antler chews - puppies

[Jeremy]

found some moose antlers (sourced from usa) at petsmart tonight for 5 bucks on clearance, were 22....are these safe for puppies?  he's only 6 pounds but seems to devour bully sticks, etc, so haven't given him many, thought this might be a good alternative and keep him busy for awhile-  Thanks for any info!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Moose antlers are the softest type of antler. It should be fine, but supervise him to be sure that he doesn't break off a piece that could be a choking hazard or cause an obstruction.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

I agree.  Luna basically destroyed anything we tried to give her to chew as a puppy... That $8 nylabone?  Gone in 10 minutes.  The hardest ones lasted maybe a few days before they had little pieces coming off.  Antlers worked perfectly and she still loves them. 

[Star and Goldie]

Yep! Those are Goldie's favorite antlers! We actually picked up the $5 moose antler as well. Petsmart has pretty good sales on those. I checked out the brand and found them to be recommendable:)

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Be careful with antlers!!  Every dog chews in a different way.  Mine at 6 years old broke two of her big bottom three rooted teeth down into the gum line on antlers and we spent just over $3000 having two root canals done.  These are the really big important chewing teeth and are necessary.  No way were we going to have them removed.  Besides, the surgery for the removal would have been almost as expensive and would have required more recovery.  Just sayin...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I don't think there's a danger of that with puppy teeth. :-)

And moose antlers are relatively soft.

[Jennifer and Jack]

We think Molly has a cracked tooth as well, she is going soon for x rays and a cleaning. The vet can't tell if it is tarter or a crack but it is a big tooth.. Hoping Pet plan will pay for it for my moms sake.

[Jennifer and Jack]

I can't believe Petsmart has antlers sourced from the US.... I have to get out more... Last time I was in Petsmart I didn't see that not that Jack would eat it.... If I could only find safe rawhide to give him.. He loves that .....but the safe kind is hard to find and of course I have to sit with him while he chews on it.

[Gail & Bogey]

How do you know which is the safe type. So far I've stayed away from rawhide.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Made in the USA. And it has to say "made" or "product of". A company address in the U.S. is not enough. 

[Gail & Bogey]

I have heard that antlers have vitamins and minerals - actually I think the ones I got we're deer or elk. Bogey loves his.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Deer antlers are usually white and thinner, elk antlers tend to be thicker and a bit softer.  Luna likes both, but I think she prefers the taste of the elk antler.

As a few others have said, just be careful and monitor your dog's chewing.  Luna doesn't go "crazy" with anything really hard, she limits her bite strength.  Other dogs chew as hard as possible no matter what they're chewing, which can result in tooth injury.

[Jeremy]

thanks for the info, I'll keep an eye on him while he chews, he spent an hour on the moose antler last night and seems to really like it, think I'll pick up a few more that are on clearance, they were almost out!