bully sticks

[daaqa]

lots of you have mentioned that you give them to your dogs, but i am curious: how long do they last? i've been giving sylvie these 100% digestable pork twists and she can chew through one in a day. trying to find something that will last longer. bully sticks are quite a bit more expensive, so if they don't last any longer i don't see the point in bothering. ive given her real raw soup bones, but once she's cleaned them off, she doesn't bother with them.
i won't touch rawhide, but i'm trying to find something else...

 

[Buddy'sParents]

They don't last long at my house. The compressed rawhide lasts a bit longer, though.

 

[dogsarebetter]

last me several days, and Ruckus chews on them all the time. but he has a very soft mouth

 

[juliefurry]

Here it depends on the dog, and the brand as well.

Hannah can go through a Merrick's bully stick (I think 9 inch is what I get her) in about 1 to 1 and 1/2 hours. The red barn bully sticks take her 3-4 hours.

Holly goes through the 9 inch Merrick's in about 3-4 hours and a Red Barn bully stick in about 5 hours (so they both last her an afternoon).

Ele it takes her 2-3 days to finish a 9 inch bully stick of either brand and 2 days to finish a 6 inch stick of either brand.

 

[Renee750il]

You know, I can hear all the guys on the forum collectively wincing at this thread

 

[Aussie Red]

Oh no here we go again... Karyn you stay off this thread and that is an order !!!!!!!

 

[daaqa]

yeah, my hubby winced when i told him about them. if i get any, i just wont be mentioning anything..

do the beef tendon ones last longer?

 

[ToscasMom]

The long braided ones seem to last the longest. Three braided bull penises. Delightful.

 

[daaqa]

well, i picked up a little 3" bully stick [or steer stick as the store called them, which is probably more correct since the male cattle that is raised for food products are steers, not bulls] yesterday and HELLO did that stink! anyway, she polished if off in an hour. i got her some beef tendon, too, and that was being sucked down super fast. sheesh.

anyone use nylabones?

 

[ToscasMom]

HELLO did that stink!

Oh yeah. We forgot to tell you about that.

 

[~Jessie~]

Yeah, they do smell pretty... interesting.

With my chis, they usually last a couple of days. Madison has a tendency to gulp (he actually ended up at the vet's hooked up to an IV for a couple of days because of gulping a piece of flossie in the middle- we even picked up the last inch of the end). Just make sure to watch your pup to ensure he isn't a gulper.

 

[daaqa]

yikes, i just read some info on nylabones that will make me stay away from them forever. nevermind!

 

[Buddy'sParents]

yikes, i just read some info on nylabones that will make me stay away from them forever. nevermind!

Yeah, keep away from those!

 

[ToscasMom]

Can you post the info on Nylabones please? I mean my vet told me after I had a visit when Tosca had a problem with rawhide...to use Nylabones. So if they are bad too, I need to know. As it is, I don't even know where her Nylabone is...lol. I have really focused on giving her raw marrow bones--full size--for her chewing experience. But she does have a Nylabone...somewhere.

 

[Herschel]

Herschel loves Nylabones and has several of them.

Could someone please post information about why they are bad?

I've heard that they can break teeth or some dogs can break them and swallow pieces. Herschel can't break them, but they are soft enough (compared to his teeth) that he makes "progress" on them over the course of months. Once the nubs wear down they are replaced.

 

[daaqa]

this is one of the places i saw questions about the safety of nylabones.

 

[Herschel]

I'm really surprised Nylabone decided to settle that case. I think they could have won if it went to court.

I don't think the Nylabone Durables or their other products were ever intended to be eaten. People should know their dogs well enough--some dogs, like Jessie's chihuahua, will break pieces and gulp them. If your dog is like that, Nylabones aren't safe.

Herschel loves to chew. If we feed him his kibble dry, he will chew almost every individual piece. He's never gulped or tried to gulp anything. If the concern is that dogs will swallow the nylabone then I still consider it safe for its intended purpose.

Should all squeaky toys be considered dangerous? I'm sure there are plenty of cases that have implicated squeakers lodged in the small intestine as a cause of severe discomfort or death. Dogs need to be supervised if there is any doubts as to their safety!

Thanks for the link, daaqa. I appreciate the perspective.

 

[daaqa]

no problem, herschel!

i guess my concern with nylabones is that there seems to be a lack of education regarding them. all our dogs had nylabones growing up and we never had a problem. if i just tell the average person that, they will think that all of the companies claims of safety are totally good. i think it's better to warn people of things gone bad such as "our dogs didn't have a problem with them when i was growing up, but there are reported cases of dogs that chew whole chunks off them and swallow them and then are sick and some even die, so i would be cautious and make sure you know your dog and your dog's chewing style before venturing that direction."

personally, i would rather my dog be chewing something more natural or something with less cause for concern, like a kong. i've yet to hear a single bad story about kongs.

 

[pkulak]

My dog goes through 4 bucks worth of bull donk in about 30 minutes. I don't make enough to support that kind of habit.