I have a question about Bullysticks?
 

Interesting. Eddie had a bout with camplyobacter a year or so ago. It cleared up quickly on meds, btw. At the time, I was told it was likely caused by feces -- perhaps he ingested it. Hadn't heard of the bully stick possibility. I make sure my bullies were made in America. Also, recently I've been buying tracheas. The dogs love them, and they last about as long. Thanks for posting the warning.

Thanks I think I will buy in America only too. This is scary but I will have to get Kinder something different to chew on. She is going to be lost not having her bullysticks but I do not want to chance it of her getting sick. My vet said some of these things are not cured right so he said throw them out. What are these tracheas? Where do you buy these? I really appreciate you helping me with the bullystick problem.Thanks again. Susan

I do not feed bully sticks, and this is why. I just believe that for some dogs, the bacteria on the natural bully sticks is not tolerated. I usually only allow my dogs to chew on nylabones (the flexible ones) but I sometimes will allow other things. I just have a hard time with the risk they bring, and I don't believe the sources are clean as your vet suggested. A lot of people here like the CET dental chews, I just bought a bag, not crazy about them myself.

I never heard about Bully Sticks until I read about them on Yorkietalk, and so many people recommended them that I did a search and read many articles on their safety. I concluded the same thing as your vet, not all bully sticks are created equal. We've had several threads here about Bully Sticks possibly connected with diarrhea or infection, and they were always a generic brand. If a bully stick has no artificial preservatives, it's imperative that they are dried property, and the moisture content has to be extremely low in order for bacteria not to rapidly reproduce. I don't recommend bully sticks that have artificial preservatives either, because they have a "shelf life" and there are reports of dogs becoming sick from bully sticks with expired expiration dates, also why use artificial preservatives, if there is an indeed safe way of naturally preserving? Drying is a very safe way of persevering meats, but it must be done, in carefully controlled circumstances.

I only buy Merrick Bully Sticks, and they are made in the United States, under carefully regulated conditions. They are more expensive than imported brands, but I believe they are so much safer, according to all the antidotal stories. I think people are misled by the words "free range cattle," and think the product might be better or more humane for the cattle, but this too is misleading, free range doesn't always mean more humane, it could just mean no fences, and no regular food, and it says nothing about the safety for our dogs. Also, a bully stick that is dried thoroughly with a low moisture content, is not only safer, but it lasts much longer than one with a higher moisture content, so in reality, a premium bully stick is really not that much more expensive. Joey's been chewing on Merrick Bully Sticks for about 4 years, and I believe they are very helpful in keeping his teeth and gums healthy. He's never had diarrhea either. :D

:goodpost: Very informative:) I got a little nervous when I started reading this post, but I only use Merrick's bully sticks, so now I feel better lol. Come to think of it, the little private pet store I use only sells the Merrick ones and that lady who owns that shop knows her stuff.

Here's a link that shows tracheas.

Beef Trachea (Moo Tubes) - All Natural Dog Treats

Thank you everyone for helping me with your great ideas. I know I am not going to give Kinder anymore bullysticks especially the ones that are imported into this country. I am going to get her some Merrick ones and I think I may get her some trachea too that are made in USA.

Are Merrick bullies smelly? My Reesie also got the runs from bullies from bestbullysticks.com that was cured with pectin tablets and he is chewing them again with no problem but I would like to get bullies made in the USA. Wonder where AMD gets her supply. I'll ask her. Hmmmmmmmm....

Viv

Yeah, they remind me of when my mom cooked ham hocks, whatever they are. :p I've heard that they are not as smelly as certain brands, like Red Barn, some people say you can smell them across the room, but they aren't odorless either. I can only smell them when I've been holding one for Joey at bedtime. I don't like the odor, but I get use to it because Joey loves them so much!

You find that these last as long a bully sticks? Your dogs like them just as much? Are they smelly at all? Always looking for something new!

Mine have had no issues with bully sticks and I get them from bestbullysticks.com too. I will say that I don't leave them out for more than a day and if they get really soft and chewed, I throw them out or otherwise put them back in the fridge. I heard that bacteria can build up on them.

