Bully sticks and diarrhea

[Discussing Labradoodles & Goldendoodles]

After reading so many good things about Bully Sticks I decided to give them a try. The first night she chewed it for a little over and hour and was fine so the next night I gave it too her again and she ate most of it. When we went to her create to get her in the morning she had diarrhea everywhere in there. I felt so bad but she didn't bark or cry or anything to go out. It has been 5 days since and she was back to normal stools that same day. My question is, should I give up on the Bully Sticks all together or slowly introduce them at 30 min intervals for a while? She loved it so much it would be a shame to never be able to give them to her agin. Has anybody had this result from these Bully Sticks?

[Lindsey, Lee, Whopper and Simba]

Whopper absolutely loves bully sticks. The first one we gave her from the grocery store had an extremely offensive smell but she loved it so much we began doing research on bully sticks. There are quite a few brands of bully sticks and some definitely seem to be better than others. You may just want to try a different brand of bully sticks. I order a sampler pack online and have been pleased with both the size and lack of smell compared to the grocery store one.

[Lindsey, Lee, Whopper and Simba]

We ordered our sampler pack from bestbullysticks.com. They have a ton of options.

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

Ok, I have never heard of a bully stick...lol. What is a bully stick, where do you get them, and what is the best brand to buy. Thanks Denise, HannahNHoney

[Carolyn & Mike Kalish]

Hi Angie,
We have had some issues with Spencer and diarrhea...we were not sure what caused this but we were giving him Red Barn Bully Styx. I did some research on-line and found a brand that we feel better about using. They are called Moo! Free Range Dog Chews. They do not smell at all and Spencer loves to chew them with no apparent related diarrhea problems. Here is what we liked about this product:
1. Free Range grass only fed cattle
2. No Hormones and no antibiotics
3. No mad cow because no animal bi-products are added to their diet

I order the 12" in bulk to save money.
I hope this helps!!

[Moose&Mica]

Moose and Mica LOVE these things. I've had good luck with Red Barn and also with Free Range brand. The Red Barn ones rarely smell, but occasionally I get one that does. I have not noticed a problem with their bowels after they eat them. However, if I give them a raw shank bone I have to cut down their dinner slightly because they have gotten loose stool from too much calorie intake. Depending on how large a bully stick you are giving your pooch and the age of the pup, you might want to try that. Or don't let the pup have it for very long at one time. I usually give Mica a 6 inch stick and Moose a 9 inch stick so that might not be quite big enough to cause the problem you are having. For those asking what a bully stick is, it's a dried bull (or steer) pizzle. They are great for the dog's teeth and they do give you a small window of peace and quiet....although Moose and Mica can grind through them like a couple of beavers with a juicy log. :)

[Tegan]

Kali has the same problem. She has a pretty sensitive tummy (and some severe allergies) so we don't give them to her often. I have noticed a huge difference from brand to brand with how she tolerates them. Try a few different brands (if you can, try to find one that's just the dried meat without preservatives) and limit the amount she eats at a time. As a side note we've found that Kali likes sheep hooves almost as much as bully sticks and they don't seem to cause the tummy upset that the bully sticks do (I think it's because she mostly chews on them and it takes her a very long time to get pieces small enough to eat).

[mathew nelson]

we avoid them like the plague --- same problem everytime --- except usuassly not uncontrollable

[Allison and Wilson R. K.]

I know it's an old discussion, but I'm happy to find it here. I'm wondering if bully sticks might be causing diarrhea with our 12 week old pup. I've taken it away for now, so we will see what happens.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

probably so....I wouldn't feed them for a while....

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

Our 12 week old vomited the night he had his first bully stick and I waited until just this past weekend, at 20 weeks old to try another. He did fine.  Limiting the chewing time is probably helpful too when you start back with giving him the bully sticks.I have ordered from bestbullysticks.com as well and was pleased.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Darwin always gets diarrhea with bully sticks so we avoid them.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

ditto