# Hardest antlers?



## Summer's Mom (Oct 20, 2010)

I think moose is softer! You could try the link Marlene (missmastar) posted for antlers from a person on ebay I think. They have HUGE diameters, and that might make it harder for Riley to get a chunk off it.. I think antlers are still a good idea. 

What about raw marrow bones? If you get a good 6 inch one, once he's cleared the meat and marrow off it can sit around for a long time.. i've yet to hear of one chipping..


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

It's not that the antlers aren't going to wear down-they definitely do, but large pieces should not break off.

I loved the petexpertise antlers but I have to admit I like Marlene's guy's antlers better. They are larger in diameter and do not have the smaller branches. They have lasted a very long time! And I have super destructo pup (Bug), who can punch holes in metal


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

Try michiganantlerart.com. That's the guy from Marlene's link, but cutting out the ebay part will save you money. He's really good about answering any questions you might have and will also offer suggestions. And he ships fast!


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## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

Good grief Riley must be a power chewer! I bought Flora one antler about a year ago and my old roommate's 10lb papillion spent more time chewing it than Flora did.


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## dberk (Jul 5, 2011)

I recently gave the mutts an elk antler. Lots of chewing and VERY little has come off. Mostly just the marrow from the middle. Hard stuff.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

fostermom said:


> Try michiganantlerart.com. That's the guy from Marlene's link, but cutting out the ebay part will save you money. He's really good about answering any questions you might have and will also offer suggestions. And he ships fast!



yes, that's the guy I've bought antlers from. Ask for the ones that are specifically "hard core" antlers. They have lasted months with my dogs chewing them for several hours every single day. They are HUGE too... about a pound a piece. 

I think they are elk antlers because of their size, but the listing on Ebay that I bought said they could be deer or elk.


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

Well, I'm glad I held off on ordering the moose antler, if they're softer! Definitely don't want that!

I think the problem might be that I don't know what's "normal wear" and what isn't.
The piece he got off the second one was definitely big enough to make me real nervous. That one had branches on it too, and I was afraid he'd poke himself in the eye while chewing on it.

The first one, I could see that he'd worn grooves in it and had gotten a couple tiny little chips off. Is that normal?

I wonder, too, if it's normal for them to get the antler almost kind of soft? He had the very end of it almost gooey (kind of like they would with a rawhide bone, but not quite as bad.) Is that normal, or cause for concern? 





missmarstar said:


> yes, that's the guy I've bought antlers from. Ask for the ones that are specifically "hard core" antlers. They have lasted months with my dogs chewing them for several hours every single day. They are HUGE too... about a pound a piece.
> 
> I think they are elk antlers because of their size, but the listing on Ebay that I bought said they could be deer or elk.


Aw, love the picture of your guys chewing on them. They look quite happy.


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

kdmarsh said:


> Good grief Riley must be a power chewer! I bought Flora one antler about a year ago and my old roommate's 10lb papillion spent more time chewing it than Flora did.


Oh, he is a power chewer! We've gotten him those "tuff" toys that are supposed to be as close to indestructible as you can get. The shark lasted a few hours and the bone-shaped ones don't fare much better. At least the ring-shaped one lasts about a week or so. :no:


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

My guys chew elk antlers and do not break off chunks. I gav them a deer antler and it seemed much softer. I get mine at ElksUSA.com.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

LifeOfRiley said:


> The first one, I could see that he'd worn grooves in it and had gotten a couple tiny little chips off. Is that normal?
> 
> I wonder, too, if it's normal for them to get the antler almost kind of soft? He had the very end of it almost gooey (kind of like they would with a rawhide bone, but not quite as bad.) Is that normal, or cause for concern?



Never had an antler get gooey like a rawhide bone... they do get slobbery of course, but they stay hard. My dogs have never been able to break a piece off those big ones we have and they chew them HARD.


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

missmarstar said:


> Never had an antler get gooey like a rawhide bone... they do get slobbery of course, but they stay hard. My dogs have never been able to break a piece off those big ones we have and they chew them HARD.


