Are Beef Bully Sticks Safe for Dogs

Bully sticks are a popular natural treatment for dogs, but what are bully sticks made of, really? Are bully sticks safe for dogs? Should you be feeding your dog bully sticks? Could they be potentially harmful to your dog (and you, too)? Read on to find out what bully sticks are and what benefits or harm they may cause for your dog.

What are Bully Sticks Made Of?

We're going to address the elephant in the room right off the bat: bully sticks are made from bull penises. What!?!?! Yep, you read correctly. Because of this, they are a single-ingredient product that is 100% natural and is a safer alternative to rawhide chews. In terms of size, there are small (6") bull sticks from steers all the way up to much larger bulls.

What's in a name? Would a Bully stick by any other name still... well, you get the idea. There are many variations of bully sticks on the market, so you may have been giving your dog this healthy, grass-fed cattle treat without even realizing it. Here are some other popular names for best dog bully sticks:

• • bull sticks
  • pizzle sticks
  • pizzles
  • bull pizzle
  • steer sticks

Keep Your Dog Busy with Bully Sticks

Being that they are a longer-lasting chew, similar to rawhide, bully sticks can come in handy for nearly any dog owner. Since they take a long time to chew down, bully sticks are probably not very good for treat training, which work best when they are small and quick to consume. But they are excellent as distraction treats and favourable for heavy chewers. Additionally, you want to do your research if you are a puppy owner, working to find the best bully sticks for puppies.

If you have a dog that acts out in destructive behaviour caused by boredom or anxiety, you should try giving him a bully stick. Avoid rewarding bad behaviour by offering the bully stick after the negative behaviour is displayed. Instead, act preventatively.

If your dog gets destructive when you are leaving them home alone, then offer the bully stick a while you are preparing to leave. This will give them something to focus on while you go through your normal routine for departure. If you are not comfortable leaving the chew with your dog unsupervised, then it's best to remove the chew before you leave the house.

An almost universally appealing chew, bully sticks are distracting enough for any dog and provide a positive outlet for your dog while you are busy with something else. No more chewed furniture, no more whining - at least for a little while!

How Are Bully Sticks Made?

How Pizzle Sticks Are Processed

Though manufacturing processes differ, bully sticks are generally drained of any fluids and then cooked in various ways, and then air-dried. As with most things, manufacturers all have different treatment methods and standards. While they can be prepared in a number of different ways, bully sticks are most commonly smoked or baked.

Dog best bully sticks are available in a variety of different shapes and sizes to suit different types of dogs.  Switch up the shapes and styles that you offer to keep the experience engaging and fun. Are bully sticks ok for dogs?

Like most natural chews, they have a distinct odour, and while your dog may adore it, it can be a little too pungent for our delicate nostrils. To help us tolerate the chew better, an odour-reduced alternative is available. Odour-reduced best bully sticks are created through careful handling of the raw materials. Their exposure to the heat and moisture in their raw state impacts their level of odour when they are dried.

Beef-free Bully Sticks

Need a beef-free bully stick for your dog with beef allergies or sensitivities? Dog treats like bully sticks also come in bison. Due to frequent supply shortages, these can be a lot more expensive than beef bully sticks. Also, while a delicious chew for dogs, bison bully sticks can have a stronger natural odour than beef does.

Are Bully Sticks Better than Rawhides?

There are definite advantages to choosing best bully sticks over rawhide, especially in terms of safety:

• • Bully sticks are an all-natural, long-lasting dog treat.
  • Bully sticks can be consumed or chewed up and they break down quickly in the stomach, rather than causing swelling in the gut (as rawhide sometimes can).
  • They're easier to digest than rawhide and many other commercial and natural chews, such as pig ears.
  • Bully sticks are very good for the teeth. In the chewing process, bully sticks cause abrasion of the teeth, which aids in removing plaque and tartar build-up on the tooth surface.
  • Bully sticks are very low in carbohydrates because they are primarily protein. Because of this, bully sticks do not cause tartar build-up.
  • Bully sticks are low in fat. Combined with the high protein content, this makes them an ideal treat for overweight dogs.
  • Bully sticks are one of the most popular and safest treats available on the market.
  • Even young puppies, which are advised not to chew rawhides, can chew bully sticks.*

*Always monitor your puppy when chewing. Puppies have a tendency to gulp their food, and any natural chew can be a choking risk.

Are Bully Sticks a Good Chew for My Dog?

