Deer Antlers

[Sue & Willy Babe]

We were having  a discussion on Thursday evening about giving our dogs deer antlers to chew on ! ! !  I have never heard of that in any of our discussions here on DK  so I was wondering  has anyone tried it?????
   And if so  do u have to boil them to sanitize first , my vet (his daughter is my daughter's friend) said it is okay just watch for large splinters in case they come off.

   Just wanted your advice  so let me know  ! ! !

 Thanks

[F, Calla & Luca]

I did give my dogs an antler I had found shed and it seemed fine.

[Denise & Hunter!!!]

I actually got mine from my husband's friend from a buck he shot. I was thrilled! He was going to throw the leg bones away and the antlers - big score here!!

[Denise & Hunter!!!]

I just gave Hunter deer antlers last week and she has loved them! I rinsed them with peroxide - they seem much harder than the Elk (?) Antlerz I have bought before - she finished those in an hour. The deer antlers are MUCH harder and she still has 4 pieces left that are good sized. I also gave her the deer leg bones, raw, and they have been a HUGE hit.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yep, the deer antlers are harder than the elk antlers. It's funny, for some reason, it seems like it should be the other way around.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Antlers are awesome! They last us months, which is completely unheard of with Darwin. He destroys toys very quickly usually. They don't smell, and are a good price. I personally know someone who gets antlers from their brother who hunts, and gives them to her dog. They have never had any problems and love them as much as we do. I'm not sure what she does to sanitize though.

[Kyoko]

We love them. We get the elk ones....

[Michael Gurley]

Do your dogs pay lots of attention to the antlers? I would be interested in buying some for Sunny if she would actually like them! Luckily, I know a local store that sells them so I would not have to buy online. I'd love if she would just chew the antler while I did homework or played on my Wii for an hour or so!

[F, Calla & Luca]

It depends. sometimes they ignore them for a while. Then especially Calla, gets interested again and she can spend a lot of time gnawing away.

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

My doodles LOVE the elk antlers, both are strong chewers and they have not even put a dent into them !!!

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

I've always been concerned that antlers are too hard to be safe for a dog's teeth. Don't they wear down the tooth enamel? My vet recommends that we stay away from all bones, and offer bully sticks and other natural animal materials that have some "give." I'd be interested in knowing if anyone's heard differently.

[Jenny and Chester]

Chester loves deer antlerz. We get them online. I've never given him "fresh" ones from a freshly killed deer.
They last forever and do not smell. I have had them change color a little, but never had a bad odor. Chester also likes those "Himalayan" Yak Chews which are a little more fragrant, but also last a long time.