# Thoughts on Bully Sticks



## MillysMom

Just curious how everyone feels about bully sticks. I'm a bit torn about them, as a lot of places that sell them around me sell them in big bins, where they are not individually wrapped, and I'm not sure where they've been since being made, and sometimes it's unclear where they were even made. I occasionally buy them if they are individually wrapped, though.

Please give reasons for your answer when you respond.


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## Ranger

I don't like them. I find they smell and make me feel sick to my stomach when Ranger chews on them. Plus, they seem ridiculously expensive for what you spend; Ranger can chew through a big one in an hour. I'd rather stick with nylabones, frozen kongs, or a RMB.


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## Megora

Well... I googled it and cringed when I saw where they get their name from. :yuck:

I don't do any animal parts other than rawhide retriever rolls. The ones I get for my guy smell like bacon, so not that bad. <- There are others that I've seen which are dried chicken layered over rawhide. I might try those sometime. 

But hooves, ears, peanut butter stuffed femur bones, penuses.... yucko-no.


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## Chuppy

I don't know too much about bully sticks, but I rarely ever give them to Chuppy.
I like to give him those bones with peanut butter in them.


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## Enzos_Mom

I don't give them to Enzo. He had 1...it cost me an arm and a leg and 30 minutes later, I was holding his jaw open, trying to get the tiny piece that was left out of his mouth. Anything like that that he might choke on is a no-no in this house...no bully sticks, no rawhides, etc.


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## IowaGold

I don't feed them very often, but I do feed them as a rare treat. I don't have any issues with them. And to be perfectly honest, I just don't get real hung up on where a specific treat was made (my guys don't get many commercial treats anyway). I'm sure that sounds weird since a lot of you know I feed my dogs raw and some know that I actually grow and process a large percentage of their diet myself, but I guess I'm weird that way!


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## missmarstar

My dogs don't get them often due to cost and how short they last, but they do get them as special treats now and then and love them!


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo

My two have been enjoying them for about 2 years now. Yes they smell. Yes they are expensive. I give them the 12 inch braided bully sticks. So far, so good. No problems like other products we've tried. They both wait at the window every Saturday for us to come in from grocery shopping. This is treat time for them.

I don't buy them many toys or other treats. They do have lots of tennis balls, a bumper they both are in love with, and love to play. As long as I can continue to afford bully sticks, I will buy them for them. Tucker would be so disappointed if he didn't get his bully stick. Shadow, well Shadow just goes with the flow.

And no...I don't eat much meat. I eat fish if I have to just to stay healthy, but yes...my dogs eat meat and animal products.


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## CarolinaCasey

I have had our pup for about 5 days. Right now, I love the bully stick. I bought a 7 inch curled one from Petsmart. It wasn't individually wrapped but it did have a tag on it indicating the manufacturer. It was the best $5 I ever spent. He loves it, and being so young, it is taking him forever to eat it. It has been 5 days and it hardly looks eaten. I know that they go much more quickly as the dog gets older, but it seems like a good treat so far. They are high in protein, so I doubt I will feed them often once Gibbs grows up.

I have seen the 'trachea' for sale... not sure if that grosses me out too much to buy it. I'll get back to you!  You know, I never thought of it until now, but at least we as consumers are using the entire cow. Not just meats for human consumption, but tracheas, testicles, and whatever else for our dogs' chewing pleasure. Weird, but true. 

At the few stores that I frequent, they mostly sell the Merrick bullysticks that are sitting freely in a box. I would only buy them this way if it was from these reputable stores, regardless of manufacturer or brand.


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## MittaBear

I think they're disgusting but I absolutely love them!

When we gave Chester his first bully stick, we hardly realized he was even in the house. He was so quiet and so content to just sit there and chew on it. He chewed on it for a good hour or so and when we finally took it away, it was pretty much the same size as it was when we first gave it to him. We're still on our first bully stick and he's had it on multiple occasions.


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## Jax's Mom

I used to like them when the pups were younger. At least they lasted awhile. Now they are gone too quickly, but also, I worry they will choke on them since they can break them up much faster, and there is less of a need to gnaw on them.


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## Enzos_Mom

Enzo only had the one and he was about 3 months old and it didn't last long AT ALL. I wonder if the one I got for him wasn't as high of quality?