Bully Sticks or bull pizzle are a good chew for your dog if:

• • Your dog is underweight or overweight or wants to maintain its current healthy weight. High in protein, bull sticks support muscle development and maintenance, as well as healthy weight loss.
  • You are looking for a quality chew, not just the cheapest chew you can buy.
  • Your dog has no beef sensitivities or allergies. (see Beef-free Bully Sticks)
  • You are looking for more ways to improve your dog's dental health easily.
  • You are concerned about the safety of rawhide for puppies and dogs of all ages.
  • Your dog has no serious dental issues that might make chewing painful.
  • Your dog loves to chew!

How long do bully sticks last?

No Dog is the Same

All dogs have different eating habits. Determining how long it will take for anyone dog to chew through a bully stick depends on many factors.

Buy Your Dog's Bully Stick According to Size

Dogs with more powerful jaws will have less trouble breaking down a bull stick - some need less than an hour. The key is to buy the size and shape of the chewy bully sticks appropriate to the size and strength of your dog.

A large or giant breed dog, or an especially powerful chewer, should be fed a larger-sized bully stick to ensure that the bully stick will last a longer period of time. A small, medium breed or senior pet might only require a thin bully stick to occupy them for several hours or even days.

The shape of the bully stick will also affect how fast it's eaten. If the dog can't get its jaw completely around the bully stick because of the shape, then it will take them longer to break it down. Extra thick, braided, or curly bull pizzle sticks are examples of more difficult shapes.

Bully Stick Holders

Many dogs will still chomp their way through a bully stick rather quickly, no matter the size or shape. For such avid chewers, it can be helpful to use a bully stick holder to slow them down so that they can enjoy the bully stick for longer. Using a bully stick holder can also prevent your dog from swallowing the last few inches of the chew whole, which can lead to choking or other dangers.

Bully stick holders come in different shapes, sizes, and materials. When it comes to choosing the right one for your pooch, you want to make sure to pick one that suits the thickness of the bully stick your dog needs. It's important that it holds the bully stick securely in place – especially for strong chewers.

The shape of the bully stick holder is another factor to consider. Some holders may be more difficult for your dog to grip than others. Here are a few of our top picks for bully stick holders!

1. Planet Dog Orbee Tuff Guru Ball

First up, the Planet Dog Orbee Tuff Guru Ball is durable, interactive, and great for mental stimulation. It's designed with four slots to securely hold a bully stick to make for a fun, entertaining playtime as your dog chews, squeezes, and rolls the ball around trying to get it.

This bully stick holder is made from a proprietary, non-toxic TPE material called Orbee Tuff that can withstand even the toughest chewers. Plus, it doubles as an extra bouncy ball that's great for fetch or floating toys for water lovers.

2. Benebone Pawplexer

Another great option is the Benebone Pawplexer! While your pet can enjoy the Benebone Pawplexer as a stand-alone chew toy, it also makes for an excellent bully stick holder. Made with remarkably strong nylon material and 100% natural bacon, your dog will love the tantalizing flavours while enjoying a little mental stimulation and entertainment.

Keep in mind, while this bully stick holder might taste like an edible treat, it's not! We recommend supervising your doggo to ensure he's practicing safe chewing habits.

3. West Paw Design Qwizl Toy

West Paw Design's Quizl treat toy is another one of our favorites when it comes to choosing a durable and engaging bully stick holder. This Qwizl treat toy is made from Zogoflex, which is a 100% recyclable material that is 100% Guaranteed Tough – in other words, if your dog destroys this holder, the company will replace it with a new one!

It's designed with a slit in the center of the bully bone that's easy for you to add a bully stick or other chew inside, but difficult for your dog to get it out. The Qwizl treat toy is great for hours of engagement and happy chewing. Plus, it has a nice bounce that's perfect for fetch fanatics and it floats, so it's great for water fun!

Are Bully Sticks Safe for puppies?

Bully sticks are a safe and natural chew for puppies and dogs of all ages and sizes. Here are just some of the benefits of chewy bully sticks for dogs:

• • Bully sticks are flavourful, making them irresistible to dogs.
  • Bully sticks are high in protein and low in fat.
  • Their composition makes them easy to digest for even the most sensitive stomachs.
  • Bully sticks are one of the safest chews for all puppies, topping popular rawhide chews. Although rawhides are all-natural, they are much harder for dogs to digest. Swallowing a large chunk of rawhide could result in blockages, whereas bully sticks will break apart and pass through the digestive tract more smoothly.
  • Bully sticks are great for dental maintenance. The constant contact and abrasion against their teeth promotes healthy gums and even scrapes some of the plaque and tartar off of their teeth.
  • Chewy Bully sticks can aid the transition between juvenile and adult teeth, known as teething.

Are Bully Sticks Harmful?

You may have heard some unsettling things about bully sticks in the news or on the internet. While chewy bully sticks have been the target of some concerned pet owners, many of these concerns can be remedied with appropriate use and additional information.

