Bully Sticks

[dcole]

Hi All,

I have a couple of questions regarding bully sticks. I've searched the archives, but didn't find the answers I was looking for, so maybe someone out there can help.

1st question: Since bully's are primarily protein, I'm wondering how they impact the dog's overall daily nutrition, calorie-wise, Put another way, if I were to give Trevor a 6 inch bully stick every day (he doesn't actually get one a day, but hypothetically) would I need to adjust the overall amount of food I give him?

2nd question: Trevor gets bully's vs. say, rawhide, because the bully sticks actually last serveral hours (versus a rawhide knot, which he tears apart in about a half-hour! ) Anyhow, although he is not generally a "gulper", I still take his stick away when it gets down to around 2 inches left in length, because I don't want him to try and swallow it.

My question is, for those who give their corgis bullysticks, do you take them away when they get too short, or do you let them eat them completely? Just curious.

Thanks in advance for your input,

-Debi

[Dillydoodle]

Well, I have given Dillon Bullysticks before, but i dont give him rawhide of any kind...in the past he would either eat it and get constipated followed by the runs OR he would choke on them ( twice we caught him choking- first time i thought it was a fluke, second time was the last time he has ever gotten rawhide again). I Do still offer him the occasional bullystick, but not too often and i do take it away once it gets short. I dont personally trust *my* dog to not try and gulp it or not to choke on it. Every dog is different though. I am not sure what the calories for a bully stick is, but i would not give one every day. Those calories would eventually add up.

Emilie

[jprechel]

Our Ace LOVES bully sticks. We give them to him frequently. Not to sure about the calories or effect on his diet. We usually buy the 12" and try to pick them up when they get to about 2" or so. We worry about him swallowing them as well. However, one time Ace did eat the whole thing! One minute the bully stick was there and the next it was gone! He didn't choke or have any problems with it. It just passed. They are 100% digestable so we figured he was okay. We did read that in some cases excessive use can cause gas. Ace hasn't had that problem and he has a bully stick in his mouth almost all the time!

[Fluffypants]

I can't help with the calorie count either. But I also take them away when they get small. Also, if Jackie happens to bite off a piece, that gets taken away also. We have had the same constipation/diarrhea issue with rawhides, etc., so she is watched whenever she has a "chewie" of any kind, to keep her from swallowing pieces. Jackie is a champion chewer, too, so no chewie lasts very long! She won't stop chewing on it until 1) it's destroyed or 2) we take it away!

[milles2]

My Tucker loves Bully Sticks. I wish he didn't. He has been known to make them disappear. Unfortunalely, disappear can mean he chewed it down to a point where he swollowed it or that he hid it.

If anyone has had a mostly chewed bully stick lying around, you probably know you will smell them before you see them!

I think bully sticks stink to high heaven! Some people tell me they don't. I've tried different brands and I'm sorry.... they really smell bad once they've been chewed on awhile!!!!!

But Tucker loves them. I can give him a Bully Stick and he's quiet for hours. Lulu also likes them probably because Tucker does. Monkey see - Monkey do! Yes, and Monkey get in trouble too!

Susan

[dcole]

Thanks everyone for your input. Good to know that everybody else removes the stick when it gets too short, not just me.

As far as the calories go, well, I know the sticks are listed as being 80% protein and mostly moisture after that, so a 2 oz. (57 g) stick, @ 4 kcals/g would run about 187 calories. What I wasn't sure about was how that stacked up against his total daily caloric intake, since it seems that dog food manufacturers don't publish that sort of information (guess I could roughly calculate it, though.)

I was just curious if anyone who has been giving their corgis bully's for some time now, found that they needed to cut back on their other food in order to maintain their dog's weight.

-Debi

[Fluffypants]

Originally Posted by milles2@rpi.edu

My Tucker loves Bully Sticks. I wish he didn't. He has been known to make them disappear. Unfortunalely, disappear can mean he chewed it down to a point where he swollowed it or that he hid it.

If anyone has had a mostly chewed bully stick lying around, you probably know you will smell them before you see them!

I think bully sticks stink to high heaven! Some people tell me they don't. I've tried different brands and I'm sorry.... they really smell bad once they've been chewed on awhile!!!!!

But Tucker loves them. I can give him a Bully Stick and he's quiet for hours. Lulu also likes them probably because Tucker does. Monkey see - Monkey do! Yes, and Monkey get in trouble too!

Susan

OMG! I must have blocked it out - I forgot to mention the stink!!!!

[corgimom]

dcole,

most of the dog food bags I have looked at put the K/cal per cup amount on the back of the bag by the ingredient listing. If not, I think each manufacturers own web site would probably give you that info.

Maybe, this is not what you had initially meant, were you talking about overall calorie intake and then what they burn off by walking, playing, etc.?

Cody has never been interested in Bully sticks and I don't know why.

[darci]

I give Darci and Egan usually 1 or 2 bully sticks a week and dont have to adjust their kibble intake.
I too take them away at about the 2 inch mark, Darci has swallowed about a 2 inch bully before she didnt choke, but it did pass, I was on pins and needles until she did though.

She never gulped them until we got Egan then she wanted to make sure he didnt steal it. I pay more attn to them now.

[dcole]

I think that 1-2 sticks a week will be OK, too (who can afford to give them every day? )

Linda, I swear I could not find the kcal info on the last bag of Nutro I opend, but I did finally find it online - in tiny little text (there go the eyes - another body part biting the dust! ). Thanks.

PS, Cody's new avatar is quite striking - what a handsome little devil!

-Debi

[jprechel]

We give Ace about 1 to 2 bully sticks a week as well and lately he has been eating just fine. (FINALLY! We had an eating issue not long ago.) Now I'm curious about the calories. I am going to look into that. Ace has decided he likes Natural Balance for the time being so I'll check the bag.