Maybe you already posted this and I missed it... But, still wanted to ask... Where do you buy your big bulk of Merrick's? Piccolo and Vivi love that brand.

E-bay, and if you buy in bulk there is often free or reduced shipping. I buy the 6 inch sticks and I can usually find them for around $2.00 a stick. Since they are individually wrapped are tightly sealed, I don't worry about them staying fresh.

Nancy does Joey get the ugly D from the Merricks? Izzy and Cosmo love bully sticks but it does not like them. Did you see a difference between the regular bully sticks that smell vs. these from Merrick??? Thx.

What's the ugly D? Lol, I've never heard that term. I've never tried any other bully sticks, but so many people have told me that their dogs eat them in a day, and I wanted something that was harder to chew on, and more bone like. Oh wait, do you mean diarrhea? If you mean that, and your dog eats a large portion of a stick in one day, yes, it's very possible the stick caused it, remember if you are adding a new food to their diet, you have to go slowly because a large quantity of new food can cause diarrhea, but Merricks are so hard, they can't really eat much off a stick in one day. I'm not kidding Joey chews and chews on it and only looks like he's taken off a tiny portion. They last a week, and so that's less than an inch a day, and he's about 5 1/2 pounds. Like I said before, I don't use the sticks as a treat, I use them only because I feel like this chewing is so good for the teeth, and very similar to what a dental hygienist does when she scrapes the teeth. I also use the Petzlife tooth gel, and this product is said to soften tartar, and you brush it away later, with the hard bully sticks, I feel like he's brushing away the tartar as well. Anyway, at three, his teeth still look great and the vet said, "I don't know what you are doing, but keep on doing it his teeth are great".

I think it's called a love/hate relationship. :p

Hmmmm..I never looked on Ebay. I just always went right to the Merrick site. Now my local Pet Value sells them, but they are still well over $3 a piece for the 6". I'll have to check into the Ebay store. Send it to me in a PM, please.
I agree. I have found with the Merrick that the sticks last at least a week. It's not something I let lie around like a toy. It is for special occasions (like when I want to eat supper in peace without two sets of sorrowful looking eyes staring at me). :D

:thumbup: We use Merrick's as well, but I get the Flossies. They are the same thing, but just twisted up in a spiral. It's hilarious to see Uni start one out, then when it gets to the end it looks like she's got a snorkle or a corn cob pipe. :D I get them at entirelypets.com, they are still about $3 each, but I can't afford to get 100 pcs at a time from ebay.

My babies dont care for bully sticks they smell them and walk away, but they love flossies by Merrick. I buy them 100 in a box thru ebay.

:2omg: Are you kidding me!!? I tried looking them up the other day because I've seen people on here talking about them, but I didn't come up with anything... I thought maybe they were like a nylabone or something![quote=MorkieMomii;2765329]Eva loves them. I just can't get past the fact that my little sweetie has a giant cow wee wee in her mouth!

I just do a search on ebay using the words Merrick bully sticks. Here's an example of one. 100ct. Merrick 6" Bully Sticks from makers of Flossies - eBay (item 250484397510 end time Aug-24-09 12:33:42 PDT). There's a $10.00 fee for shipping anywhere in the states, so that's not a bad deal, but sometimes they ship for free. It really varies, and I just buy them when I can get them for around $2.00 a stick. There are also sold in smaller lots, but you pay more per stick. Since they last forever, buying in bulk works best for me.

Here's some other listings on ebay for them. MERRICK BULLY STICKS, great deals on Pet Supplies, bully sticks on eBay!. I've bought from two different places, and have been happy with both.

[quote=jrousseau66;2766471]:2omg: Are you kidding me!!? I tried looking them up the other day because I've seen people on here talking about them, but I didn't come up with anything... I thought maybe they were like a nylabone or something!


They are cow:cow: p*nis :(. Taken off the cow at slaughter. About 2 to 3 feet long:eek:. They are hung to drain then stretched to about 48 inches and dried. Then cut to different lengths.

Now I am wondering why some smell and some don't. Maybe not "drained" enough? I am thinking I could maybe handle ones that don't smell and are twisted. Its just that the regular ones I can even see the veins in. Even just talking about it is bothering me :(. I was so happy with them too, because they are great baby sitters.

Mary:animal-pa

Lol, this would bother me too, I've never seen anything that looked like veins! :eek:

Wow, me neither! All the ones I've seen just look like sticks.

