Antlers are odorless treats by themselves, however as your dog chews, their saliva will impart a slight odor. Be sure to monitor your dog while they chew, and ensure they are practicing safe chewing habits with their antler.
Animal lovers will also appreciate that antlers are a humane and sustainable natural dog chew. Elk and deer antlers are shed naturally every year, so these chews are cruelty-free. Because they grow new antlers every year, these chews are more sustainable for the environment (as well as biodegradable).
Best Bully Sticks provides high-quality, all-natural bully sticks, dog treats, and dog chews. Our bully sticks and other products come from livestock and are crafted into totally natural, protein-rich dog treats and chews. Unlike chemically treated rawhides that promote bacteria growth and can present a choking hazard, bully sticks are hygienic and durable.
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Antlers are a naturally occurring source of protein and amino acids and aren’t processed like rawhide bones. They’re simply collected, cleaned, and cut. They are never treated with harsh chemicals or dyes. Antlers also contain many naturally occurring nutrients, such as zinc, phosphorus, iron, calcium, magnesium, and potassium.Because they are rich in protein, dogs should not chew more than a half-inch or so per day, or else they may get an upset stomach.
Antlers pose a dental risks for dogs.
After attending vet school, I took several advanced dental training courses through a board-certified veterinary dentist. Dentistry is a large part of veterinary practice, and dental disease in dogs is common. Based on my training, I knew that careful selection of dog chews was important. And here’s why it’s so crucial:
Tooth fractures are a very real problem. In fact, a study found that one in four animals presented for a dental cleaning have a traumatic dental injury and 50% of those injuries are fractured or broken teeth. As an integrative veterinarian for over 20 years, it’s not uncommon for me to discover a cracked or broken tooth incidentally during a routine head-to-tail physical examination.
While any tooth in the mouth can fracture, become loose or damaged, or have associated gum problems, the most common tooth to fracture is the fourth premolar. (If you lift up your dog’s top lip from the side and retract that lip gently up and back, you’ll see on the top arcade a big tooth—it’s also called the carnassial tooth. It looks a mountain range upside down.)
Picture your dog’s fourth premolar like a big iceberg. Now picture a slab of that iceberg falling into the ocean. That’s the kind of fracture that happens to a dog’s tooth. The side of the tooth breaks off and you’re left with a raw, exposed flat side. This is a common problem typically caused when a dog chews on something that’s too hard.
A slab fracture of your dog’s tooth can cause
A broken tooth is trouble in the making because it removes the enamel—the natural sealant that protects the tooth from infection. Without the enamel, infection can wick up the tooth and into the roots. This may cause a tooth root abscess. (If you’ve ever had a root abscess in your tooth, you know that it’s excruciatingly painful and can become very serious.) Even if an abscess hasn’t formed yet, chewing on a fractured tooth with an exposed nerve is still extremely painful for your dear dog.
Proponents of antlers argue that chewing on the antler can help clean your dog’s teeth by scraping the tartar off. Sure that might be true, but if your dog cracks a tooth (or teeth) in the process, he or she will end up with bigger dental issues. Plus, there are a myriad of safe and effective ways to keep your dog’s teeth clean at home that don’t run the risk of also fracturing the very teeth you are aiming to protect.
Natural antler dog chews can come from a variety of sources. Each type has different textures. Deer antlers for dogs can have a harder texture than other varieties of antlers. They come in a wide range of sizes to select the right fit for your dog’s size and chewing behavior. Elk antlers for dogs are usually large in size, and can often be available in a split form. Elk antlers vary in density depending on which part of the antler is selected. Moose antlers for dogs are softer than other antlers, and are often sold in different slices and shapes to choose what works for your individual dog. You can even find other types of “antler” chews that are made from water buffalo horns.
On the surface, antlers for dogs seem like the perfect object for our pets to chew on. Antlers do not appear to splinter as easily as bones or other toys; they last a long time, saving you money on chew toys for powerful chewers; and they appeal to our sense of what is “natural” for our dogs.
Perhaps the biggest irony when it comes to hard chews like antlers is that we, as owners, believe we are helping to keep our dogs’ teeth clean. After all, chewing helps reduce plaque and tartar buildup, and it also redirects destructive tendencies and anxiety into an acceptable outlet. For owners of powerful chewers that destroy conventional chew toys in a manner of hours, antlers seem like a gift from nature herself.
Your veterinarian is a great resource for recommendations of safe chew toys, and you can also check out this list of veterinarian-approved chews from the Veterinary Oral Health Council. No matter what chew toy or object you decide to go with, always make sure you get the right size for your dog, and look out for any recalls, especially if you select a jerky chew product or another food product. https://www.akc.org/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php Get Your Free AKC download
You should consider, though, that antlers and other excessively hard chews are a common cause of broken teeth in dogs. Broken teeth are extremely painful and can lead to abscesses and infections. While your dog’s suffering is usually enough of a deterrent, a broken tooth typically costs hundreds of dollars in repair or removal, offering an economic incentive, as well as a moral one, to consider carefully whether antlers are the right chew for your individual dog.
How to use deer antlers to your advantage when training your puppy!
Deer Antlers are like all-natural, super-chew magic. Whilst they’ve been around almost forever (well, as long as deer have been) they’ve recently become a staple of pet stores everywhere in a smorgasbord of shapes, sizes, colours and textures. From cap to tip, split or whole, small or large: antlers are a treat with incredible variety.
Being connoisseurs of fine dog treats, we figured it was time to bring the spotlight on this chew of champions. Deer antlers might be the treat your doggo’s been chewing in his dreams.