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## missmarstar

CarolinaCasey said:


> I have seen the 'trachea' for sale... not sure if that grosses me out too much to buy it. I'll get back to you!  You know, I never thought of it until now, but at least we as consumers are using the entire cow. Not just meats for human consumption, but tracheas, testicles, and whatever else for our dogs' chewing pleasure. Weird, but true.



Hmm, do a search in the video section of this forum for my thread called "the joys of raw feeding dogs" if you'd like to gross yourself out about trachea a little more LOL


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## FlyingQuizini

www.bestbullysticks.com Way cheap if you can afford to buy in bulk.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom

Megora said:


> Well... I googled it and cringed when I saw where they get their name from. :yuck:
> 
> I don't do any animal parts other than rawhide retriever rolls. The ones I get for my guy smell like bacon, so not that bad. <- There are others that I've seen which are dried chicken layered over rawhide. I might try those sometime.
> 
> But hooves, ears, peanut butter stuffed femur bones, penuses.... yucko-no.


Rawhide can be dangerous and cause obstructions. If you want a harder long lasting chew, antlers are a great alternative and last for months. If you do a search, there are alot of threads about them


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## JDandBigAm

Jonah gets a bully stick once or twice a month. I buy a bunch of them when I'm up in British Columbia and go straight to Aron's Pet Products store. They make them there and I've gotten them so fresh that they weren't even packaged yet. These sticks don't stain and have more of a smokey type smell.


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## Pointgold

I don't use them.


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## acupofteha

I feed them to Bailey as an occasional treat, I do not find them all that expensive from the store I buy them at. (but shes very competitively priced). Even though Bailey finishes them in like 2 minutes, I still feel she needs something different to chew on.


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## Willow52

Hank loves bullysticks and they saved my sanity last winter when we were stuck indoors for those long, winter evenings and he was teething and full of energy. They gave us an evening of peace! I haven't bought any this summer since our evenings are spent outdoors.

I buy in bulk the Moo Brand from K9 Cuisine.com. They don't have a bad odor.
http://www.k9cuisine.com/p-245-free-range-dog-chews-moo-bully-sticks.aspx 

Does it really matter what they are made from? What do you think "by-products" in dog food are? And anyway, parts is parts 

Like any type of chew product, when it gets small enough to possibly cause choking, throw it away.


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## Megora

Penny & Maggie's Mom said:


> Rawhide can be dangerous and cause obstructions. If you want a harder long lasting chew, antlers are a great alternative and last for months. If you do a search, there are alot of threads about them


Anything a dog chews on and eats can cause obstructions... at least with rawhide it becomes soft as the dogs chew on it. I have another "indestructible" bone and the guys chomp hard and sharp pieces off of it. 

But rawhide's the only animal part I don't mind handling. Anything else... ghhgh. :yuck:

It's important to provide your dog with something to chew on. It will elliminate the need for teeth cleanings later in life. 

W/rawhide - we throw them away if they are gnawed down too small. Also toss after a couple weeks, because of bacteria.


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## firedancer722

Charlie has had I think 3 bully sticks since I've had him. The first one I got was from a boutique dog store and it was free range and "Moo!!" brand. It took him almost the entire 2 hour car ride home to my parents' to eat it, which was AWESOME! Kept him quiet, happy, and seated peacefully in the back of the car. The next one I got from Tractor Supply - much cheaper. OMG did it EVER STINK!!!! BARF!!! I was very puzzled because I knew the first one we got did NOT smell bad! I didn't smell anything at all, and we were in the car! So, I went back to the dog boutique and asked what the difference was. The lady told me that the Moo!! brand - free range bully sticks were specifically made NOT to smell bad. I bought another one and sure enough, it did not smell! And Charlie absolutely LOVED it. It was an 8 inch stick, pretty good thickness, and it occupied Charlie for quite a while! It was about $5 so I can't afford to buy them often, but usually about once a month. He also LOVES his deer antler!


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## MyMaggieGirl

FlyingQuizini said:


> www.bestbullysticks.com Way cheap if you can afford to buy in bulk.


I try not to think of which body part they came from but I recently learned about Best Bully Sticks.com and Flirt loves them as a treat now and then.


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## lizandhec

We give bully sticks to Zoey. She loves them and occupies her for a good chunk of time. They do not smell great and yes they are expensive, but we think they are ok for an occasional treat. She loves them!!


