the worst is over. Or at least tolerable.

I hope so too, zib

[Apple]

My dog was an insane chewer, and being part pit, she was strong.  She would chew through tires, plastic, whatever she could get her teeth on.  The one toy that proved indestructible (other than the kong--she was only interested in that when it had treats inside) was from West Paw Designs.  She had a ball that she would play with sometimes, but her favorite was the disc.  She chewed on that every day for over a year, shook it as hard as she could, played fetch with it, etc, and it was still in perfect condition a year later (we buried it with her).  Highly recommend.