Why Are Bully Sticks So Expensive?

Three things have made it prohibitive to buy a bully stick – supply and demand, material and mode of making the treats, and longevity. Since the dog bites have become so trendy, their order goes up. When that happens, the supply feels the tremors, and the suppliers take the prices over the roof (not exactly, but somewhat). If you’re an expert in microeconomics, you should be nodding your head right now because it is the best reason why the dog snacks are expensive. 

Did you know that you need a bull’s penis (aha, you read that correctly) to make a bully stick? Now, you do. So, the rarity of bull penises means that the raw materials are hard to find. A few hundred bulls need to get slaughtered for a bully stick business to run. Now, it should make sense to you if such rareness gets compensated by making the treats expensive. Also, the mode of preparing the treats is solely by hand – there is no machinery to make it happen. Because the preparation is tasking, it is right to pay more for bully sticks than any other dog bites.

Bully sticks are not like dog biscuits that your pup will down in the thwart of a duck’s tails. They come dried up, making them rigid. This detail appraises their longevity. So, one bully stick may get nibbled by Doggie for a long time. With all this in mind, you would understand when a retailer sells the treats at a high price. You won’t be buying them every day, maybe every month – that’s twelve times a year. So, in my opinion, the treats are Mr. Expensive with a Purpose.

Are Bulls Killed For Bully Sticks?

Killed is a relatively strong word. Let’s say that bulls get slaughtered. Let us not make it look like a crime, okay? When cattle get slaughtered, the pizzle (or the stick) is set aside. When that gets done, those who prepare bully sticks pick the pizzle and dry them to remove the odor.

Bully Stick Feeding Guide

If there is one treat that is undoubtedly long-lasting, it is the bully stick. While other goodies get finished quickly, a bully stick will survive Doggie’s chewing because of the nature of its preparation. The treats are nice and hard because their baking gets tuned to very high temperatures. Also, they come in different sizes (inches), such that a pup can chew on a smaller one than what an adult dog will.

In the market, a bully stick is between six and twelve inches long. In terms of thickness, the treat can be at least one centimeter (thin), going up to 2.3 centimeters (thick) or more (extra thick).

As you choose the stick to feed your dog, the variable to pay attention to is its weight. If the snack is too big, your dog may not handle it well. It may get the dog frustrated.  If the treat is too small, your dog may break it. Can it get any worse than that? Yes, it can. The broken pieces may become a choking hazard, and no owner wants to see their dog choking. If swallowed, the ingested parts may cause intestinal problems. Check the following chart and use it a guideline if you wish to Doggie to enjoy bully sticks:

Thickness/DimensionYour Dog’s Weight Bracket 
Thickness TypeLengthUp to 15 PoundsBetween 15 And 30 PoundsBetween 30 And 45 PoundsBetween 45 And 75 PoundsAbove 75 Pounds
Thin6 Inches
Regular6 Inches
12 Inches
Thick6 Inches
12 Inches
Extra Thick12 Inches

The other consideration that most dog owners give less focus is your dog’s chew power. If Mr. Doggie is a powerful chewer, you should consider a bigger size, regardless of its weight. If you still feel a little unconfident, ask your vet for advice.

The Goodness Of Bully Sticks For Dogs

When they first surfaced the market, bully sticks took the dog treat industry by a storm. They are the best available dog treat option, and they offer dogs many health benefits. Here are some of the advantages of feeding Doggie with pizzle sticks:

1. They Take Care Of Your Dog’s Natural Chewing Instinct. If you look at your canine’s mouth, you will notice that its teeth are designed for chewing. Bully sticks help perpetuate this instinct without breaking into pieces.

2. The Pizzles Are Nutritiously Impressive. With many chews, Doggie gets the taste of the most excellent beef muscles, which is high in protein and lacks additives, preservatives, and artificial chemicals. The treat help to improve the condition of your dog’s coat, body, and brain.

3. The Bully Sticks Help In Teeth Cleanup. If there’s one exercise that brushes Doggie’s teeth, then it is chewing. All the build-up and plaque that forms on Doggie’s teeth get scraped away once he starts his engagement with the chewy treat. However, this dental value of bully sticks doesn’t mean that you should stop brushing Doggie’s teeth. What is there is that chewing on the bully stick will beef up Doggie’s dental health.

4. The Pizzles Are Long-Lasting. Whether thin, regular, thick, or extra thick, a bully stick lasts longer than all the other dog treats combined.

5. The Sticks Are The Low-Carb Treat That Doggie Needs. Since the snack has protein written all over it, you don’t have to worry about Doggie having too many carbohydrates. Low carbs mean that tartar will not build up around Doggie’s teeth.

6. Doggie’s Stomach Will Find It Easy To Digest. If you compare bully sticks to other treats such as rawhide and pig ear, you find that Doggie’s systems easily break it down.

