I'm sorry, did you just say bison penis?

Yo!  I'm getting my funk on at the moment to some Zumba songs from my weekly class.  If you haven't tried Zumba yet, DO IT NOW!  It is seriously fun.  And an awesome workout.

If The Little Blogger did Zumba he would look like this afterward. 

 

Drenched in sweat.  Last Wednesday night I got my groove on so hard that my entire head was wet.  

Yes, please. 


A little while ago I took a little trip to one of my favorite pet stores to pick up a Twist 'N Treat for Kasey, my parent's dog.  Of course, I had to get something to review on the blog, too, so I immediately went to the natural chew section because Teton hasn't had a chew for a while.  

I think I caught the employee there off guard when I picked up a package of bison pizzle and asked loudly, "This is bison penis, right?"  He apparently was not aware that pizzle is, in fact, dried penis.  Oops.     

  

You can find beef pizzle, pork pizzle, and bison pizzle at many natural pet food stores.  I've never seen bison pizzle before which leads me to the conclusion that it's a bit more difficult to find than beef and pork pizzle. 

I know it's a little weird, but most pet experts say that pizzle is much better for a dog to gnaw on and digest than rawhide.  I've heard way too many horror stories about dogs choking on rawhide or not digesting it completely that I'm not really interested in risking it with Teton.  

This bag o' bison pizzle (made by Great Dog Co.)  contained four 3-inch pizzle sticks (not to be confused with swizzle sticks) and was a whopping $7.50.  The price tag wasn't too shocking to me, however, because pretty much any all natural dog chew is between $7 and $15.  

   

Mmmm...delicious, no? 

Props to the girl in the pet store for telling me that she didn't love the fact that these pizzle sections were only 3-inches.  I agreed with her, but because The Little Blogger generally takes his time with a chew and has never had any issues with gulping down sections of treats and chews that he can't easily digest, I was confident that this would be an acceptable chew for him.  

Boy, was I wrong!  I still shudder when I think about Teton's first experience with this treat. 

TLB held the pizzle in his mouth for a while and drooled all over his bed, eventually making his way over to the middle of my office floor and diving right in.  I watched him like a hawk (something I always do when he gets a treat that he's never had before) and he slowly gnawed away.  

The first thing that freaked me out was that the pizzle wasn't even long enough for him to hold between his paws, which he almost always does with a chew.  The clincher, however, was when, just five minutes into giving him the treat, he started stuffing the whole thing in his mouth, chewing on it, and then sort of regurgitating it back up and starting the process all over.  Gaaaaaah! 

TLB appeared as though he had the pizzle under control, so I let him keep at it.  I was never afraid that he would choke on it because he had pretty good control over it and he likes to savor treats and chews as much as possible.  I never took my eyes off of him, though!  

My discontentment turned to horror about 10 minutes after I'd given Teton the bison pizzle.  After the shortest gnawing sesh ever he gulped it down like it had been a bite of dinner. 


Fail.  

This is the "I hate my mom because she takes pictures of my treats right in front of me and then doesn't give me any" face.  


Ok.  I don't completely hate these chews. 

I love that they are:

1)  Minimal - It's basically just the pizzle!  
2)  Fairly cheap - Yes, it was $7.50 for this small package, but you do get four pizzle pieces. 
3)  Easier to digest and better for your dog than rawhide - Even though Teton swallowed the pizzle prematurely, he didn't have any problem digesting it.
4)  From free-range, grazing bison - So I don't have to feel quite as bad when I give it to TLB.  I'll always feel a little bad.  I heart bison. 

And really, the one and only thing that I hate is:

1) How freakin' small they are!

Because TLB's health was at stake (and that's not something a dog owner wants to mess with!), we give the bison pizzle from Great Dog Co. a four out of 10.  It would have easily scored a seven if the pizzle piece had been twice as long.  

All of that being said, I think that if you can find some pizzle that is long enough for your dog to hold between his or her paws and gnaw on for a lengthy period of time, this is a great chew option!   

Have a great night!  


What's the strangest thing you've ever fed your dog? 

Mine would have to be this horribly disgusting fish carcass stick.  Teton loved it but it stunk up the house for days!