# Are bully sticks safe for young puppies?



## Jax's Mom

Honestly, I flet safer giving them bully sticks when they were puppies. They couldn't really EAT the darn thing. Took them a long time to get it down to a small piece before aai threw it out. Now that they are big, they go through it so fast, and end up chewing pieces off, which makes me nervous. Does anyone else have this problem?


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## jackie_hubert

They're safe with puppies but once they get down to a little stub throw them out because they can risk swallowing the last little bit and getting it stuck in their throat.

One thing to note is that a considerable number of owners can see some possessiveness with high value items like a bullystick. We did at first and worked hard to show Cosmo that giving up his bullystick was not a bad thing by playing the trade game. This is especially important if you have kids as you know. Just FYI.


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## HiTideGoldens

Jack loved bully sticks. Still does, but he goes through them at warp speed now. We've moved on to antlers. 

As a pup I wasn't totally worried about him swallowing them. Until they get their big molars in they can't really chew off much. It usually took Jack a week or more to chew through a 12" stick. We usually took them away at 4-5 inches.


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## tbliss

We gave Maevis bully sticks as a puppy, but antlers seemed to last longer and do a better job of satisfying her need to chew.


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## Willow52

I gave Hank bullysticks starting at about 4 months. They saved us during those long winter evenings when he was teething. I bought the 12" supreme. They gave us at least a hour or two of peace!


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## Sophie_Mom

Oh, how I wish my poor Sawyer could have a bully or some kind of treat -- Poor guy. But yes, if it weren't for his stomach, he'd certainly be having them.


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## JonandPhyllis

Jax's Mom said:


> Honestly, I flet safer giving them bully sticks when they were puppies. They couldn't really EAT the darn thing. Took them a long time to get it down to a small piece before aai threw it out. Now that they are big, they go through it so fast, and end up chewing pieces off, which makes me nervous. Does anyone else have this problem?


Sunny, my 5 month old (meaning no more baby teeth) LOVES the bully sticks...we've only bought one so far and it was in the shape of a circle...he's managed to lose it somewhere in the house and it hasn't surfaced again but I know he was starting to get pieces off of it and it was beginning to worry me. I'm kinda glad it disappeared but I'm sure it'll show up again one of these days.


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## BeehiveGolden

There was a post a few weeks ago about bully sticks. It came to my attention they can carry some very nasty bacteria. The study this info came from was very small but still eye opening. Something else to consider besides the obvious ingestion risks. 

I've feed them to adult dogs without issues in the past. Our new puppy doesn't care for them very much. He's had the same 3 out since we got him. He'll chew them for maybe a minute a day.


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## mddolson

Our Bella loves Bully (Pizzle) sticks. Ditto on watching when they get too short.
Bella swallowed one when it was short, luckily it passed OK. 
But did it ever her make her fart & smell bad.
Enough to make you gag.
Mike D


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## _bella_

My Bella loved them, HOWEVER.....I Noticed every time she'd get one she's drink so much water she would have accidents in the house. EVERY SINGLE TIME. I couldn't figure out why every so often her house breaking would go right out the door and after thinking and looking at what we were giving her, it coincided exactly with days she got bully sticks.


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## Anon-2130948gsoni

I used bully sticks as a way to teach puppy Griffey to relax about high value items. I'd hold one end and he'd chew the other (yes, they're NASTY). And when I was over it, off we'd go for a piece of cheese or chicken as a treat. He got so used to this he used to drag his other chewies over to me so he could sit in my lap while he chewed them!

Yesterday I gave him (almost ten months) a huge shin bone because the other dogs were gone with DH and I needed to vacuum without a lot of Griffey supervision. I moved it and him around half a dozen times with zero problem. 

It was disgusting but worth it!


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