New puppy is obsessed with antlers...

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

So Moose is obsessed with antlers. I find this a little ironic with his name and all but anyways... I bought bully stick and other soft chew toys for him and he wants nothing to do with them he just wants Loki's antlers. I've watched him and he basically licks them and maybe very gently nibbles on them. Is this ok as long as I'm supervising? It would be great if it was because then he could chew on these instead of his big brother!

[Kerry L]

My pup is obsessed with antlers too and they are VERY good for dogs! They are full of nutrients. Our dog has a few of them. My dad cuts them down so they are pointy but it still makes me crazy-nervous when he runs with them in his mouth. lol There are some deer and elk farms that will sell antlers at flee markets for dogs. What's great about them is they don't really break down and make a huge mess. My dog has had his since Christmas and he's only chewed off the end.

[Laura and Angus]

We waited to give Angus antlers until he lost all his puppy teeth. This was because I was told by an employee at the PetValu pet store that you have to be careful about how the chews are that you give to a dog. What I learned from her (and then additional research into chewing) was that poodles have softer gums - their mouths are not designed for chewing as much as a golden retriever or lab. Goldens and labs chew a lot more and have stronger jaws/gums because of what their breed does - hunting and working - grabbing things with their mouths. Therefore, certain breeds have an instinct to chew from very young in order to exercise their jaws for the work they will do. Now poodles (standards) were also bred for hunting originally, but are rarely used for that at this point. Anyways - long story slightly longer, she recommended we wait until Angus was a little older to know better what characteristics he showed. Turns out Angus is what one might call "a strong chewer" and can handle chewing very hard things - like furniture, hard sticks, and rocks even (ugh). So that's when we started using the antlers and large beef ribs. We never let him have these things unattended - like in the crate, but he does really love them too. 

Just wanted to share my experience. I can't remember how old Moose is, but you might consider giving him other options that are designed for puppy teeth as he matures before letting him chew super hard things like antlers. BUT if you're not comfortable with that and he seems to be okay, you can probably stick with what you're doing and just making sure he's always supervised with those things...

[Mary ann & Lincoln]

Stay away from the Nylabones for puppies, they were just recalled. Lincoln loves to chew, but for some reason is not that interested in the split antler we got him from bully. Loves his rawhide( only made in usa) and I got him a marrow bone. I think I gave them to him at about 3-4 months. He is a very strong chewer. He will eat a stick like it is a pretzel, if i don;t get it away from him in time. We also have a soft Kong that looks like a marrow bone?? that you can fill with peanut butter or whatever he likes. Just watch as he chews on anyhting that you give him.