Officially at Wits End, Need Powerful Chew

[Penelope's Mom]

Franklin loved antlers and while he wasn't a heavy chewer, he never managed to splinter one.

 

[Penelope's Mom]

Go on FB and join some local hunting groups and ask if anyone would be willing to give you the antlers from the deer they hunt?

Do they usually give them away?

 

[QY10]

I have talked to some people who have been willing. I mean really, how many sets of antlers does one person need?

I have also been in contact with a number of hunters from the local FB groups who are giving me all of their meat from last year that they didn't get around to. They are otherwise just chucking it in the garbage to make room for this years fresh meat. Super excited about that.

 

[ruthcatrin]

My FIL gave us his antlers that he'd kept from hunting. He's not big on trophys and had kept them mostly "just because". But it depends, some folks are big on the trophy.

 

[QY10]

Oh, so now you want TWO giant puppies who are supposed to be resting in the same house? Hah! I'm frankly a bit scared to see what Hamlet and Angus would get into put together...

I'm also terrified I WILL make it to BC one day and MY dog is going to be the devilissh trouble-maker. Angus seems so chilled out compared to Hamlet's psycho need to work and play!

LOL I don't think much resting would happen, but it sure would be cool for those two boys to have a play date.

Angus gets into plenty of trouble.. Like seriously, PLENTY of trouble and he is really good at making me look stupid. He has two modes: Super-chill-relaxed and Psycho-crazy-hyper-manic. It just depends on the day as to which we see.

 

[Hector]

I have yet to find a co-worker that hunts to give me their antlers lol. They like to hoard that's for sure!

 

[DennasMom]

Another option - the giant Himalayan chews. They are hard-dried yak milk. Denna loves hers, and it does last her a long time... and is expensive, of course!
One good thing about them, is that they are digestible. They do chip, but anything ingested should get digested.
Himalayan Dog Chew

We also have antlers, but Denna isn't that excited about them (unless I hold one end for her). I've put them in warm beef broth to make them more interesting - that did get her started on one. She likes the split ones better - but they are softer in the middle, so will not last as long.

Denna has a number of other 'hard' things to chew on - including some of those smoked big bones (some she 'recovered' from previous dogs burial locations in the yard)... at some point, she has chipped a tooth. I have NO idea what she was chewing on when it happened.... so far, the tooth is doing well without vet intervention (first visit was a "looks bad, but we can wait and see... then do something if it bothers her"... our last visit, the vet said it looked 'sealed' so he saw no reason to be concerned).

 

[Smokeycat]

I tried split antlers once and they lasted about half the time of the un-split ones. I've tried the Himalayan chews for me the cost wasn't worth how fast Kryten ate them. Kryten s a very powerful chewer but thankfully isn't a chewer in general. When gets going he can take a 12" antler down to about 6" in a couple of hours. never had one splinter.

 

[Siloh]

I tried split antlers once and they lasted about half the time of the un-split ones. I've tried the Himalayan chews for me the cost wasn't worth how fast Kryten ate them. Kryten s a very powerful chewer but thankfully isn't a chewer in general. When gets going he can take a 12" antler down to about 6" in a couple of hours. never had one splinter.

Wow. Maybe I should go with a whole one, then. Hamlet is sort of terrifying with his chewing power. I would post a picture of the chair he got to but I'm too embarrassed--destroyed the arm, made short work of it, and that was lacquered, perfectly finished hardwood. We have moved most of the wood furniture out of the room the dogs are allowed in during the day. His chewing compulsion is such that I simply take him into the bathroom with me when I shower! I could crate him, but he likes to lay on the bathmat.

Today we went for a mild romp in my MIL's backyard. He proceeded to fetch me a 10-foot fallen tree branch from the neighbor's yard, and then promptly laid down to chew on it...

 

[Siloh]

Okay, guys.

What's the deal with sterilized bones? Dangerous? I can't seem to find a whole lot about them. It's all conflicting information.