7. The Treat Is A Good One For Young Pups. Dog experts advise dog owners not to give young puppies rawhides. The experts direct that pups chew on bully sticks.  

Can Bully Sticks Be Of Value To Humans?

Well, how about dog treats getting eaten by humans? In some parts around the world, humans eat pizzle sticks because of some purported health benefits:

1. Being low in cholesterol

2. Being high in protein

3. Having vitamins and minerals, such as magnesium and calcium

During the 2008 Summer Olympics, athletes from China used pizzles made from the Scottish deer. They did this to boost their stamina and prepare well for the games.

Soup or paste made out of pizzle is served to many people worldwide. One crazy fact is this: while eating pizzle soup, some men believe that the dog treat gives them particular potency, you know, the aphrodisiac kind. Worth a smirk, right?

Bully Stick Alternatives 

Maybe you don’t like bully sticks because of this or that reason. In this part, you will get a list of options you can consider. Most of these treats are available in many pet stores online. 

No.TreatComment
1.Cow hooves– They are inexpensive, and they last very long.- They can cause bloating in your dog. 
2.Pig/cow ears– These are dried-up chews.- They provide chondroitin (a dietary supplement).- They are made out of cartilage and skin.
3.Pig snout– Like the pig ears, these treats are dried.- They have both chondroitin and protein.
4.Cow trachea–  Like the second and third alternatives, this treat is a good source of chondroitin.

How Long Do Bully Sticks Last?

After their manufacturing gets completed, a bully stick can stay hardy for at least two years. So, rotting is not an issue of concern. This longevity detail is a winner, seeing that other treats such as rawhide dog bones go bad.

Which Is The Best Bully Stick In The Market?

After looking at multiple products against several variables, the one that came out as the best bully stick is the odor-free Angus bully sticks. The dog treat company that makes the treat is Best Bully Stick – how convenient and how confident of them to go by that name!

Features of the product – explained

If you are looking for something organic, you know, since nature is the best, this treat is for you. As the company, Best Bully Sticks puts it, the Angus bulls from which they make the treat are grass-fed and free-range. The mooing beasts don’t get compromised with additives, chemicals, or hormones. With this in mind, the dog snack is unlikely to harm your furry friend.

The pizzle sticks are 99% protein, which makes it the best meal for your canine. And I’m sure you know what proteins bring to the table – strength, and health. If your dog is prone to having issues with its joints, this is the ideal choice to beef up those areas.

Apart from the overflowing protein, the treat has essential vitamins. Whenever Doggie chews on the stick, they down a deliciously nutritious snack.

The only caveat is this – if your canine is on a strict low-protein diet, it should never get close to this treat. You wouldn’t want to overwhelm Doggie’s kidneys, now would you?

What Buyers Say

From most review sections, the general statement is that they are worth every cent. For aggressive chewers, these bully sticks are what they exactly need, seeing that the treats are tough to break down. Also, the snacks have no splintering and keep dogs very busy.

There is an excellent attempt to make them odor-free, but several customers complain that they stink. While this is not to throw shade on the company that makes them, it shows that we shouldn’t go around smelling the sticks. For God’s sake, they are for the dogs!

The Downside Of Bully Sticks

Although bully sticks have received considerable praise, they are two disadvantages. Check them out:    

1. Bacterial Contamination. A test was conducted to determine whether bull sticks are fit for Doggie consumption, and the findings were interesting. Of the twenty-six (26) bully sticks put to the test, one of them had Staphylococcus aureus, a bacteria resistant to methicillin. Methicillin is a type of antibiotic. Another one had traces of Clostridium difficile, a diarrhea-inviting bacillus. On seven bully sticks, the E. coli bacteria was lurking. While this information doesn’t speak about the grossness of the treats, it tells us that we need to wash the bully sticks well before Doggie starts to chew them. If we get to throw all caution to the wind, the bacteria may not only affect the dogs but humans too. Older people who have weaker immune systems shouldn’t touch the treats before they get washed. 

2. Calorie Numbers Are Up. Per inch, a bully stick has an average of 15.5 calories (between 8 and 22). In the market, the most popular puzzles are at least six inches. If you do the math, the number gets to a whopping 93 calories per one six-inch stick! That detail means that Doggie might be overweight in no time. In the US, more than half of the dog population is overweight. Eating more bully sticks means encouraging an unhealthy pet lifestyle.

You shouldn’t be scared. If the bully stick is well washed before giving it to Doggie, then don’t worry about the bacteria. I mean, we all have some bacteria nesting in our bodies, so no need to obsess over cleanliness! 

To prevent Doggie from taking in too many calories, limit the number of sticks eaten. Most bully-stick-making companies advise dog owners that one sticky snack is more than enough for a day. That way, you take care of all the caveats that come with this tougher-than-tough dog treat.

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