It's important to note that any natural dog treat (or toy for that matter) can be a choking hazard if you are feeding the incorrect size of the treat. Always monitor your pets to ensure that they are chewing properly and safely, and not trying to swallow large pieces of the treat.

Are Bully Sticks Fattening?

Best Bully sticks are actually low in fat, particularly when compared with other natural chews, such as pig ears. Generally, they average at around 10% fat content, with about 75-85% protein, though this can vary a lot between brands (pig ears have around 30% fat). This makes them a good choice for pets who need to watch their fat intake. However, it is still recommended that you watch your pet's consumption, as dog bully sticks are not low in calories and are irresistible for most dogs!

Bully sticks can have a lot of calories.  A study of 26 bully sticks found the average 6" bully stick to be about 88 calories, which would be a lot for a small dog or even medium-sized dog to consume in a day. If you aren't cutting back any of your dog's food and just adding on 88 additional calories, it's probably going to start showing in excess weight.

However, with a little education, you can give your dog the right size bully stick so that he's not overdoing it on treats and packing on pounds.

Treats should account for no more than 10% of your dog's daily calories. Use this table to find out how big (approximately) of a bully stick your dog can eat in a day without going over that 10%.

What Size Bully Stick Should I Feed My Dog?

An odour-free bully stick is moderately dense in calories, but the quality of those calories is high. Best Bully sticks are predominantly protein, which dogs use as a primary source of energy. Bully sticks, while low in fat, do have between 9-22 calories per inch. So if your dog is eating more than he should per day, as with any treat or even his food, he will likely gain weight.

We've created a table for some of the most popular breeds and which bull stick we would recommend as a daily treat. In the study of 26 bully sticks, they were found to range from 9-22kcal/inch. We've averaged that to a mean of 15.5kcal/inch, but if you know the calorie content of your specific treat (use with any treat), you can simply divide your dog's daily treat calorie allowance by the number of calories in the treat you are feeding, and you get the number of treats you can feed your dog per day. Remember: This accounts for ALL treats fed to your dog in a day.

Recommended Treat Calories and Bully Stick Portions Per Day Based on Weight

BREED	WEIGHT RANGE (LBS)	TREAT (CALORIES/DAY)	DAILY BULLY STICK PORTION*
Yorkshire Terrier, Chihuahua	>7	17.5	1"/day
Miniature Dachshund	<11	16-22	1-1.5"/day
Miniature Poodle, Shih Tzu, Pug	9-18	23-38	1-2.5"/day
Standard Dachshund, Beagle	16-32	34-60	2-4"/day
Bulldog	40-50	50-75	3-5"/day
Labrador Retriever, Boxer	50-80	60-120	4-8"/day
German Shepherd	75-95	130-165	8-10.5"/day
Rottweiler	85-135	108-302+	9-15" or more/day
Mastiff	120-180	156-305+	10-20" or more/day

* These are estimates based on the average thickness of bully sticks. If thicker bully sticks are offered, then portions should be reduced.

Other Factors That Influence Calorie Needs

This table is just an estimate for your adult dog's approximate treat calorie needs. There are many other factors that influence how much your dog needs to eat every day:

• • • Pregnancy/Lactation: Bitches who are pregnant, particularly those after 4 weeks of pregnancy, and those who are nursing puppies can require between 2 and 8 times the resting energy requirements (RER) of average dogs.
    • Puppies: Puppies, particularly those in the first 4 months of life, require between 2 and 3 the RER of average adult dogs.
    • Neutered/Intact: Neutered dogs require less energy than intact dogs.
    • Sick/Injured/Recovering: Dogs that are sick, injured, recovering from illness, or those who have certain medical conditions often require more calories than healthy dogs for proper health restoration.
    • Seasonal:  Nutritional needs change with the seasons, particularly for dogs who spend a lot of time outdoors. Not as many calories are needed in the summer as opposed to the colder winter months.
    • Working: Working dogs require anywhere from 2 to 5 times the RER of typical adult dogs, depending on their activity level.
    • Weight Loss/Gain: Overweight and obese dogs need fewer calories if they want to lose weight. If you want your dog to lose weight, portion his calories based upon what his ideal weight would be. Obese pets may need to set a target less than their current weight rather than their ideal weight and decrease portions slowly to maintain good health. Similarly, pets who are underweight should set their calorie needs based on the weight they want to reach, not their current weight.

If you look at the big picture of your dog's health, as long as he is staying within his calorie requirements for the week, his weight maintenance should stay on track. For example, if your beagle eats a whole bully stick in one day, it should not be a major disruptor to his nutrition or weight maintenance if he's cutting back on other days in that week.

