Best Chew Review: Antlerz

6/29/2012 UPDATE: Our veterinarian has told us that he believes Antlerz are much too hard for dogs, as are Nylabones and cooked bones. Others may disagree. I will say that, after having just gone through two tooth extractions with Kirby, both of which resulted from slab fractures to his upper molars -- the kind usually caused by biting down on very hard objects -- I'm now feeling a bit wary about any of these options for our little guy. Everything I said in the below review was true at the time, and I have no evidence that it was the Antlerz vs. a bone, a Nylabone or any other hard chew toy. But I felt compelled to write this update, as we are definitely switching to less hard chew options for our dog.

We haven't done a product review in quite a while, but one product caught our attention recently and it's definitely worthy of a positive review: Antlerz.

It all started on a holiday shopping trip with my mom, who was searching for the perfect gifts for her "grand dogs." We stopped at a natural pet store where a new product caught Mom's eye... deer antlers, packaged up as dog chews. My first three thoughts were "Will it last more than 15 minutes with Baxter?" "Does it splinter?" and "Man, that's kinda spendy!"

The clerk assured us these antlers last as long as bones and do not splinter, rather they grind away gradually into a mineral-rich powder. There are no plastics or chemicals in them and no slaughterhouses involved in the processing...the farm-raised deer naturally shed their antlers each year. The company cleans and cuts the antlers.
Sounded good, but the price still seemed rather steep for such a little chew. I figured if it was like every other natural chew we've tried, it would be gone at a rate of roughly a dollar a minute. I was ready to walk away. But being the wonderful, "spare-no-expense" grandparent she is, Mom said "I'll take one for Baxter."

I'm so glad she did. And so is Baxter. Of course, so is Kirby...all things dog are community property at our house.

Baxter helped me open the package on Christmas morning. He was immediately enthralled, engaging in an Olympic-worthy chew session on that little chunk of antler. At some point Bax decided to focus on something else (probably dinner) and Kirby grabbed it, giving quite an impressive chew performance of his own. By the time we packed up to leave the next day, the antler didn't even look like it had been touched!

Here we are, a month later, and the once four-inch antler piece is now down to about an inch-and-a-half and the dogs are still working on it. It hasn't left any greasy mess. No powder on the floor. No splinters. Just hours and hours of intense chewing on a gradually shrinking antler nubbin. I can honestly say we have NEVER had any natural chew last this long.

I haven't noticed any side effects except slightly drier stools for Kirby -- I'm assuming that's from the minerals in the powder that passes through. The positive side effect is cleaner dog teeth and calmer, happier dogs.

For all the joy this antler piece has brought to our dogs, and for its ability to stand up to two vigorous chewers for longer than any other natural chew we've tried, I'd say Antlerz are worth every penny!