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## Jackson'sMom

Megora said:


> Well... I googled it and cringed when I saw where they get their name from. :yuck:
> 
> I don't do any animal parts other than rawhide retriever rolls. The ones I get for my guy smell like bacon, so not that bad. <- There are others that I've seen which are dried chicken layered over rawhide. I might try those sometime.
> 
> But hooves, ears, peanut butter stuffed femur bones, penuses.... yucko-no.


I agree. There never have been, nor will there be, pig ears, cow hooves or other animal body parts in our house.


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## Muddypaws

I don't like raw hide or bully sticks. I have had to retrieve rawhide from their throats too many times and I worry about choking. They are very fatty too.

Mine get a raw marrow bone once a week and nylabones. This seems to satisfy their chewing needs. I rotate the raw bones out every week.


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## Blondie

Maggie get's them as a special treat. We go to the feed store where she is allowed inside. She helps me pick one out and then we go pay for it. Maggie is so cute when she puts her two front paws on the counter to see that I gave the bully stick to be scanned by the clerk and I pay and the clerk gives it to Maggie who in turns carries in her mouth out the door and to the car. This is one happy puppy!


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## Elisabeth Kazup

Never in a million years :yuck::yuck::yuck::yuck::yuck::yuck:

Braided? Curled? Ewwwwwwwww............


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## RedDogs

I only get ones made in the US, and try to avoid the individual wrapped ones... (...the stuff takes FOREVER to get off....) I typically only buy them if they're on sale. Some brands smell more than others, and some last longer than others. I will buy them to give to my 2yo if I'm crating him away from home or occasionally at home. 

For those asking about the dried tracheas... given the choice, my dog twice chose the bully stick over the trachea, but when given nothing else he did chew that up. Same length of time for him.

There are also a ton of other dried animal products, I bought a variety off of my last cleanrun.com and sitstay.com orders. It IS fun to see what the dogs like more than others and what lasts longest. I almost think I enjoy it more than the dogs.


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## Lisa_and_Willow.

They are not very common around here. Only seen them in a couple of pet shops and they were called Pizzle sticks!


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## GoldenMum

I buy them in bulk the odor free jumbo 12inch. They get them as an occasional treat. I order a box of 100 a couple times a year. the best pricing I have found is at Pet Supplies - Puppy Pads, Bully Sticks, Greenies, Angels Eyes, Nylabone, Value Pet Supplies, they offer free shipping if bought in bulk. All 7 of my pups (or grand pups) love them!


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## LifeOfRiley

Riley's not allowed to have bully sticks. Or pig ears, hooves, rawhide, or anything like that.
I know tons of people let their dogs have them and they're probably perfectly safe, but they scare me. I'm too afraid that he'll break off and swallow a piece that would be big enough to cause a problem, or get one stuck in his throat or wedged in his mouth... ugh. Nope. I worry too much.


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## Rob's GRs

I have given my dogs raw hides before but I have really never looked into, or given, bully sticks to them.


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## mooselips

Bully sticks have saved my sanity....lol

I just really keep a close eye on her while she's chewing them, and throw them out when they get too small.

I did use someone's advice on here and placed the short stick in a vice grip, so now I don't worry too much.


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## newport

I am concerned about the junk they are made from.... all the nitrates and sodium..... and the bad cooked fats.... not good. We sell them where I work but I would NEVER give Lola anything like this for a chew treat. I prefer an antler or the like.


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## newport

Megora said:


> Well... I googled it and cringed when I saw where they get their name from. :yuck:
> 
> I don't do any animal parts other than rawhide retriever rolls. The ones I get for my guy smell like bacon, so not that bad. <- There are others that *I've seen which are dried chicken layered over rawhide. I might try those sometime. *
> 
> But hooves, ears, peanut butter stuffed femur bones, penuses.... yucko-no.


Rawhide is AWFUL and dangerous! Also much of the dried chicken is coming out of China now and I would stay clear of it!


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## Megora

newport said:


> Also much of the dried chicken is coming out of China now and I would stay clear of it!


Yep. I stopped giving the chicken months ago when I first read that all chicken jerky comes from China. There are plenty of healthy and GOOD things made here in the US that we can buy as special treats for our dogs. 

We've always given rawhide (only those made in the US) to our dogs. It's pretty safe if managed properly.  I'm even humored by my instructor who feeds her dog raw or homemade food uses rawhide for them. The other day she had all four of her dogs paxing out with their rawhide.


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## CAROLINA MOM

I bought Bully sticks one time for my guys, they went through them way too fast. 
My guys now only get Antlers to chew on and dog bones.


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