Bully Sticks?

    • Gold Top Dog

    Bully Sticks?

    I'd heard quite a few people talking about giving thier dog bully sticks rather than rawhides or something.....so I thought I'd try it.  I bought two 9" braided bullys from petco, and they came in today.  So, I thought I'd give one to Maya to keep her busy in her crate while I'm at work, since she doesn't seem to pay much attention to any of the other toys I've given her.

    That was 9am.  I went home at 11, and the bully stick was GONE! No sign of it! I thougth these things were supposed to last a bit!? Are they supposed to be a chew that can be eaten? Or are they meant as a treat, that takes a little longer to eat?

    How long should it take a 4 year old pointer mix to finish off a 9" braided bully stick?
    • Gold Top Dog
    Yes, the bully's are meant to be consumed. They are more easily digested than rawhide and they don't use bleaching chemicals,formaldahyde and such in processing them so they are considered safer.
    I buy straight 12" long pizzles(bull penis) and it takes them maybe 20 minutes to consume one..I would expect your dog to take a bit longer with a braided one..but not much longer.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Max finishes them off in a pretty short time, too.  The big mistake I made with Bully Sticks was ever telling DH what they were REALLY made of. [sm=rofl.gif][sm=rofl.gif]

    Joyce
    • Gold Top Dog
    Thanks.  I knew they were made to be edible....I just thought they lasted longer. 

    Ok....so....'nother question.  I am not too keen on giving her rawhides, as I've heard bad things about it.  Yesterday we were at my gramma's, and she really wanted to give her a rawhide that she had.  I decided I'd let her chew on one for a bit, since she'd be right there in front of me.  She WENT TO TOWN on it...absolutely loved it.  I haven't found ONE THING before this that she actually liked to chew on, and that kept her busy this intensely, and for this long.  It was WONDERFUL!

    ...however, I still dont' want to give her the rawhide, unless I"m there.  I need something to keep her busy while in her crate.  I give her frozen stuffed kongs, but that doesn't take her long...and if there is no food in it, she has no interest in it. I have a Kong ball that you can put treat or kibble in on it's way (I ordered it, and it came in today, but they sent me a regular Kong, and not a Kong ball. :S ), but I suspect it will only last so long, as well.  Any suggestions?
    • Gold Top Dog
    I hope you return that Kong, they should be sending you what you ordered and paid for. 
    Boy, I know what you mean, we have 2 chewers that go through chew treats in no time.  Both dog's are like Maisey's, they go through a straight bully stick in about 30 minutes.  We also give them cornstarch bones, the large ones last about 2 days, mostly because they get tired and just leave it for a while.
    Take a look at the various treats that dog.com carries.  I found that they carry a wide variety of cornstarch bones, many flavors.  The prices are the best I've seen around for them too.  And shipping is fairly quick, from PA to FL was about 5 days.
    • Gold Top Dog
    I will be returning the Kong..I emailed them to find out how to go about doing so. 

    As for bones from Dog.com....what about this?
    [linkhttp://www.dog.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=102278+003&Cat=]http://www.dog.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=102278+003&Cat=[/link]

    Is a bone like that safe?

    • Gold Top Dog
    One thing that you have to be careful of with rawhide is that it gives some dogs  really loose stools.  Both Max and the dog I had before him would have diarrhea the day after chewing on a piece of rawhide.  That's the main reason I stopped giving it to him.

    Joyce
    • Gold Top Dog
    ORIGINAL: Corry

    I will be returning the Kong..I emailed them to find out how to go about doing so. 

    As for bones from Dog.com....what about this?
    [linkhttp://www.dog.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=102278+003&Cat=]http://www.dog.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=102278+003&Cat=[/link]

    Is a bone like that safe?



     
    I've ordered these bones (they also have some hickory bones just like that) from dog.com quite a few times. My dogs love to lick the filling out and then I use the bone just like a Kong with frozen treats in it. They love to chew on them and the bones last forever.
     
    My dogs go through rawhides like crazy too. You always want to supervise them when they chew rawhide, because some dogs tear off chunks and can swallow big pieces. I'm always afraid that they'd choke, so I won't let them chew without me around. I love the pressed rawhide bones. You can find them on dog.com and they last longer than standard rawhide chews. I just ordered pressed ;porkhide bones, which are supposed to be better for them--so I'm excited to get my dog.com box!
    • Gold Top Dog
    I take the last inch or so of the bullystick away from my dog,,afraid he will choke on it...Can I let him eat the whole thing?  Hes' a golden mix.
    • Gold Top Dog
    I'm afraid of choking too so I don't dare let Molly have one when she's home alone....and her last 2 bully sticks made her vomit a yellowish bile the day after. I don't think she can have them
    • Gold Top Dog
    I gave Rose a 6" bull stick last weekend and there is still part of it left.  She didn't really like it as much as other stuff but it lasts a while.  I just won't tell any of my friends what it is when the come over.
    • Gold Top Dog
    You're best off to buy the straight ones. I am not sure why but the braided ones don't seem to last as long as the straight ones.
    Also, I don't think that it is good to leave them in the crate with the dog when you go out. The choking factor would scare me.
    • Gold Top Dog
    You just might need to get the thicker ones.  There are different thickness ones you can buy.  I got 3 of the really thick ones for my pup.  He could go through a thin bully stick in about 30 min.  These ones take him a week or so.
     
    On that note, there's a guy on ebay who sells them by the box for a really good price.
    • Gold Top Dog
    I agree, the straight 12" do seem to last a little longer than the 9" braided.
    We try to make sure to take the last 2" away from Russell but we have forgotten or missed it on many occasions and not had a problem. I think bully sticks are highly digestible... as long as your dog is not a gulper (as mine is definitely not) there isn't much risky about bully sticks. But if you know your dog bites off chunks of things and swallows them be more vigilant than I am. [:D]
    • Gold Top Dog
    The braided ones seem to last a bit longer here, but that could be because I take them away. I let them eat the whole straight ones, but the braided ones are too much (my dogs are small). A 12" straight bully stick lasts less than 10 minutes, for Emma. She's got jaws of steel. It lasts Teenie 45ish. The braided ones, I let them chew for 10 minutes, then take them away. They last 3-5 chewings for Emma, and twice that or better for Teenie.

    The *only* toy I'll leave with a crated dog is a black, frozen solid Kong.