At What Age Can Puppies Have Bully Sticks?

It’s not always easy to know what kind of treats you can get your puppy, especially when they are sticking their nose in every bin in the pet store. Although bully sticks are a popular chew treat, it’s essential to consider your puppy’s age, size, and chewing habits before giving them one. Bully sticks can cause problems for some young dogs, so it’s crucial to consult with your vet to help find appropriate chews for your pup.

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At what age can a puppy have bully sticks?

It’s really important to wait until your puppy’s adult teeth have come in, which is around six months, to give them anything as hard as a bully stick to chew. Before this, their gums are too soft and could be harmed by the treat.

Always talk to your vet about your specific pup, though, and ask if they are ready to chew on a bully stick. There are risks with any bone or bone-like snack, so you should always supervise your dog if they are chewing on a bully stick, no matter how old they are.

Introducing bully sticks to puppies

As with any new treat, bully sticks should be introduced to puppies gradually and under your direct supervision. Make sure your puppy isn’t trying to swallow the bully stick whole or chewing so hard on it that they’ll injure themselves. Take the treat away before they’re finished with it to try to limit how much they ingest at once. Watch for any adverse effects, like vomiting or diarrhea afterwards.

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Are bully sticks safe for puppies?

It can be tough to find a treat that satisfies your puppy’s urge to chew and is safe for their teeth and digestion. Bully sticks are widely available at pet stores and very popular. Despite this, bully sticks aren’t the ideal snack for growing puppies.

The biggest concern about bully sticks is also one of their major selling points: They’re tough and take a while for dogs to chew. While chewing can be great for enrichment, entertainment, and dental health, excessively hard treats like bully sticks are notorious for causing dental fractures. Broken teeth cause significant pain and require dental surgery to repair or remove them.

Some safety factors to consider before giving your puppy a bully stick include:

Dental fractures

Hard treats are hard on teeth. Bully sticks have caused tooth fractures in dogs. While some dogs tend to soften up a bully stick with saliva before chewing on it, others seem to want to crack into it immediately. Giving your pup a bully stick risks a broken tooth, which can mean a lot of pain for your puppy and a lot of cost for you.

Choking hazards

Puppies want to eat everything in sight and aren’t always the best judges of what they can handle. Big pieces of any type of chew can get caught in the esophagus and need to be removed with an endoscope. Esophageal foreign bodies can be dangerous and can cause serious issues if not treated promptly. Signs of an esophageal foreign body include:

• Gagging or retching

• Drooling

• Hard swallowing

• Difficulty breathing

• Loss of appetite

Digestive issues

Any change to a puppy’s diet can cause them to have an upset stomach, possibly resulting in vomiting or diarrhea. Puppies with allergies to beef products should not be given bully sticks, because of the whole bull-penis thing. Bully sticks are digestible, but puppies that eat big chunks may experience some discomfort or nausea. A large piece of a bully stick can take a good bit of time to break down in the stomach, which could disrupt normal eating habits.

Weight gain

Bully sticks are fairly dense in calories. An average six-inch stick contains about 90 calories, though the calorie count varies a bit depending on the thickness of the piece. This means that a six-inch stick provides 20 percent of the daily calorie requirements for a 10-pound puppy. It’s best to keep snacks (anything that’s not your puppy’s primary food) to less than 10 percent of their daily calories.

Bacterial contamination

Because these are dried bull phalluses, there’s a risk of introducing harmful bacteria to your puppy. There have been recalls of bully sticks due to contamination with Salmonella. One study found that of 26 products tested, four percent had Clostridium difficile, four percent had methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and four percent had tetracycline-resistant E. coli contamination present.

While the presence of these bacteria will not always cause illness in dogs or people, it’s important to practice good hygiene when dealing with bully sticks. Avoid having immunocompromised people or pets touch them, and always wash your hands after handling them.

Are bully sticks safe for teething puppies?

Teething puppies are often desperate to chew on something to help relieve the discomfort of erupting teeth. If their parents don’t provide safe chewing alternatives, puppies will find something to gnaw on, and it will inevitably be something valuable.

Bully sticks are too hard and rough for their tender gums, and excessive chewing could damage new teeth. Soft rubber chew toys tend to be a better option, but your vet can always help guide you on what’s best for your growing puppy.

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Benefits of bully sticks

It’s important to know what bully sticks are to understand some of their potential problems. Companies may market bully sticks under different names like pizzle sticks or beef pizzles, but they’re all made of the same thing: bull penis. Yep, bully sticks are dehydrated bull willies. This may help explain their, let’s say, pungent odor.

Puppies often love these natural treats, so they’ve been promoted for both juvenile and adult dogs. Some potential benefits of bully sticks include:

Dental health

Chewing helps to break down plaque and clean teeth. Dogs that chew regularly have lower oral bacterial counts and are less likely to develop dental tartar. Finding safe items for your dog to chew on can help to keep their teeth healthy for the long term. Establishing good dental health habits early in your puppy’s life makes it easier to maintain them when they are adults.

Mental stimulation and boredom relief

While some dogs are perfectly happy to sleep the day away, others need something to help keep them entertained while their parents are doing boring things like working, socializing, cleaning or watching TV.

Chew toys can be a great way to keep your puppy occupied when you need to do something that doesn’t involve cuddling or playing with them.

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Choosing the right bully stick for your puppy

Bully sticks come in a variety of sizes, lengths, and flavors. If you’re planning on trying out a bully stick with your puppy, you should pick one that’s an appropriate size — not so small they can swallow it whole, but not too big for them to fit their mouth around.

When picking out a puppy chew toy or treat that’s safe for teeth, follow these general rules:

• If your teeth hurt when you think about chewing on it, it’s too hard.

• If you wouldn’t want to be hit in the knee with it, it’s too hard.

• If you can’t bend or break it easily, it’s too hard.

• If it splinters when it breaks or bends, it’s too brittle.

The Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) maintains a list of accepted products that help with plaque or tartar control. These include dental chews that are safe for puppies’ teeth. Puppies can also be entertained by indestructible soft rubber toys containing hidden treats. These can be a safe enrichment alternative for curious pups.

FAQs (People also ask):

What should you avoid when a puppy is teething?

Teething puppies want to put everything in their mouths: fingers, clothes, furniture, rocks, or whatever they encounter. It’s best to redirect their attention to an appropriate toy or chew to help them learn good habits.

What are the best chewing bones for dogs?

Finding the perfect chew bone for your dog can be tough. You can talk to your vet about what they recommend or follow the above guidelines to find something that’s safe for your dog’s teeth.

References:

• Nutritional and Microbial Analysis of Bully Sticks and Survey of Opinions About Pet Treats

• Redbarn Pet Products Issues Voluntary Recall of Dog Chews

• FDA: WARNING LETTER - Pet Center, Inc.

• Owners are Breaking Their Dog’s Teeth, or the “Kneecap Rule”

• The Effect of Dental Products and Natural Chews on Canine Oral Bacteria

• Dental Chews Positively Shift the Oral Microbiota of Adult Dogs