I'm going to order some antlers, but before then, I've gotta do something about his urge to chew. He's driving me nuts!


"Nothing is neither good nor bad, but thinking makes it so."
Hamlet Prince of Denmark

 

[ruthcatrin]

heat changes how bones break. The more heat applied the more likely you are to get sharp (intestine puncturing) spears.

 

[Sharrielynne]

We smoke our own pigs trotters, no salt, just smoked in hickory and the dogs go crazy for them, so do my parrots incidentally! HaHa! My little chi x terrier is an insatiable chewer if she hasn't got anything to chew then she gets my shoes, went to put on a new pair I thought I had put our of her way, to find no sole on one of them. Grrr! Mia used to chew her blankets every night in her kennel until I gave her a stuffed toy to take to bed with her, strange, now she doesn't chew the toy or the blankets???????

 

[Siloh]

heat changes how bones break. The more heat applied the more likely you are to get sharp (intestine puncturing) spears.

Is this why so many bones are marketed as being slow-roasted or smoked?

I just couldn't even figure out what the sterilization process was. Boiling?

I did pick up one of the hallowed-out filled bones Q mentioned she gives to Angus. He actually doesn't seem interested in chewing the bone, just licking the inside and sucking on the edges. I set a timer every five minutes to check on him.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Apollo sucks the marrow out of the heavy (beef or buffalo) marrow bones like that. Its very funny to watch. He's never tried to chew on them, just suck out the marrow.

 

[QY10]

I did pick up one of the hallowed-out filled bones Q mentioned she gives to Angus. He actually doesn't seem interested in chewing the bone, just licking the inside and sucking on the edges. I set a timer every five minutes to check on him.

Angus worked on getting the yummy middle stuff out first, too, but could only get so far before he had to start working on making the bone shorter so that he could go back to getting the yummy middle stuff.

 

[Hank7256]

My pup has his antler with him all the time and loves it. I saw on here they were recommended so I got him one. it's not split its a whole antler he is 5 months old.

 

[QY10]

Another option - the giant Himalayan chews. They are hard-dried yak milk. Denna loves hers, and it does last her a long time... and is expensive, of course!
One good thing about them, is that they are digestible. They do chip, but anything ingested should get digested.
Himalayan Dog Chew

I gave Angus an Himalayan chew a few weeks ago when I took him to work with me. I don't think it would be considered a "giant", but maybe a "large" and it lasted him a full 7 hour work shift.

The maintenance guy at my work (he's an avid hunter) gave me 4 whole, but small antlers. Thalia, huge chewer, has been working on hers for days now and has not been able to break a piece off or splinter it. There are teeth marks where she has been gnawing on it, but it's still intact and completely whole. I am VERY impressed. Next time I go get my deer meat for the dogs, I'm taking a hacksaw to harvest me some more antlers.

 

[Hank7256]

If I'm lucky enough to get a buck or find antlers I'd like to give them to hank is there anything that's needs done to them first coming from the wild?

 

[AZ Boerboel]

Definitely antlers, but watch them and see what thickness they don't go through. My Boerboel will crack the ends off in 2-3 bites with the thinner parts and it makes some crazy sharp shards.
Closer to the bases are much harder and she doesn't go through them near as fast.
Also, if you are near any forested areas where Elk, Moose, Caribou, deer etc live start taking forest hikes in late winter/early spring and look for sheds. You can pretty easily train your dogs to find them so it becomes a great exercise game.

 

[AZ Boerboel]

If I'm lucky enough to get a buck or find antlers I'd like to give them to hank is there anything that's needs done to them first coming from the wild?

Just watch the smaller pieces and make sure he doesn't just splinter them up and eat huge pieces. Deer are usually too small for Lucia and she just cracks them to pieces with every bite. I stick mainly with Elk and Moose when I can get it, that holds up a lot better. She finds them when we go camping and is just ecstatic with herself.