We took our dog to the vet for a tooth issue. Turns out it’s from chewing on antlers and cracked tooth, said they are seeing more and more of it nowadays. I guess it’s because they are so hard, harder then the teeth themselves. Expensive lesson.
I used to give my dog antler chunks, until I realized he had knocked the tips off of all of his canines. The vet doesn't seem to be concerned (he just had a dental exam) but it doesn't look good to my eye. I'm not sure if splitting the antler makes a difference but he's not getting any more of them either way.
I too gave my dog an antler to chew on once. Thinking it would get him interested in picking one up if he happened by one. He chewed it up and then at some point puked a bunch of it up and looked like sharp shards or slivers of antler. That was the first and last time.
Yep, dogs can chip or crack teeth on antler chews.
I sell hundreds of pounds a year, and the market has somewhat changed.
Deer antler can be more damaging than Elk.
Split chews are far easier on teeth.
You can soak the antler in beef broth to soften.
A dog needs to be monitored when given antler chews...especially an aggressive chewer.
Most of the breeders and trainers I have talked with don't recommend using them for that exact reason. A good rule of thumb is anything that you cannot mark with a finger nail has the potential to chip teeth.
Yeah our vet doesn't recommend them. We have a Dobie and they are notorious chewers and he destroys anything of the softer so called "indestrucible" toys because of the way they chew. We use nylabones which so far they are holding up pretty well but not as hard as an antler.
My dog split one of his premolar teeth in half and we had to get it removed. 90% certain it was from antler. Since that youth is for grinding, his teeth on the bottom on that side don't get as much use. He builds up a ton of plague now and we have to get them cleaned. VERY expensive lesson learned...