I have been to other dog households and there are bully sticks laying about, half chewed-on or even some barely touched. The dog of the house will be laying somewhere close by. This confuses me. Melvin will devour can eat a foot long bully stick in under four minutes. That’s rounding-up on the time estimate. I just assumed that all dogs death the bully stick the same way. If I scattered multiple bully sticks around the house I’d also need to go ahead and pre-call the emergency vet to tell them we’d be on our way shortly.
The problem with Melvin and bully sticks is that, like everything else, he has a reaction to them. But there are only so many Kong’s I can stuff with baby food veggies (I always enjoy when the check out clerk asks me how old my baby is..) before he bores and really wants to get his teeth dug into something. Luckily he does not chew on anything (except socks) so I treat him to a bully every so often and then follow it with an extra dose of meds.
Recently I read about deer and moose antlers and how they are similar to everlasting gobstoppers. The vet felt antlers might cause less of a reaction (if any) than the bully sticks so I went out and bought a moose antler and a deer antler, x-large on both. Neither were cheap. Melvin went nuts over the rustling of the bag and I was excited that this could really be a great source for gnaw joy. He excitedly took the antler, ran over to the carpet and threw it around a few times in his usual ‘I’ll show you who’s boss’ way, and then he went at it. For all of two minutes. When he realized there was a delayed payoff to this treat, he settled for licking it and then leaving it. He also kind of gave me a ‘screw you’ look.
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Love your blog! Rufus acts similarly towards antlers, but he usually goes in phases of loving them, and then forgetting about them for a few days. Hopefully Melvin does the same??
We shall try again! Just added The Rufus Way to our links section! Thanks so much for reading!
I seriously adore him! He is so funny! Like The Rufus Way said, just give him time….the antler is an aquired taste! Also, have you tried giving him dried sweet potato? They are supposed to be good for allergy dogs too….
We heart you!!! I have discovered the dried SP and they are awesome. I found them in chips (eat fast) and chews (eat more slowly). Thanks!!!!
Oh man, I don’t know what I would do if my dogs didn’t like bully sticks! The antlers are a good option though, and I agree with the comments above, my dogs phase in and out of liking them.
So good to know! I shall not give up! Thanks!
I’m glad to know my Buddy isn’t the only dog to can kill a bully stick in 5 seconds flat. I was so excited when I had first read that bully sticks lasted forever. I think my boy took that as a challange. We do deal with food allergies as well so I may have to try out an antiler stick.
It is always nice to find out you/we are not alone!
Love your blog! We get my dog elk antlers. They are very thick and have an extra meaty marrow (which is apparently the best part). My dog loves the marrow so much that she will chew on it and dig it out for hours if I let her. They are quite pricey though.
ohhhhh, elk! I will dip into his trust fund and look for them, thank you!!! And thanks for reading along!