I bought Eva the veal ones, thinking baby cow wasn't as repulsive. Maybe thats why there were veins?? One package smelled, one didn't, same brand. Its a mystery to me!

Stormy LOVED them!!! I buy the Merricks at our pet store, they aren't too stinky.
I just bought one today for Lola and it took her a few mins to warm up to it. Now she loves it too! :p

[quote=MorkieMomii;2766736]Maybe I'm missing something, (wouldn't be the first time), but why would you want to serve a cow penis to ANYONE!!?

Dogs love to chew on bones, but bones have been known to cause problems. They have made many different types of chewing sticks, rawhides and Greenies to name a couple, and the problem with ever other stick I've found is nothing is 100% digestible. Small pieces can break off and cause an intestinal blockage. While this isn't as much a risk with a large dog, because their intestines are also larger in diameter, it can be a problem with smaller breeds. Bully sticks are the only hard chewing stick I've found that are 100% digestible, this means no blockage can occur in the intestines, and this is life threatening, and not to be taken lightly. Dogs can choke on a bully stick, like they can with any chewing stick so they should always be supervised, but they will not cause intestinal blockage, where symptoms often occur after it's too late.

The reason you want to give your dog something to chew on is that this is very good for their teeth and gums, Yorkies are very prone to tartar, and many start losing the adult teeth by age three, so it's important to do what you can to prevent tartar build-up.

But wouldn't there be lots of other ways? Safer, healhier ways?

Hey, haven't you heard of Rocky Mountain Oysters? :D

While the idea of it may bother us, dried bull penis is perfectly healthy and safe. My guess is that it got popular because it is cheap. The guy who runs a pet boutique near me says he used to carry pigs feet, but they've gotten really popular as a gourmet item, and are no longer an inexpensive dog treat.

I believe that Flossies are just a cow tendon, not any ah, organ meat. There are lot of other things available: hooves, pig tails, and pig ears, to name a few. Really, it's just a piece of cow. It's not like the bull is using it anymore.

I haven't found any, Bully sticks are very healthy, their are mainly protein, and that's good for them, and they are really safe too. They just don't sound good, and really when you think about it most things don't sound that good that we eat.

Sorry to break it to you, but both flossies and bully sticks are made out of tendon, the flossies are just thinner strips of tendon, and are great for smaller dogs, and puppies.

Here's a picture of a bunch of bully sticks. As you can see, they really just look like sticks. The ones I've purchased don't smell at all.

I know they are both tendon, but I don't think a flossie is from the penis? I'm not sure why they would be marketed one way while bully sticks would be described as another.

Well I think it's gross.

You're certainly entitled to think that. Your dog might like them, though, and you don't have to taste them if you don't want to. ;)

I thought it was gross too, I mean, it's still gross technically. But if you didn't KNOW what it was, it wouldn't bother you. Just like human food... you don't know what winds up in our food (believe me, it's disgusting, one Peanut Butter jar carries quite a few bugs that enjoy sticking in it). Just by looking at it, it simply looks like a stick. I buy them for Jackson because he LOVES them and it keeps him busy for a long time. All the other bones he eats sooo fast. Plus, he nearly choked on a rawhide as a puppy so never again. Also, the Bully Sticks I buy last forever it seems. So it's highly worth it to me. I can buy him one thick 12 inch, um, penis (LOL) and it lasts him all week sometimes. So while it's gross, I tend not to think about it. I've gotten him pig ears before and he loves them but he cherishes them sooo much and spends way too much time running around the house with it in his mouth, whining, looking for a place to bury it.

My Yorkies have never had any Bully sticks ever and I do not plan on ever giving them one. I did a search on it a while back a go and I read a lot of dogs got bacterial infections and a few even died from the infection caused by them eating a Bully Stick. Around the same time a member from YT,
diggy4, posted about her little girl Bella getting so sick form the bully stick she came close to not making it! I do not want to take a chance with my Yorkies!

My dogs love them, but I don't like them..stinky...:rolleyes:

I just don't see where it's necessary; I don't believe the body parts from one animal are meant to be fed to another... I wouldn't eat body parts from another species, nor would I expect them to eat mine. :cheers:

Here's the link from Merrick's page, I don't think there are marketed that much differently, maybe at some sites they are. Merrick Pet Foods - Dog Treats Tendons. There moisture content is less, probably since they are thinner and can be more easily dried. This would also affect the smell, and that's probably why flossies are said to have less of an odor.