Deer antler dog chews?

[soocool]

I saw this in a pet store the other day http://www.prairiedogantlers.com/

They sell deer, elk, and moose antlers by varying sizes based on your dog's weight/sz as a long lasting chew. I have never seen this before and was wondering has anyone here used them? How long do they last and are they safe?

 

[aviastar]

I have never bought deer parts for my dogs...because they generally just find them in the woods for themselves! Gauging by what they bring home, they tend to go for the legs or rib bones, not the antlers (there's no meat on the antlers!). My initial thought is that while it's probably safe, I don't see my dogs enjoying the meatless part of the deer.

 

[somethingshiny]

ditto aviastar.

Dogs will munch the ends that connect to the skull to suck the remains, but I've never seen a dog continue to play with a clean antler.

Safe, but not fun.

 

[TristanC]

I know this sounds weird but deer antlers are routinely used by the Chinese as a form of traditional herbal medicine.

The species that is used is the velvet deer... which i think is mostly supplied from new zealand, but other types of antlers are also used from deer that range throughout asia, north america and northern europe.

It supposedly boosts muscular endurance and is good as a general health tonic, promotes circulation and is beneficial to arthritis. (There are clinical trials which show levels of certain elements that are medicinal. I steer clear of all traditional asian cures personally)

The bad news is that deer frequently have deer ticks. If the antlers are cured and cleaned well it shouldn't be a problem. But the ticks can and do carry nasty parasites.

Not sure if this helps any.

 

[audball]

My schnauzer LOVED her deer antlers. Last a long time and eventually (she had two) got them worn down and got to some good stuff on the inside. Marrow? Idk...but she loved them.

 

[MerryMary]

My dog loved chewing on his to the point of obsession but after a few days they ended up making him vomit and have stomach issues. I took it away for a few days, but the day after I gave it back he had the same issues. I ended up throwing it away. Too bad because I really liked the idea and it never made a mess on the carpet.

 

[dragonfly411]

I've never bought antlers because we find a lot of them in the woods, or if they are not a trophy sized rack (IE when we harvest spikes or smaller 2-6 points) we will use them from animals we harvest, along with other dried bones. The dogs LOVE them. They last longer than rawhide bones (unless you own our pitt bull... she will eat anything in under five minutes... that's not a joke), and they are better for them. If you have local woods that house deer you could probably find dropped antlers at the right time of year.

 

[dragonfly411]

I know this sounds weird but deer antlers are routinely used by the Chinese as a form of traditional herbal medicine.

The species that is used is the velvet deer... which i think is mostly supplied from new zealand, but other types of antlers are also used from deer that range throughout asia, north america and northern europe.

It supposedly boosts muscular endurance and is good as a general health tonic, promotes circulation and is beneficial to arthritis. (There are clinical trials which show levels of certain elements that are medicinal. I steer clear of all traditional asian cures personally)

The bad news is that deer frequently have deer ticks. If the antlers are cured and cleaned well it shouldn't be a problem. But the ticks can and do carry nasty parasites.

Not sure if this helps any.

I think the deer ticks generally only move along the actual body of the deer unless they are in full velvet. The only way it would really affect the antlers is through blood circulation if there is lyme disease, but you would allow the antlers to dry, thus removing most blood issues present I would think. Correct me if I'm wrong though b/c I hadn't really thought about it being a problem. I could see it being a problem with the bones that are around more muscle/arterial/blood carrying tissues, such as legs or even the skulls.

 

[maplefemme]

I get elk antlers for my dogs, they like them, I like them because they don't make a mess on my carpets, but they don't last them very long.
I'm particular about what they get into as far as wild elk and deer carcasses if I don't know how the animal died.
I work frontline with Variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease patients and BSE is rare (though not as rare as the general public is lead to believe, I had 3 patients last month alone) and in some regions and countries it's a non-issue, I just prefer to not let them trash on wild game.