I’ve talked about these before, but I just think they are so great I want to talk about them some more. Since it’s been cold outside Kody doesn’t get as much exercise. We play fetch inside a bit, and go on walks but not as long and not as many. He’ll actually sleep almost all day, but occasionally I want him to have more. So about once or twice a week I give him a bully stick.
These last at least all day, and sometimes two. When he has one he chews on it nonstop all day. I have to take it away to get him to go outside and when we come back in he starts sniffing around to find it. He’s not possessive of it, he just loves the chewing.
Kody un-stuffs a soft toy in about half an hour. And then I have to worry about threads or him chewing parts off. As for the toys that claim to be tough, he’s tougher and they don’t last much longer. I don’t buy those anymore because their toughness isn’t worth the added cost. Then with rawhide chews he gets them soft pretty quickly and has swallowed them before. So I don’t like those.
So for the bully sticks to last a whole day, and be tough enough that he only chews of tiny bits at a time gives me a worry free treat and him a ton of fun. I didn’t know about these before, and I expect others don’t either, but they are the perfect toy.
Watch out for rawhide treats that look the same. Bully sticks will always be labelled as such, it’s not a brand name, so don’t be fooled. They’re uncommon, a pet store here has an entire isle of rawhide and in the middle was one, just one, bin of bully sticks. Natural pet stores will have more. They are a bit pricey in the stores, up to seven bucks a piece. They’re less than three dollars each at Amazon. Still cheaper that a stuffed toy and they last much longer.
One safety note is you take it away before it gets short enough for them to potentially swallow, so you do have to monitor that, but it isn’t likely to sneak up on you. They start out at twelve inches and I take it away when it’s two for Kody. Your dog may be able to swallow larger things so adjust as needed. So these are not good toys if you’re not able to monitor your dog or if you’re away. They’re perfect for when you’re at home with your dog and need a little time for yourself.