Puppies and Bully Sticks and Rocks

[Binny P]

Hi all,

We just brought our little pup home and he is an adorable bundle of curiosity and exploration. He is just about 11 weeks old. 

I was wondering what you all think or have experienced with puppies and bully sticks. We have been giving him one to chew on (supervised) that is a six inch braid. 

Is it okay to let a puppy that young chew a bully stick? How much should we limit him? Is it bad for his teeth or jaws to let him chew too long? It is tempting to just let him gnaw on it for a good long while, because frankly, it is hard to get anything done if he is awake and not chewing it...

Related to chewing, but this time on inappropriate items, he seems to be a little magnet for rocks that he wants to chew on. I keep a close eye on him in the yard and whenever he finds one get it out of his mouth and get rid of it, but I am worried that his interest in rocks is a sign of some sort of nutritional deficiency, like I might not be feeding him enough and he is trying to supplement??

Thoughts?

Also, picture because he is adorable:

[F, Calla & Luca]

He is adorable. Some dogs get diarrhea from bully sticks but I doubt he will get much of it chewed at a time. Still I would limit his time. Puppies chew on all sorts of things and I am sure your pup's rock chewing is not a deficiency but clearly he could swallow a rock which wouldn't be good at all. At present you need to supervise him full time outside.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's a big mistake to give a new puppy any kind of food, treat or chew that he wasn't getting at the breeder's for at least 2 weeks after bringing him home. Many new puppies come home with giardia or other parasites and it is common for them to have some digestive issues. It helps to clarify things if you have not introduced new food/chew items within the 14 day incubation period. As F mentioned, bully sticks also can cause diarrhea for some dogs.

I also agree with F that the rock chewing is not a sign of a deficiency, but simply normal puppy behavior. Dogs explore the world with their mouths. However, as F also mentioned, you can't allow it, for safety reasons. I'd keep him on a leash outdoors until he learns some basic commands, or at the very least, carefully supervised. 

[Dolly Dykhouse]

Henry is a rock monster as well, we have small river rock borders and on both side yards; I have pried more than a few from his jaws over the last couple of months. He just likes to chew (lots of puppy teeth falling out right now) and drive his mom crazy so she'll chase him to get the "no no" out of his mouth. I don't let Henry out unsupervised as he has had giardia/coccidia and I can't take my eyes off of him and allow him to do his business without being right there with the bleach sprayer.

I agree with Karen, those first 2 weeks should be nothing more than the food he was on at the breeders/momma's house. Parasites have a 7-14 day incubation period and you need to know what is causing any GI/stool issues and it will be so much easier to pin point if you have a good baseline of just his kibble. I made the mistake of giving Henry a piece of bully stick the first week so I could get 15 minutes of peace...it made his stool even softer, not to mention those things stink like nothing else! I recommend after the 2 weeks looking for the non-odorous bully sticks and giving for short periods of time like when you want him to be busy/calm while you watch tv at night or just catch your breath.

By the way he is so dang cute!

[DJ]

I was so wondering about the bully sticks. My pup loved them but she did have a little diarrhea so I took them away. My breeder recommended 1 tsp of organic canned pumpkin for digestion issues. I have her that today and she loves it. So I will give her once a day for now. And on same food as breeder had her on.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

One of the negatives on developing a rock chewing habit is that the habit can eventually wear the teeth down.  So, even though mouthing rocks is just a puppy thing, I would discourage it.  I would get a puppy kong or puppy nylabone for chewing.