Dog Chews

Did I ever talk about the antler that I bought online for Jack to chew on?  He is a total power chewer, and nothing we can buy in the stores last more than 15-60 minutes, after which he's back to looking for shoes and slippers and stuff.  Dogs need to chew!  It cleans their teeth and relieves their frustrations, plus it's simply an instinctual need.  There is a dog chew comparison chart that introduced me to the idea of antlers, and I was intrigued, because they are naturally shed, completely renewable, tough, non-stinky -greasy, and they're thought to last months or more.  The first one I bought was about 8 inches long, and about 1 1/2" at its widest point.  Cost $20.  I limited his chewing on it to 1 and sometimes 2 hours a night, and it lasted him 8 days.  8 days!  I put a review on the website that I bought it from that basically said that it was perfect, but lasted too little time to be worth the priciness.  

I started looking online again a few days ago, because I was desperate to find something.  Rawhide bones literally last about half an hour before he's gotten the first end off and eaten it.  We had no idea it could happen so fast, so hadn't been watching closely enough to get it away in time, and I'm pretty sure he eats the whole thing in less than an hour.  Then he has diarrhea for the next couple of days.  I know - - too much information, but seriously, I really didn't want to give him anything else like that.  Nylabones last great, but are just not appealing enough to fulfill his needs - after all, I can't imagine very many dogs enjoy chewing on those solid chunks of hard plastic, no matter how much they're supposed to taste like chicken!  

As I kept looking, I found Antlers Inc. who offers bigger antlers for a lot less money.  Plus, the guy that owns it and runs it is the guy who collects the antlers and has the experience, so I was able to talk to him about Jack and find out his recommendation.  Talking to some random pet shop customer service rep is pretty worthless if you want information that isn't already in the product description.

I ordered a pack of 3 antlers, which, it turns out, seem to each be at least twice as big around and a few inches longer than the one from before, and cost just a few more dollars - at about $23 or $24.  I'm excited!  You can tell just by looking at them that there's a big difference between the one I bought before and these ones, and I'm hopeful that they'll last!  

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