I was surprised at how long they last. I give each about a 4-inch segment, and they'll last a couple days of steady chewing before I take them away from them because they get too small. That's about how long bullies last in my house. The smell's not nearly as bad as bullies either because it's not meat. Only downside I've noticed is they get mushy around the edges.

My Lab demolishes them pretty fast, but he goes through bullies fast too.

Of course, dogs can choke on just about any chewie, so I supervise them and take them away when they get too small.

Bully Sticks are great if you know where they come from and how they are processed. My dogs got deathly sick on Merrick bullies that I got from the pet store. So, I dont give Merrick any more. I have a great supplier for my store and they are awesome. I also get lamb trachea, but they dont last long at all (for my dogs).

I don't think they are unless you actually pick it up and smell it. I don't notice the smell at all when the dogs are chewing them, only when I unwrap it to give to them at first. I have a really strong sence of smell too lol.

BaxtersMommy, where do your bullies come from?????

Thanks-
Viv

With all due respect, it seems a little suspicious that you claim your dog's got "deathly sick" on Merrick bully Sticks, but now are selling a competing brand. Did you report this to the Merrick Company? If my dog got deathly ill on Merricks, I would not use ANY brand, let alone sell them. For the OP's information, I do not sell anything, and am in no way connected to the product.

Well I liked your word about Merrick bullysticks and also another told me about treachea too. Today I ordered the Merrick brand in both of these. Can I ask you how do you store your bullysticks? Also I think after Kinder is chewing on one I will probably put it in the fridge instead of leaving it lay around. Thank-you for the good knowledge which makes alot of sense to me. My Kinder is looking all over for her bullystick right now but they are on their way. Susan

Merrick bully sticks come individually wrapped, and I just store them in a cabinet in the house. I buy in bulk, and the supply often lasts over a year, and I've never had any problems at all.

Wow always learning something new about bullysticks after I bought them thinking they were safe. No problems with mine but I do store in fridge and once they are done that day I throw them out. I don't think I will order them again.

Another typical response. :thumbdown I havent posted a for sale thread for bullies in months. This is very rude. AND as a matter of fact, I did contact merrick. They were very kind, sent me a packet that I filled out. They asked where I got them, date etc. Their customer service was more than nice! I have no doubt they looked into it for me!! By the way, dogs get sick because of how they are processed and handled.

To the OP, the reason I started selling bullies was because of this incident. Buy your bullies where you want, I wasnt asking for a sale. My shopping site is more for fun. I have a full time business. I was only stating my history with bullies. Again, people take something and run with it and make you look terrible. It really does get old.

Aren't the bully sticks from Bully Sticks - All Natural Dog Treats - Best Bully Stick from the US? The website says USDA inspected and certified. As far as storing them, I let my boys chew and then when they are finished I put them in zip lock bags. I don't freeze or refrigerate them and they last a while.

No the cattle is from south america. But they are usda inspected and that's a must.

I like the Merrick Wishbones as a treat, and honestly, they seem to last longer than the bully sticks for us. I never researched to find out if it was a different tendon, etc that would make it last longer.

I will say we had a bad experience with only one Merrick product, and it was the moo tube. Ours had a greasy texture and were dark, like they were smoked. Baxter did not get an upset tummy, but it did not agree with Cooper at all. I never reported it, and I still order from them, I just stay away from anything that could be smoked, have smoke flavoring, or has lamb in it as I know they don't agree with my 3 furkids. The yorkies are just like humans and what works for one will not work for all. That does not qualify as something being wrong with that product to me, it just didn't work for us :confused:

I switched to another kibble brand when Merrick started adding the vitamin kibbles, as mine would eat around them. So now, I do not order from Merrick as frequently. I have ordered bully sticks from AMD and Baxter's Mommy and got wonderful service from both, and no bad aftereffects :p

I bought from bestbullysticks.com and I bought the ones from Brazil. They come from free range cattle but no more of these for Kinder. My vet said they can be USDA approved but they still are not cured right. Instead I ordered the Merrick bullysticks that are made in America. I do not trust anything outside of the country anymore. Maybe I just got a bad batch of bullysticks but I put them outside for the wolves and coyotes to chew on. We live in the country and I feed every animal around hopefully they don't get diarrea. Hope this helps you and others because my vet has been running across bullysticks that are imported making our babies sick.