That's good to know. 
I placed an order with your guy yesterday -- can't wait till they get here! I did get the 'hard core' elk ones, so hopefully they'll stand up to Destructo Dog.


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## Paige&Lily (Nov 4, 2010)

I had gotten a much smaller antler for our pug and of course Polly managed to get hold of it-after just a few minutes of chomping with the whole thing in her mouth, it had gotten all soft and slimy just lime a rawhide and I threw it out. The poor small dogs can't have anything their size anymore!


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

LifeOfRiley said:


> That's good to know.
> I placed an order with your guy yesterday -- can't wait till they get here! I did get the 'hard core' elk ones, so hopefully they'll stand up to Destructo Dog.



Good luck!!


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## Hunter'sMom (Sep 5, 2011)

Please let us know how you like them! I just recently introduced my dog to antlers and she is a big fan- perfect for such a power chewer!


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## newport (Aug 8, 2011)

The elk antler is the only one I have bought. I quit giving Lola raw beef bones when she was eatting huge pieces and throwing them up!:no: The Antlers are hard and do not break off at all. She has about three of them now and really enjoys chewing on them after eatting.


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## nixietink (Apr 3, 2008)

Just bought antlers from the link provided. A really good deal, and I (Vito too if he only knew) can't wait!


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

Paige&Lily said:


> I had gotten a much smaller antler for our pug and of course Polly managed to get hold of it-after just a few minutes of chomping with the whole thing in her mouth, it had gotten all soft and slimy just lime a rawhide and I threw it out. The poor small dogs can't have anything their size anymore!


Well I'm glad to know that Riley isn't the only one who has managed to get them all soft and gooey! I'm thinking the one we had must have been a softer one.



newport said:


> The elk antler is the only one I have bought. I quit giving Lola raw beef bones when she was eatting huge pieces and throwing them up!:no: The Antlers are hard and do not break off at all. She has about three of them now and really enjoys chewing on them after eatting.


Ack. I had thought about getting one of those big knuckle bones from the butcher counter, but that's what I was afraid of. I just know he'd get a big chunk off and swallow it. Besides, I'd have to confine him to the kitchen with those. If I didn't, he'd be right up on the couch with it and I really don't want a raw bone rubbed all over the couch! Or the carpeting, for that matter. :yuck:


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## Mirinde (Jun 8, 2011)

I just wanted to bump this to say that I also bought antlers from the link provided here (missmarstar's guy) as soon as I saw it and received the order a couple hours ago. I just got the hard core ones, that are about a half pound each and not particularly large in diameter. I was a little nervous because we had tried antlers from Best Bullysticks and they barely lasted a half hour before Iorek had chipped pieces off to the point where there were super sharp stabby edges. So far, these new antlers are holding up REALLY well, even with a relatively small diameter. Iorek hasn't chipped any pieces off at all and has barely worn down the outside. We are very pleased and will be ordering from him for our antlers from now on!


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## jweisman54 (May 22, 2010)

The 1 lb. antler that I ordered from Marlene's link is now 4 months old and it has barely been worn down.


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

They got here yesterday! (He does ship fast!)

It's only been one day, but so far it's holding up much better than the other ones did. With the others, I could see that he had deep grooves worn into them within a couple hours, and pieces off not long after that. 

He was going to town on one of the new ones last night, and when I put it up before bedtime, I couldn't tell that it had been chewed _at all_. It looked just like it did when I took it out of the package and he'd been chewing on it, off and on, all evening.
So... so far, I think they're going to hold up much better!

Thank you for posting that link, Marlene!


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

No problem, hope Riley keeps enjoying it!!


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## LifeOfRiley (Nov 2, 2007)

Man, these things are the best! It's still holding up just fine and he chews on it every night.
I noticed that it's already starting to break up the tarter on his back teeth, too. Woo hoo! I thought he'd have to go in for a cleaning before long, but with these antlers, it looks like we'll be able to avoid that!


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## allaboutourdogs (Aug 27, 2010)

I'm thinking of elephant tusks. LOL! If possible, I think that would be really hard.


