I just saw this so glad he is ok, i stoped the bully sticks a few months ago, they like the deer antlers better I watch the pack like a hawk, when they are chewing on those too.. sending prayers for a quick recovery..
hugs,

I'm glad he is home and safe. Good catch by you, it would have been easy to assume something had scared him.

Did you really mean to type 6 SIX inches? How is that possible? If you really meant 6, then I feel a little safer giving my baby bully sticks, because 6 inches is a freak thing. Maybe he was running with it and it just slid down, who knows.

Weird you mentioned panting and shaking because Maggie just did that this week when I put her in the car. She normally loves the car, especially with her new snoozer seat. She was shaking like there's no tomorrow and panting. She was fine when we got home. Never figured it out. Maybe it was the front seat instead of the rear? Maybe she thought it was grooming time? Usually it's a drive to a nice park and she loves it.

It was about 6 inches before it "disappeared" and the vet said he removed a 6 inch piece of bully from his esophagus. So yes... it really was 6 inches! :eek:
I never would have thought he would swallow it! I always take them away when they get to about 2-3 inches.

I got some of the Dura Nylabones. They are the under 25 lb bacon white ones with nubs and ridges. And a chicken flavored bone with ring.
DuraChew® Double Bone - Bacon
DuraChew® Action Ridges - Bacon
DuraChew® Textured Ring Bone - Chicken
Max likes them. Mickey...not yet. Maybe I should have kept it simple and gotten the original shape.
How can I get them to chew them since they are used to softer bullies?

I'm so relieved to hear that Mickey's surgery was a success. I fell asleep praying for him after reading your post last night.

I am NOT a fan of bully sticks or any other edible type chews. I don't like antlers either. I know this is unpopular here on YT, but IMO bully sticks are garbage protein not to mention full of fat in addition to the choking hazard.

I have used Nylabones for a long time - I have used the flexible ones and the durable ones. If he likes to chew, then he will. I also like Nylabones because you can wash them with soap and water and remove bacteria and saliva from them.

I am so glad everything turned out ok for Mickey and that he is safe at home now. I will really watch Buster now when he has a bully stick.

Wow, just seeing this now... 6 inches of bully stick? I cannot believe that happened. I always take the bully stick away before it gets small enough to fit in their mouths.

I've tried Nylabones, but have read bad things about them as well... My two have no interest in chewing on them.

I'm glad he is home and can start feeling better... Poor guy!

Thank God he is OK, this is why I only give nylabone or the heartz equivalent to my babies.

If you have ever had one of your babies fight for just a few molecules of air past the portion of chewie stuck in their throat like I did with Jilly for what turned out to be probably 20 minutes from when it happened until I put her down on the vet table late one night(we had no close E.R. vet and it just so happened my vet was in the clinic with another emergency), you will be very, very careful letting them have digestible chews or anything big that they might try to swallow too soon, before it is properly chewed to the size needed to pass through that tiny throat and not get stuck or go down wrong into the wrong place. She fought so hard to breathe past the rawhide for as long as she could and then she very very soon just lost her strength as she was getting so little oxygen and she just couldn't even fight to breathe anymore. I had to breathe for her and didn't knew how much of my air could get past that obstruction so I breathed a little harder than I normally would,hoping the force would cause more molecules to press by and praying I didn't damage something critical in the process but had I not, I am certain she would have been dead before we could get to the vet. Driving with one hand through the night while trying to breathe for your dying dog is about as stressful as it can get but all those prayers that were going through my head from the first time I realized how much trouble she was in must have gotten through. When I put her down on the vet table, she was able to breathe on her own. Somehow along the way, she had passed the obstruction on down and the swelling that had formed there had also started to subside considerably. Plus, the vet thought that the night air and her own adrenaline had helped the swelling plus he said that the saliva in her throat all that time was working to digest the outside of the rawhide and let it get smaller and slightly slippier.

