bully-breath-sticks-antlers etc.

[Sally]

OK so lately Duncan REALLY wants to chew. He has always been a bully stick chewer. (thank god not a furniture chewer)

But now it seems he's chewing them down to nubs in less than an hour where previously he'd chew on one for a couple of days.

Also, we go to the dog park almost daily and he spends too much time chewing on sticks. I usually don't allow him to chew sticks but it is hard to get him to "leave it" there. I think part of it is a nervous habit. When he's warming up and finding his place among the dogs he tends to gnaw. Kinda like his cigarette.:) 

His breath always smells icky. I know he's a dog and that it's normal for them to have doggie breath but it smells like dried blood like when you have a tooth pulled. I brush his teeth and he also gets one or two small dental chews. And i always inspect inside his mouth to make sure nothing is stuck rotting between teeth.

Anyway, all this rambling but I'm wondering if anyone's doods chew on antlers and if they might help with dental hygiene and be a replacement for the bully sticks (which I think might be a cause of the breath).

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Have you tried the odorless bully sitcks? I had stopped getting the smelly ones and would try those next. He gets antlers and there is no odor at all. As for breath, I use a bit of fresh parsley in his food when I get a whiff of bad breath. Helps

[Frannie & Callie]

Callie is an antler chewer and has very benign breath (she gets a little bit of stinky morning breath, but that happens to the best of us). Bully sticks kinda freak me out in general. Antlers seem a little less, um, personal :)

[Dan, Judi, & Timbow]

Bully sticks kinda freak me out in general.

Said by the girl who did a google search to see how bully sticks are made...lol

[Frannie & Callie]

LOL - why do you think they freak me out??? I know too much now!

[Anna and Achilles]

I don't know what bullysticks are made of, should I leave it that way? Or should I find out?Achilles loves them and it is the only thing that lasts awhile. Will I no longer be able to use them?????

[Frannie & Callie]

If Achilles loves them and they last a while for him, I would just leave it alone!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Yes, don't worry about it! Just make sure you are getting the good bully stix. We have discussions in the food group - Dogswell and Jones Co. ones are made in USA and should be safe for now...

[Sally]

ah yes. the parsley is a good natural option. Believe it or not i do use the odorless bully sticks. they are way better than the others. But i only have a few left so i think this is the perfect time to try the antlers.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Antlers are my favorite thing ever. They last us about a month. Be sure to get the odorless ones because the latest one I bought smells a little (nothing like bully stix, believe me!). The Antlerz brand are odorless. I highly recommend them - and remember they are naturally shed, so they are animal friendly.
BTW Peri is a HUGE chewer. You have probably seen some of my other posts, but we can only have antlers and zogoflex brand toys for "toys". It is sad!

[Sally]

What size antlerz should i get? Duncan is 25 lbs (a largish mini ld)

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I'm thinking I saw a size reference on the Antlerz site. Or it might've been another one. I get large for my 58pd doodle. But large is still only 6-8 inches in some brands and they do chew them down in time and I end up taking it away around 2". No harm in too big I'd think, but too small and it would be gone much sooner.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I get the biggest ones - Peri is Duncan's size exactly! Takes them longer to gnaw it down - it won't hurt him. Current one is down to 6" after about 3 weeks of chew. I think it started around 8-9".
I am same as Sue and take it away if it is 2" or less.