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## JDK (Jul 30, 2011)

I'm going to revive this thread with a question rather then starting a new one 

How do I know if my pup is a medium core or hard core kinda guy?

I'm considering getting him an elk antler since he tears through all his toys. The "toughest" toys last him minutes. We gave him some shark the other day that's suppose to be pretty strong (I saw a lot of people on here had one) and within 10 minutes he started tearing it apart and I had to take it away.

If I get him a medium core one and he can easily get the center out, will it be bad for him if he eats it in big chunks? Does the center crumble easily or something, or will it be like he's chewing on a giant rock if he gets a big part of the center out? Sorry for the dumb questions, but I'm not familiar with the whole antler thing. This is all new territory to me.


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## Amberbark (Oct 5, 2011)

I have the same problem with Amber (50 lb. GR) and Piper (7 lb. Papillon). I am afraid to give Piper her antler because it is too small for Amber, a Sometimes Thief. What is the smallest size that you can give your GR?



Paige&Lily said:


> I had gotten a much smaller antler for our pug and of course Polly managed to get hold of it-after just a few minutes of chomping with the whole thing in her mouth, it had gotten all soft and slimy just lime a rawhide and I threw it out. The poor small dogs can't have anything their size anymore!


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

Wanted to post this follow up photo for you guys...

I ordered the dogs antlers from Michigan Antler Art exactly 7 months ago and finally needed to reorder because they had worn them down so much to where I had to throw one away and they were down to just one very small piece. I ordered again from the same seller and they just arrived. Small piece on top is the old one after 7 months of two very hard chewers going to town on it! I am very happy with these antlers and the value we got out of them after so many months.

Hand in pic for size reference. I ordered the XL size hard inner core antlers from Michigan Antler Art FYI.


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## LucyBluz (Jul 7, 2011)

I went to the ElksUSA.com website and it talked about the Elks Lodge but nothing about antlers???


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## newport (Aug 8, 2011)

I just got my third order from Pet Expertise- the elk antlers. I order the extra large for Lola- and ask for the branch ones rather than the stick ones. I keep an eye on Lola when she chews them.... a small piece broke off one of the tips and I threw it away. I also would throw away anything three inches or smaller. That is why I buy the really big ones for her. Pet Expertise is a really great company to order from. They ship them right out and really sell a great high quality antler.


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## FeatherRiverSam (Aug 7, 2009)

fostermom said:


> Try michiganantlerart.com. That's the guy from Marlene's link, but cutting out the ebay part will save you money. He's really good about answering any questions you might have and will also offer suggestions. And he ships fast!





missmarstar said:


> yes, that's the guy I've bought antlers from. Ask for the ones that are specifically "hard core" antlers. They have lasted months with my dogs chewing them for several hours every single day. They are HUGE too... about a pound a piece.
> 
> I think they are elk antlers because of their size, but the listing on Ebay that I bought said they could be deer or elk.


I went with marlene's distributor and they were great!!! However I went with the medium core and old Woody went through two of them fairly quick so I'm due to put another order in and this time will denfinately go with the hard core.

Pete


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## goldensrbest (Dec 20, 2007)

My guys seem to like the slightly smaller, than those, the xl elk ones they tend not to chew on as much.


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## Wyatt's mommy (Feb 25, 2011)

newport said:


> I just got my third order from Pet Expertise- the elk antlers. I order the extra large for Lola- and ask for the branch ones rather than the stick ones. I keep an eye on Lola when she chews them.... a small piece broke off one of the tips and I threw it away. I also would throw away anything three inches or smaller. That is why I buy the really big ones for her. Pet Expertise is a really great company to order from. They ship them right out and really sell a great high quality antler.


 
This is where I purchased Wyatt's. Also have the extra large. And he goes to town on it every nite and it is lasting pretty good. I also agree with their great service!


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## LucyBluz (Jul 7, 2011)

I just received 2 antlers from petexpertise. One is covered with hard raised bumps. Do they break off or does your dog "wear them down"??? When I looked at their photos, all the antlers appeared to be smooth.
Thanks


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