So chews of any kind that they try to swallow should be treated as potentially dangerous as far as I'm concerned. That's why when I do give Tibbe one, which is very rare, I never take my eyes off him and if he's starting to swallow, unless I've seen him bite off a tiny piece, I remove it. It's hardly worth it but he gets some chewing that way. Just watch them like hawks if you choose to let them have these type chewies.

I don't know what you have heard about Nylabones, but surely not a choking or obstruction hazard. That is the problem with digestible chews!

The only thing I have heard about the hard Nylabones is the possibility of a broken tooth. I have never had that happen in all of the years and with all of the pups I have had; but bottom line, I will take that risk over a choking and/or obstruction hazard any day. One incident is all it takes.

From Yorkietalkjilly: "So chews of any kind that they try to swallow should be treated as potentially dangerous as far as I'm concerned. That's why when I do give Tibbe one, which is very rare, I never take my eyes off him and if he's starting to swallow, unless I've seen him bite off a tiny piece, I remove it. It's hardly worth it but he gets some chewing that way. Just watch them like hawks if you choose to let them have these type chewies." .......This is my iron fast rule also! The only thing I will give my babies that I actually feel safe giving them...and I do not know the name....are these white bleached looking "bones" that are hollow in the middle and have a stuffing in them...cheese, peanut butter, a beef flavor chicken flavor, liver flavor. They come in different sizes...I always get medium size for my little dogs, and large ones for my dogs larger than 6 lbs. These things are hard as concrete and I have never had one of my dogs fracture off a piece of one! And they work for hours getting the stuffing out!

just seeing this, so glad that Mickey is okay. Wow, you must have been so terrified. Maggie swallowed a piece of a bully one nite, thankfully it was just a small piece and it must have passed because she was fine after a moment or two but she let out a horrible cry.

Please give him gentle hugs from us.

I don't know if they have changed their formula, but here are some examples I found online:

Nylabone Warning

Product Alerts

Yahoo! Answers - Nylabones & Similar Dog Chew Toys are DANGEROUS!!!?

I'm definitely not saying bully sticks are 100% safe, but I make sure to watch my two as they chew on them and take them away when I feel they are too small. It's a scary world and I think everything has its dangers... But at what point do we decide to bubble wrap our babies to ensure they are never harmed? I let my two be dogs and enjoy their bully sticks, but I make sure they never leave my sight. I think it's all up to the owner.

I just thought of those bones I was referring to...Red Barn makes them..."Natural Filled White Bones" is the product I am referring to! These are super, I think!

Thanks for the info all. I hate Tibbe not to get to have his dog fun chewing and am always looking for something he can more safely chew that he will chew. I've bought so many things that just don't interest him but when he does get a chew he likes, he's in doggie heaven and I'm stressed out.

WOW - I am just seeing this. So scary! I am soooo glad Mickey is okay and came out of surgery fine! You did the RIGHT thing and knew something was wrong with your pup and took care of things - you are NOT a bad mom.

I don't understand how he swallowed 6 inches of bully stick?! That's a WHOLE bully stick... wow. I just don't understand how it was possible, without him gagging and choking with it going down. That is really scary.

Thank GOD Mickey is okay.

This, though, I must say.

I don't like Nylabones too much, either, because I don't really feel comfortable with my dog chewing on plastic either and possibly ingesting it. The only kind of nylabone Jackson even likes is the flexi kind and he gets chunks off those REALLY quickly; so they are not worth it in this house (and he's not even an aggressive chewer, and I got him a large). The plastic ones he chews the first day, then they get sharp edges, and sometimes make his mouth bleed. So I don't find those to be much safer or reliable IMO.

To be honest, you are going to find something wrong with EVERY chew. Antlerz? They crack teeth. Bully sticks? Choking hazard. Nylabones? causing blockage. Rawhide, same thing, blockages/etc. And my dog needs something to chew on every once in a while; most dogs have the natural desire to chew and work their jaws. Btw, bully's are naturally low in fat; high in protein. Some can be calorie-heavy, it depends where you are purchasing them, so you do not have to watch how much they eat, and decease food, etc.

However I completely don't blame you for not doing bully's anymore! How scary! Once again I am so glad everything is okay.