Rotate treats throughout the week to help balance the calories. Feeding a bully stick one can be balanced by feeding a lower calorie treat the next, such as whole, fresh veggies. Make healthy choices and practice moderation for your dog's best nutrition. The variation in his diet is worth it!

Are Bully Sticks Contaminated with Bacteria?

Like any natural treat, the risk of bacterial contamination is there. A scientific study with a small sampling of 26 different bull pizzle products has confirmed the presence of bacteria (according to this press release) such as Clostridium difficile,Staphylococcus aureus, andEscherichia coli in a minority of the chewy bully sticks sampled.

However, your dog's intestinal tract, being much shorter and of a different composition than ours, can handle a lot more bacteria than ours can. Unless really ill, consuming these bacteria is unlikely to affect your dog.

Should you be concerned about getting infected with these bacteria yourself? Truthfully, not all of these bacterial strains infect people (as stated by scientists conducting the study), and most do not pose a threat to healthy people. Many of the surfaces we use every day, including our sinks, kitchen counters, sponges, cell phones, and even our skin are contaminated with the same bacteria, often to a greater extent.

However, it is always recommended to follow the proper sanitary practices to avoid infection. Always wash your hands before and after giving your dog a natural treat (or dog food, for that matter). Wash well, using friction between your hands, soap, and at least 20 seconds under running water for your best protection against bacteria.

If you are immuno-compromised, including pregnant women, people on antibiotics, very young children or sick, elderly people, or those with immune-system compromising illnesses or conditions, get someone else to handle the bull sticks in your house and have your dog enjoy his treat at a reasonable distance.

Do Best Bully Sticks Contain Animal By-Products?

Best Bully sticks do not contain animal by-products, being a whole food source, but they are technically classified as animal by-products themselves. In fact, high-quality, premium-grade bully sticks are often made of grass-fed beef. Many pet owners avoid buying foods with animal by-products in them for their dogs and cats, but many do not know the nutritional reasoning behind this choice. Due to their ingredients, these are fully digestible treats.

Animal by-products are not bad in themselves. Including such healthful, rich sources of vitamins, minerals, lean protein, and other nutrition, animal by-products can be some of the healthiest things you can feed your pet. Animal by-products are any part of an animal that is unfit for human consumption, including, but not limited to: beaks, feet, lungs, spleen, and more.

The problem with animal by-products in pet food is that they are inconsistent as an ingredient, and their nutritional value can vary greatly from batch to batch. Also, the by-products are often cooked at such high temperatures that many of the nutrients and proteins are no longer usable to your pet. This makes animal by-products in pet food (listed as by-products, by-product meals) a cheap, questionably nutritious ingredient.

But, on their own and minimally processed, animal by-products such as bull pizzles can be a nutritious addition to your pet's diet.

Are Bully Sticks Safe to Chew?

Unlike bull pizzle sticks, rawhides have been under fire a lot for their safety. Dogs can chew off pieces of rawhide, which can then become lodged in the throat or cause intestinal blockages which may require abdominal surgery to remove. While rawhide chews get most of the attention for this hazard, the truth is that nearly any chew, particularly natural chews, can carry this risk.

The good thing about best bully sticks is that they are nearly 100% digestible, which means that they will break down easier in your pet's system than rawhide will, making them less likely to cause any blockages in the stomach or intestines. There is still a choking risk if you have a dog that is a very powerful chewer and one who likes to quickly rip off pieces of chews.

For the average chewer, the risk of any damage being done is low. Even if your dog does manage to break off a piece and swallow it, he will most likely digest it with no difficulty.

That being said, it is always recommended to watch your dog with any chew to prevent choking risks. Remove the chew when it becomes too small to reduce the chances that your dog will try to swallow a large chunk.

If you do want to give your dog only a bit of his bully stick at a time, it's best to give him the entire chew and simply to take it away when he's consumed his daily amount.

Best Bully Sticks Canada

As one of the most popular natural dog chew, bully sticks are not hard to find, but finding the best price and the best quality isn't quite as simple. If you are looking for a long-lasting chew, then you need a more substantial and robust bully stick.

Look for bully sticks labelled as large or jumbo, and try to avoid the cheap stuff. If you look at the cut end of the bully stick, you should see a mostly solid center. Best bully sticks that's are hollow, then the bully stick will be easier for your dog to chew up quickly.

If you are looking for both high-quality, durable, and affordable bully sticks in Canada, then we have just what you need. Find small, regular, large, jumbo and even braided bully sticks. The more you buy, the more you save, so go ahead and stock up on your dog's favourite natural chew!

Does your dog love bully sticks? Share a story about how you use bully sticks to keep your dog healthy and engaged.

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Source: https://blog.homesalive.ca/dog-blog/what-are-bully-sticks

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