Being a dog owner, you must be aware that pups love chewing. They often chew to relieve pain or get rid of discomfort. Among the chewy treats, bully sticks are quite popular among puppies. But, can puppies have bully sticks? In this article you will find the answer and all additional information that you should know.
Can Puppies Have Bully Sticks?
Puppies seem to enjoy bully sticks a lot, but many dog owners don’t know what it is? What are the benefits or risks of this treat? So we will let you go through the pros, cons, and nutritional value of this unusual treat. It will help you decide whether bully treats are good for your puppy or not. So let’s get straight into the details. Shall we?
What Are Bully Sticks?
Bully sticks are dog treats made by drying and stretching a specific beef or steer muscle. The process used for drying is either dehydration, smoking, baking, or air drying. After that, manufacturers apply different chemicals on the bully sticks to kill unhealthy bacteria. After sterilization and drying, bully sticks are cut, packaged, and delivered to markets.
Bully sticks come in different lengths; they can be 6, 12, or 30 inches long. There are different names of bully sticks that you might not know, like steer sticks, pizzle sticks, bull pizzles, pizzles, and bully sticks. But whatever the name is, bully sticks are the chewiest treats full of proteins that get digested easily.
What Are the Benefits of Bully Sticks for Pups?
During the early months of teething, the pup’s favorite activity is to chew. They don’t spare anything from clothes, bags to furniture. You name it, and they chew it. Keeping this habit under control is a constant struggle. And the best solution is to give your puppy a bully stick. It will keep your clothes and bags safe and promote the healthy growth of the puppy. Here’s why.
1. Rich in Nutrients
Bully sticks are chewy treats that easily digest and break down in the pup’s stomach. These sticks are made from beef muscle hence contain a high amount of protein and a low amount of fat. The protein content helps to promote healthy body growth in the puppy.
The bully sticks also have great taste, so the puppy will enjoy the treat and get health benefits from the essential amino acids contained in the pizzle sticks. These amino acids are great for the little puppy’s healthy skin, coat, brain, and muscle growth.
2. Mental health benefits
Bully sticks are great for maintaining the good mental health of your little furball. This is because chewing activity releases crucial chemicals in the brain: dopamine, endorphin, and serotonin. These chemicals promote a healthy brain and help to combat boredom.
3. Dental Health Benefits
Bully sticks are also great for maintaining teeth in good health. They remove the tartar, kill the bacteria on the teeth, and strengthen the jaw muscles of pups.
What Are the Downsides of Bully Stick?
Bully sticks are generally safe for dogs, but some risks are associated with the bully sticks that might affect your pup’s health and well-being.
Chances of Bacterial Contamination
Dogs have a higher tolerance for bacterial contamination than humans, but they are sometimes also taken down by bacterial infections. As a result, they suffer from symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, stomach ache, dehydration, etc. to avoid this, buy the bully stick from a reputable enterprise.
Choking Hazard
When pups keep on chewing the bully stick, it reduces the size of the bully stick. Eventually, it becomes so small that it becomes a potential hazard for a puppy. If the pup swallows the small piece, it can get stuck in the throat and cause a serious choking issue. So keep an eye when your puppy is chewing the bully stick, and make sure to take it away when they reach the end.
Allergic Reactions
Some dogs are allergic to beef proteins, so that bully sticks can have adverse effects on such pups. Avoid it if your pup also suffers from a beef allergy. The bully stick area is also rich in calories, thus causing the pup to become overweight.
What Size of Bully Stick is Good for Pup?
Bully sticks cones in various sizes and shapes. Mostly bully sticks have lengths ranging between 6 inches to 30 inches and thickness ranging between 10mm to 23mm. Not every size fits your pup, so be careful while choosing the bully stick because it must be appropriate according to your pup’s size and weight.
If the stick is too big, the pup cannot finish in one sitting. There are also chances of overeating which might upset the stomach. And on the other hand, a very small bully stick won’t satisfy the pup’s craving. There is also the possibility that the pup will break the small stick into pieces and choke on it. Swallowing small bully stick pieces can result in intestinal obstruction.
Start with the smallest size stick of 6 inches when the puppy is less than 15Ibs. Proceed to 12 inches when the pup is around 45 to 60 Ibs. And then give sticks bigger than 12 inches when the pup weighs around 75 to 90 Ibs. Also, keep the pup’s chewing strength and taste preferences in mind while selecting a bully stick.
Nutritional Value of Bully Sticks
Bully sticks are full of nutrition. The protein content in bully sticks is 80 to 90%, while the fat content is only 3%. The cholesterol level is also very low. The calorie count in bully sticks is 2500 to 3500 kcal/kg, which is quite high. This means that the 6 inches bully stick that you give to your little pup has 90 calories in it! And it will make around 30% of your pup’s daily calorie requirement. Hence they are not suitable as daily treats.
Conclusion
Can Puppies Have Bully Sticks? Bully sticks are delicious treats for puppies that provide essential nutrients to pups required for healthy growth. These treats help to improve the mental and dental health of puppies. If you decide to buy bully sticks, make sure to buy from reputable brands, so that bully sticks are contamination free.
Besides benefits, bully sticks also have risks like choking, weight gain, and allergic reactions. So weigh all the pros and cons before feeding bully sticks to your pup.