Bully sticks…yay or nay? Vet says nay after x-rays.

[radioactive7]

So long story short, we found our 11mo old corgi chewing on a sewing kit (don’t ask lol) and worried that he had chewed on/swallowed a sewing needle. We immediately went to the vet and had x-rays taken (only way to be 100% sure he’s ok). Luckily he wasn’t derpy enough (very surprised) to swallow a sewing needle. The vet continued to show us the x-rays and pointed out three different bone looking things in his stomach. She asked if we feed or have him chew on anything hard. We said yes, as he LOVES chewing and loves his hard ass bully sticks. The vet said that is a huge no-no and more often than not, dogs chew off chunks and just swallow them (obviously what he had been doing) and they become difficult for the dog to pass. No to mention there is a chance of the hard bone scraping or poking his insides or chipping a tooth on them. We haven’t given him one since.

This is where I’m curious to hear everyone’s opinion. Everybody is obviously free to raise their dog how they choose. I’m not advocating for or against bully sticks as I cannot imagine going through his puppy life without them (they have been a life saver). But now that we know better and he is older we are choosing to not give him those or anything else like them (she strongly discouraged any type of body part, ears, neck, rawhides, etc).

Do you give your dog hard & edible things to chew on (bully sticks and others)? Why or why not?

Once again, this is a genuine inquiry to see what everyone else does and not intended to judge or start shit. Thanks

 

[joseywales1978]

@radioactive7 Just depends on the dog. My dog chews very gently and slowly, a bully stick usually lasts a couple of days. If we had a power chewer we wouldn't give her bully sticks

 

[cassafrass0803]

@joseywales1978 My dog is such a light chewer, she's gotta work on one for about a month

 

[4bloodmoons]

@cassafrass0803 Is it a small dog?

Mine goes through bully sticks pretty fast and they’re so expensive! I get mine in the 12-pack at Costco and cut them into thirds on my bandsaw and only offer about one of them a week just to save money

I wish my dog could spend a month on one…

 

[cassafrass0803]

@4bloodmoons She is, she's sixteen pounds. But it's definitely her chewing that slows her down. She once got a door open to eat an entire order of egg foo young. I can't eat an entire order of egg foo young. (I took her to the vet and they induced it back out and she wagged her tail the whole time)

 

[space769]

@cassafrass0803 Our girl is 12lbs, she can finish a 12" bully in 30 minutes but she's shredding it. We only give them to her supervised because of how quick she gets through them.

 

[nathie]

@cassafrass0803 This was just like my Corgi! He’s finally gotten that month-long chew time down to about a week per stick now

 

[alexa2008]

@radioactive7 I give my 9mo golden bully sticks and naturally dried deer hide. The sticks I put in a special bully stick holder so she can’t swallow the end nubs. Both are fully digestible but can take a little while - the reason I got the stick holder was once she swallowed one lengthways and I was so worried - then about a day or two later she threw up and the remainder of the stick came back up (it was waaaayyy digested and looked like a thin tendon but I could tell what it was), so maybe she has a super digester stomach but it didn’t bother her at all, she only threw up because she was trying to bark and eat a biscuit at the same time and inhaled a chunk of gravy bone

Each dog and owner to their own, of course, but I found splashing out on proper bullys and natural deer hide (which lasts AGES) saved me through the teething stage and now keep her calm / entertained while I am working.

 

[locke23]

@alexa2008 Can you share the holder you have? I’m looking for one for my lab

 

[alexa2008]

@locke23 I got the West Paw Zogoflex Qwizl (I think Qwizl is the name to search for). I’m in the UK so it might not be available elsewhere. I got it from the prime company for my sins, as no pet shops here seemed to do something like it!

 

[amcknig1]

@locke23 Check out bow wow buddy!

 

[jeremiah50]

@locke23 Kong also has one! They look like a bone, with a holder in each of the bone nubs.

 

[azsosa]

@alexa2008 What brand of bully stick do you get? We have a 4 month old golden

 

[alexa2008]

@azsosa I get mine from a UK company called Dragonfly Products, they do a bunch of all natural long lasting chews like deer, lamb, camel hides, pigs ears etc. I tried a ton of branded ones but found that the best ones came from there - they last ages and also don’t have such a terrible smell somehow (they still stink, be warned!). I keep them in a mason jar as leaving in the plastic makes the smell emanate… and the whiff when that jar opens… phew. Gross.

 

[4bloodmoons]

@alexa2008 Lolll you’ve got quite the multitasker!!

And that’s basically how my pet snake digests meals.…swallows it whole, body does the rest

Also, do you have a link to the deer hide? That sounds intriguing, especially the “lasts forever” part

 

[alexa2008]

@4bloodmoons This is where I get them from: https://www.dragonflyproducts.co.uk/Long-Lasting-Chews

And yeah, a single deer hide lasts for days even when she attacks it heftily throughout the day!

 

[4bloodmoons]

@alexa2008 Thanks! Gonna have to give them a try.

 

[msaning]

@radioactive7 You can get a holder for a bully stick so that it’s impossible to swallow the last few inches. That leaves an inch or so nub they won’t get to that most people don’t know what to do with.

I heard to not give raw hides that you usually find at a normal pet store since they are usually byproduct of the leather industry and indigestible and chemical filled and will cause issues. But I do give my dog natural beef hides rolls from Farmhounds which last a long long time

 

[tiktok]

@msaning My dog makes it his mission to pull them out. He usually can after a bit. It’s definitely not impossible.

 

[pan0ptic]

@msaning Bully holder I use - https://a.co/d/jfdOWML