Okay Antler fans...sell them to me!

[Adina P]

I don't normally buy my dogs chew 'treats' -- they have all been more than happy gnawing away at their sterilized real bones and the tough Nylabones.  So I don't really want to fix what's not broken. I am of the 'buy them a bunch of things that last nearly forever and forget about it' mindset.

I also don't like giving them any other animal 'parts' to munch on besides the sterilized bones. Rosco, for instance, makes such a nice wet spot under wherever he is chewing even a bone that the thought of him making bully stick saliva juices on my rugs ... blech!  

But so many of you swear by antlers so I want you to tell me about them. 

1. Do they have ANY odor?
2. Are they 'clean' enough so my daughter can pick one up and if she puts it in her mouth (because she might) I don't have to worry? (I realize that anything that the dogs have been chewing on and has gone in and out of the house has potential to be germy...but I'm just wondering about antlers specifically).
3. Do they get slimy at all like bully sticks?
4. Is there residue left on the dog's paws after chewing or on the rug?
5. Does it shed little shavings?
6. Do they last a considerable time or are they something I have to buy every few weeks?
7. Have ANY of your dogs gotten diarrhea or upset tummies from them?

Thanks so much!

 

[Camilla and Darwin]

Perhaps. daycare and what not is cheaper here. But I do think it has something to do with the fact that the antlers are from a local source. Like, hunters just giving them to the pet shop or something? I don't know. I'm not complaining. :-)

[Frannie & Callie]

The antler prices in Atlanta are crazy! It doesn't help that they're generally only sold in dog boutiques!

[F, Calla & Luca]

That's one reason to love the internet!

[Kathy Spyker]

I never tried them either, and just today I ordered just one from "antler pantry.com" just to see if Lilly will like it . I should be able to let you know in about a week. ;)

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

Adina, I have even put mine in the dishwasher after it's been dragged around for a few weeks. I haven't noticed any negative effects with that method of cleaning them. If you wanted to keep it a little less germy for Natalie's sake, I would recommend that.

[Ann Kendig]

My dogs chew on the antlers now and then but my foster dogs love them so I try to have some on hand.  I think they're great!  I haven't shopped around a lot for prices.  My dog's allergy specialist told me about this web site so that I could order some venison treats for the dogs.  They have GREAT customer service and are very friendly.  They usually send a freebee product to try too.  If the freebee it isn't a venison product, and they send a bison knuckle or something, I save it for a foster or give it to someone who has a dog since mine can only have venison.  I buy the venison knuckles for the dogs but they are messy. Here's the link.

http://www.shop.venisonjoes.com/Antlers_c7.htm

[Kendra K. Rhoton]

1.) I don't think they have an odor, but I notice a different smell in Remington's breath after he has been chewing on his.

2.) I would say they are kind of clean.... but I probably wouldn't let her put it in her mouth....

3.) I have never used bully sticks, but I wouldn't describe them as slimy... just wet from the saliva

4.) I have found some antler fragments stuck in Remington's fur once in a while, but not often. 

5.) Yes, there are shavings that come off slowing... but we insist that Remington "stays on your towel" while chewing it.

6.) It is the LONGEST lasting thing we have EVER given him!  I would say he'll need a new one in a year's time and we got the medium and not the large or extra large so they probably would last longer.

7.) NEVER... and Remington has a very sensitive belly... cute, but sensitive :)

[Denise & Hunter!!!]

If you can get them natural deer antlers are much stronger than the one's I have bought - the one Antlerz brand I bought was $20 and last 20 minutes - to pricey in my book!  Some people don't think of the shed antlers as being "safe" but shedding antlers is a natural process so unless it looks like something is wrong I personally think they are fine.  Hunter has MANY of them that were shed's and she has been fine.  I boil them for just a minute and wipe them with peroxide.  Also, if you can get the actual deer legs from someone that is a hunter the size of those bones are very similar in size to an antler and those last forever. 

[Bonnie and Kona]

Thank you for saying that your dog eats them in 20 minutes. My 3 year old devours them. I mistakenly bought size medium because I wanted them for the puppy. HA. Now I am looking into getting jumbo sizes but at $24 each that can't happen. I asked my nephew for his antlers after he had been hunting but he said, NO! sigh.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I agree with everything that is said about them, only down side here is Lucy and Sophie could care less about them.  They are in the toy box.  When I first got them they chewed for a while and then that was it.  I took one to my Moms lab and she loves it.  She chews forever and it doesn't even look chewed on.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I love them too, but we did have one experience a couple of weeks ago that was concerning.  Murphy was able to chew off a splinter.  It was about one inch long and very sharp at the tip.  I was right there at the time, and so I was able to immediately take it away, and throw away the rest of the antler.  Now, I only let them have their antlers when I'm watching.  This is the only time in many months that this has happened, and it was a relatively new antler.  It was probably a "fluke" but it unnerved me enough to be way more careful with them than I had been in the past.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Another Antlerz ( with a Z ) fan checking in.  It is the best chew toy for my  oober-chewers. I highly recommend them.  My puppies each came from their breeder with their own "small" antlerz.  Now I buy large or extra large and they last a long time.  No smell, no yuck, no anything.  Tigger has a sensitive tummy and he has no bad reactions to Antlerz.  As safe for Natalie as anything else with dog spit on it.

 

I have never bought anything except the Antlerz brand.