Are you a new parent to a puppy but clueless about nurturing its habit of chewing? The tendency to chew is not unusual for little puppies; some even say it’s an innate quality, especially when they begin teething. To distract themselves from the pain, puppies find their chew treat in every object placed in your home— from shoes to toys to handbags.
Puppies are adorable in general, and they might appear to look even cuter while nibbling on things that are seriously choking hazards for them. That is why it is essential to set boundaries for your puppy from the start. Two chemical transmitters, dopamine, and serotonin can be released in puppies’ brains as they chew during their teething period. The chemicals help them by making the dogs feel happy and strengthening their jaws.
Now that we have established that you can’t switch off your puppy’s desire to chew, it is best to find safe things for them to play and gnaw with all day long. Bully sticks are one of the innocuous options because they have health benefits and will not jeopardize your dog’s dental health.
What Exactly Is A Bully Stick?
Bully sticks are a single-ingredient munching treat for your puppy. They are made from high-quality beef muscle and bull penises. Once you get over the shock of the last ingredient, you will be pleasantly surprised to learn that bully sticks are far more beneficial than old-school raw teats.
Bully sticks are highly digestible and easily chewable. The best thing about them is that they are high in protein and effortlessly break down in the puppy’s digestive system, unlike beef wrapped in raw treats. They come in many different sizes to cater to multiple breeds of puppies and their needs.
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Are Bully Sticks Safe For Puppies?
Bully sticks are carefully crafted in a way that they do not break down and become shards which in turn could become a choking hazard for the pup. Dogs are famous for being playful, so when they make up their minds to chew something, they play with it first. However, with bully sticks, the risks of your puppy getting injured are extremely low.
Puppies are naturally highly energetic animals and are always in a quick mode. When it comes to food, they often tend to consume it at speed, which often leads to choking. If the puppy manages to swallow it, the raw treats are often not digestible and can result in blockages.
Bully Sticks intrigue the puppies as they play, gnaw, and chew on them for several hours, which can give you many hours of not worrying about them. But, apart from them being fun for the dogs, bully sticks are healthy for your puppy as they are high in amino acids and can strengthen your dog’s skin and brain muscles.
Additional health benefits of bully sticks include your puppy’s dental health. Chomping on bully sticks helps get rid of the biofilm from their mouths before it turns into plaque. Bully sticks also help keep the gums healthy by keeping mouth diseases at bay as all the munching allows more saliva to be produced, which has lysozyme that fights the oral pathogens.
Are Bully Sticks Safe for Dogs?
To feed your dog a good diet, bully sticks are a healthy option. Unlike raw dog treats, bully sticks are made up of a single ingredient, which helps in ensuring that your dog’s digestive system remains healthy and nothing is lodged into their intestines. Bully sticks are also safer options for dogs, who continue to seek adventures from their surroundings.
Another thing to keep in mind is familiarity. As we have mentioned before, puppies should be provided with bully sticks while they are growing up and teething. The taste of the pizzle sticks becomes an acquired taste for them, and it still provides nutritional value to the dogs.
How are Bully Sticks produced?
The process of making a bully stick varies and is subjective to the vendor. The first step is to make sure that you have a clean refrigerator space, in which you can keep the bully sticks to keep them from going bad. The manufacturing processes will vary, but usually, the pizzle sticks are dehydrated first and then cooked.
Bully sticks have to be hung vertically to drain the fluid before they go in the oven, where the high heat ensures all the bacteria is killed. The vertical position helps in eliminate moisture, which helps in keeping them free of odor. Once they are dried, the bully sticks are cut into pieces according to the size chart.
The thickness is usually preferred to be more because the thicker the bully stick is, the more time it will take for a dog to consume the chewing treat. Bully sticks come in different sizes and are odor-free options. The only difference is in the way they are prepared.
Are Bully Sticks Good Investment?
If you’ve set your mind on adopting a puppy, then it is essential to invest in high-quality bully sticks. The good ones can last up to two years or more, depending on the process in which they are produced and the quality of the single ingredient. Bully sticks don’t rot, unlike raw treats, which is why they are not only favorable for your puppy but also for your pocket.
Generally, the lifetime of a bully stick depends upon your dog’s breed and its ability to chew. Research has shown that an average-sized dog will usually take up to several hours, sometimes days, to devour a bully stick. You can go through the size charts to determine which size will be ideal for your puppy.
Pizzle Sticks vs. Raw Treat
The difference between a pizzle stick and a bully stick is that one is cheaper while the other is healthier. Bully sticks, as we talked about before, are a single-ingredient food because it is manufactured from the bull’s pizzle, which is a muscle tissue rich in protein. This makes pizzle sticks much more digestible.
However, rawhide is manufactured from the skin of an untanned animal and undergoes several harsh chemical washes. This round of processes makes it smoother, which allows it to come in different shapes. The varied processes and material is the reason that rawhide is much cheaper than bully sticks.
Due to health factors, many dog owners are now preferring to invest in bully sticks because they are a healthier choice among the two. Bully sticks may be more expensive, but their durability is also for a much longer period than that of raw treats. Plus, it is a fun way to feed your dog, which ultimately makes a better chew treat.
Alternatives to Bully Sticks
To reduce the carbon dating caused by animal agriculture, you can always try to feed your dog a more eco-friendly alternative to bully sticks. Dogs need their proteins, but once in a while, you can mix things up and give your puppies vegetables and fruits instead of meat. These vegetables can be:
- Fresh Carrots
- Sweet Potato
- Bananas
Conclusion
There you go— this guide will help in easing your worries as a puppy owner. Don’t forget, dogs have value to chew, so they will continue chewing on whatever they could find. But to provide them with the healthiest chew treat, explore your options and see what suits your dog the best.
Bully Sticks have numerous health benefits, including giving your puppy clean teeth, healthy gums, strong jaw muscles, and a nutritional diet. We know you want the best for your dogs, so it is essential to read reviews and check details before you make an informed decision.
