Ever since I read about Shiva and her antler over on Rescued Insanity, I’ve been itching to get one for Sampson and Delilah. Okay, mostly Delilah because she LOVES to chew things up.
Sara knew how much I wanted to try them so when she placed her first orders for the retail area of The Mellow Mutt, she ordered antlers.
The Retail Area at the Mellow Mutt
One Friday on our way home from daycare, each of the dogs got an antler. Antler’s in mouth, they rushed out to the car and laid down for the entire ride home, not moving until I stopped the car. Normally when I stop the car, the dogs wait in the back until I open the hatch, and give them the release word.
I do this mostly to keep Delilah from darting out of the car and running into the neighbor’s yard, to scarf around for any crumbs the birds might have left on the ground.
This particular Friday though, I barely opened the hatch before Delilah jumped out of the car and tail wagging, head held high made a beeline for the door and directly into her crate where she noshed and gnashed on the antler.
Seriously, she made so much noise I had to look in on her. What I saw scared the living daylights out of me. She was chomping away and it looked like she was trying to SWALLOW the antler. I knew I had to take it away.
Not always being the brightest of dog owners I did have the sense to grab a treat I could exchange for the antler.
“Hi pretty, want to give Mama the antler in exchange for this tasty biscuit?” I cooed.
She fell for it. I gave her the biscuit and took the antler away. She figured it out as soon as the biscuit was gone and followed me into the kitchen where I placed the antler in a plastic baggie. As I did this I noticed the antler was tinged with pink. Yes, much like her Sister from another mother Shiva , she chewed so enthusiastically she made her gums bleed. I told Hubby I will have to find out how long you let the dog chew the antler.
So tell me. Do you give your dogs antlers? Do you have an aggressive chewer? Has a dog ever SWALLOWED an antler? Is that even possible, what would happen if they did would they need surgery? I can’t imagine passing an antler!
This is one of the antlers, it is about four or five inches tall.
We have not tried antlers. Both of our dogs are extremely aggressive chewers (and eaters) and that is why we have been hesitant of the antlers. I think they would try to do the same as Delilah and we would have to watch them every second. As you say the problem with swallowing hunks of anything that doesn’t breakdown is that it can cause a blockage leading to surgery. Years ago someone I worked with had a dog who got a blockage from a cow hoof. Kind of scared me off of that kind of stuff. We do give hard filed bones on occasion, but they are monitored and we take them away when they start to splinter (which isn’t long).
It is so important that you know your dog and know what they are capable of. I am afraid of blockages too.
Years ago I had a little cocker spaniel mix Buffy, who ran off and swallowed a super ball. I didn’t know about it until after the autopsy. 🙁 Needless to say, we don’t have super balls around my house, but that doesn’t mean something else can’t serve the same purpose.
You know your dogs and what they are capable of, and you adjust accordingly. Very smart on your part!
THAT piece of Deer antler is TOO SMALL fur her… She needs a much Larger one.. that can NOT pose the choking hazard… You MAY need to search for ELK antlers instead. THEY are Larger..
I have about 87 Deer Antlers… they are all PLENTY big enough to keep me… SAFELY Gnawing fur HOURS and HOURS and HOURS… AND both DEER and ELK antlers have minerals that are good fur US… I JUST LOVE TO GNAW ON MY ANTLERS… AS SO DOES MY LITTLE ERNIE!!!
My Dad gets mine fur me… they come attached to the most WONDERFUL Meat in the world. I’m just sayin.
Thanks for the information Frankie, having never had antlers I wasn’t sure what to look for. I wasn’t sure what size to get. Have you ever made your gums bleed?
Our dogs gums have bled on occasion when they have over done the chewing, or could be a scratch. Unless it is excessive, I don’t think it is an issue.
I am definitely interested in trying antlers for Gwynn. He has chewed on bone pieces until his gums bleed, but when he’s that intensely interested in a chew/food item, I just give it to him for only a short period of time each day until whatever had him insanely chewing is gone. Then i can leave it out and he’ll spend 10 minutes chewing and then wander off, once in a while.
I don’t anticipate a time when I can leave it out and she won’t try and eat it. Sampson on the other hand would let it be after a while. 🙂 Gwynn is a good boy, you are very lucky.
Antlers are intriguing, but I’d have to monitor carefully or wait until this particular crop of foster dogs is out of the house…we have too many issues with interdog resource guarding to have such a high-value, long-lasting thing around.
Yes, you would need to with your crew, although they seem to do alright with your cheesy bits. 🙂
I’ve never given antlers…Toby is a very aggressive chewer and I’m a worrier. It took me a while to find ANYTHING safe to give him, and what I finally ended up with were the very large nylabones, and he is supervised while he eats those too. Meadow is not as bad of a chewer, but will swallow small pieces and will chew until her gums bleed, so she is supervised too.
Since the other two are crated when we are not home, Leah was never supervised with the bones (well, except when we first got her) as she never ate anything she wasn’t supposed to in the eight years we’ve had her. But just recently she threw-up a soda cap sized chunk of nylabone – so now ALL the toys are picked up when we are not home to watch them.
I would never leave the antler with either one of them if we WEREN’T home. All of their toys that are out are ok for them to chew. They like to destroy the squeaky little ones and I am ok with that since I don’t spend a lot of money on them.
I do have some of the hard white bones (they come stuffed with cheese or peanut butter) and she will chew those sometimes but as far as I know they are indestructible! 🙂
I guess we really need to keep our eyes on these guys. 🙂
We love deer antler chews here and the dogs get them all that time, but that piece is WAY TOO SMALL for a dog your size. You are absolutely right to be concerned about her choking on a piece so small. For a dog her size, a chunk of deer antler would cost a fortune, a you need a size large or even extra large. Since she is an aggressive chewer, I’d say extra large.
How long did she chew for? Unless she chewed for quite a while, the fact that her gum bled suggest that she might have a bit of plaque build up/gum disease to be looked at. The chewing is actually a good thing. I generally let the boys chew for an hour or less. Chews are meant to be a treat, right? But if her gums bleed start with smaller lengths of time, then slowly work up to longer. The chewing will naturally help with the plaque and maybe consider getting a ProDen PlaqueOff supplement :0)
Thank you, I knew if I threw it out there someone would have the answer! Yes, those antlers are now safely on the refrigerator.
She is very aggresive when she chews and she maybe had the antler 20 to 25 minutes before I took it away.
She is also a food inhaler so the chicken necks I feed in the morning aren’t as effective at cleaning her teeth as they are for Sampson the chewer.
I will keep an eye on her teeth ad gums and appreciate the information.
Thanks for the shout-out! I am sorry you didn’t enjoy the antler as much as Delilah! 😉
I have never been worried about Shiva swallowing an antler, but perhaps that’s because I’ve never been through a traumatic experience like the one you endured with Buffy. Shiva has also destroyed a great many non-edible items in our home but she almost never swallows. She has chewed almost every toy she has ever had to bits without eating one piece. I have watched her systematically tear pieces off of a paper towel tube and then spit every teeny bit of paper out on to the floor. With a destructo-dog like her, this is a huge relief!
It really all depends on your dog. Regardless, it’s best to supervise them with any chew toy, I think.
You are welcome Kristine.
Delilah destroys many things but only seems to swallow the items she values as food. For instance she doesn’t swallow the plastic bag only the chips inside. 🙂
I think you should get her on video spitting out the bits of paper towels. 🙂