Guest june Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 A friend recently saw my dogs chewing on their antlers. She was astounded that I actually paid for them. I live in a rural area. Today, she brought me several antlers from a friend of hers who hunts. They are a bit smaller around than what I have purchased but not too small for the dogs. My question is this: do I need to do anything to these before I give them to the dogs? I'm going to cut them into managable size pieces but do I need to do anything else? boil them? steralize them in some way? Or, can I just cut them and let them have them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
santannahmom Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 I heard that you should boil them. You may want to Google it. My pups love the deer antlers. Hugs Quote Image removed, not within the GreyTalk signature guidelines of <15 KB file size limit. Your image was 33.09 KB (33,886 bytes) file size. Darlene and Garon with Selena-JCKC 5/23/2005 & Mosa-RDR 2/5/2010 Missing Santannah Belle-NSRA 7/7/2001- 9/6/2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest june Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 Mine too! I am so excited. Thanks for the tip about Googling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest newgreymama Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 Lucky you! They are expensive! I went to look at them, and for a not so big piece, it was almost $30-- and that was the "XL" size. Eek! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wasserbuffel Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 No, you shouldn't have to do anything to process the antlers before giving them to your dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedHead Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 Well, I probably would just wash them off and feed them, but you may want to boil. I would just check to make sure that won't do anything like making them more brittle, etc. I finally broke down and paid $20 for an antler. No one touched it for a year. I even tried putting it in the rat cage, they wouldn't even touch it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest june Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I've decided I'm going to soak them in a very weak bleach solution, let them dry, cut them in appropriate size pieces and let them have them. I'm afraid boiling them might make them brittle and the weak bleach solution is just to help clean them up a bit. My friend said she would bring me some more and I'm thinking the girls may be giving them as Christmas presents to their greyt friends! june Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moofie Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Won't it absorb the bleach mix? The company we bought our antler chews from suggested soaking them overnight in a fridge to make them more appealing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pabozem Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 A friend gave my girls some pieces of deer antler, and they have chewed/carried them around now for about two years or so. They're like petrified rock!!! I saw some in PetCo the other day, and was amazed at what they were charging for them. Quote Waiting at the bridge: Blaze, Rodney, Lady, Spice, Sarahlee, Callie and Baby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greygirls2 Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Moofie.....what are you saoking them in.....a broth or just water??? I bought some antlers and none of mine are interested so I'd like to give this a try since they are an expensive chew to leave sitting in the chewy box...sigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KsFrets Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 The ones we have (and Pat) came straight out of the woods from the hunter. Hack sawed into pieces and given to the dogs. Indestructible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Krizzy Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Thank you for posting about the deer antlers! I just bought my first one about 30 min ago. Got it because they said they last a long time. I asked the guy at the store if it would be too hard on my greys teeth and he said no, and if he didnt go after it, soak it in water for about 20 min to let the flavor soak out a little. Really looking forward to trying it. Does anyone know if its messy? smelly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubcitypam Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 I finally broke down and paid $20 for an antler. No one touched it for a year. I'm not the only one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Melissa516 Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 I too broke down and bought 2 antlers... don't remember exactly how much there were, but the weren't cheap. Neither of ours are even remotely interested in them... go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Krizzy Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 If the dogs don't go after the antlers- soak them in water for 20 min to let the flavor come out a little Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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