Should I Give My Dog Antler Dog Chews? Understand the Safety Concerns · Kinship Leave a comment

Strolling into the deal with aisle on the pet retailer will be overwhelming. There are one million various kinds of treats obtainable, your canine is happy about all of them, and so they all declare to be the tastiest, healthiest, awesomest treats in existence.

One of many many merchandise obtainable are canine antler chews. They appear exhausting as a rock, however many declare to be nice for canines’ enamel. However are antlers secure for canines?

Can canines chew on deer antlers?

A few of the most typical questions on web message boards and boards for pet mother and father are about acceptable treats for his or her canines. Posts that appear like this present among the confusion round antler chews for canines: “I’m a little bit uncertain about one thing and hoping for some recommendation. My canine likes to chew, and I have been excited about getting him a deer antler. I’ve heard they are often good for his enamel, however I}ve additionally heard they’ll splinter and trigger issues. Has anybody had expertise with giving their canine antlers? I simply wish to ensure it’s a secure deal with for him.”

Sadly, antlers aren’t an acceptable deal with for canines. Though canine antler chews have some constructive points — they’re shed naturally and are sometimes minimally processed — the reality is that they’re simply too exhausting for canines to chew on. Canine like to gnaw on issues, usually to their detriment. Whereas a deer antler can present hours of leisure, it may well additionally trigger issues.

Are antler chews for canines secure? 

Some pet mother and father swear by deer antler treats as a result of they’re a long-lasting deal with that canines take pleasure in and so they declare to assist take away dental tartar by chipping it away as canines chew. The issues with deer and elk antler canine chews are that they’re long-lasting as a result of they’re mainly strong bone that male deer develop to bludgeon their rivals with. They’re developed to face up to unbelievable quantities of pressure throughout battles over territory or mates. Even the enamel of big breed canines aren’t any match for antler chews.

When excited about treats and chews for canines, I like to recommend following the Knee Cap Rule promoted by Dr. Fraser Hale, a veterinary dentist: if you happen to wouldn’t need me to hit you in your knee cap with it, don’t give it to your canine. The variation for smaller canines is: in case your canine wouldn’t need me to hit them on the knee cap with it, don’t feed it to them. Principally, something that’s strong sufficient to harm is simply too strong to chew on.

There are some extra questions to contemplate when excited about canine chews: 

• Does it bend or break simply?

• Would you be prepared to chew on one thing like that your self (excluding taste)?

• Does it splinter when damaged?

So, are deer antlers secure for canines? The reply is a convincing no. Deer antler canine chews fail on all points of security (nicely, perhaps you’d chew on one, I don’t know your life). The most important concern with deer antlers is that they trigger slab fractures of enamel. The identical profit chewing that’s supposed to interrupt tartar off of enamel can break the enamel themselves.

Tooth fractures are extremely painful and can lead to infections of the tooth root, deep beneath the gumline. Dental fractures attributable to chewing on issues like antlers require important dental care, requiring both a root canal or elimination of the tooth fully.

Along with the dangers to enamel from gnawing on antler chews, canines can produce other issues in the event that they handle to interrupt off a bit. Swallowing chunks of deer or elk antler chews may cause issues like:

• Oral infections: Tough or splintered items of deer antler may cause lacerations within the mouth. Most oral wounds heal rapidly, however some can develop into contaminated and require antibiotics or surgical restore.

• Choking: Irregular items of bone are infamous for getting caught once they’re swallowed. This will trigger an airway obstruction if the piece is within the throat or an esophageal obstruction that locations stress on the trachea if it’s caught within the neck or chest.

• Intestinal obstruction: Bony materials is infamous for inflicting intestinal blockages. Obstructions will be as a result of massive chunks of bone or antler that get caught within the small intestines or sand-like bone particles that causes constipation by turning into cement within the colon. 

• Gastrointestinal upset: Even when the bony materials is ready to cross by, it may well trigger important irritation to the intestines because it strikes by them. This can lead to vomiting and diarrhea, usually bloody.

Are antler canine chews secure for puppies?

Puppies are voracious chewers and require fixed leisure once they’re not sleeping. It may be tempting to present a deer antler canine chew to a pet as a approach to preserve them occupied for some time, particularly once they’re teething. Deer antler chews are much more harmful for puppies as a result of their enamel are extra vulnerable to fractures. Puppies are additionally much less more likely to know their limits when swallowing one thing, so any damaged items pose a extra severe choking threat.

Antler chews be a part of the wide selection of different strong chews that aren’t acceptable for puppies and grownup canines. Avoiding giving merchandise like these may help to guard your pet’s enamel from damage:

Options to antler canine chews

Now that I’ve Enjoyable Policed away most of your canine’s favourite choices, what is an efficient chew for canines? In my expertise, if you happen to’re searching for merchandise that assist stop plaque and tartar buildup, there’s no higher place to begin than the VOHC web site. The VOHC is made up of veterinary dentists and scientists who assessment research of oral well being merchandise for efficacy and security. Their listing of accepted merchandise is an efficient place to begin for secure, efficient oral well being care to your grownup canine or pet.

In the event you’re searching for a approach to occupy your busybody canine for some time, you possibly can contemplate rope toys, pure rubber chew toys (usually touted as indestructible, although some decided canines have completely different concepts), fabric toys, and meals puzzles. Canine ought to at all times be supervised when taking part in with toys as a result of that you must be there to take away them if they start to shred them. Getting quite a lot of sorts of toys and ranging the way you play with them everyday will be an effective way to offer enrichment and leisure.

Backside line

Discovering the fitting chew to your canine will be powerful. There are lots of merchandise on the market, and lots of of them aren’t as secure for canines’ enamel as you’d hope. It’s finest to stay to chews which are pliable and never brittle when damaged.

You may work along with your vet to seek out acceptable toys and chews to maintain your canine occupied and assist preserve their enamel clear with out risking damage. Despite the fact that your canine might act completely cool about not destroying issues, it’s at all times finest to keep watch over them once they have a toy or chew so you possibly can stop issues from occurring.

References

• Bellows, Jan. “Sensible Dental Care Ideas for Canine and Cats.” Veterinary Accomplice. February 15, 2024.

• Gallagher, Lindsay. “The Impact of Dental Merchandise and Pure Chews on Canine Oral Micro organism.” Letters in Common Microbiology. 2014. 

• Hale, Fraser. “The Kneecap Rule.” Haleveterinaryclinic.ca, 2024, www.haleveterinaryclinic.ca/web site/educational-material-veterinary-guelph/2024/03/18/the-knee-cap-rule-endodontics. Accessed 18 Feb. 2025.

• ‌Paul Pion, D. V. M., and Gina Spadafori. “Veterinary Accomplice.” VIN.com, 8 Aug. 2017, veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=11934338.

• Veterinary Oral Well being Council. “VOHC Accepted Merchandise.” https://vohc.org/accepted-products/ Accessed 18 Feb. 2025.