Deer Antler — Is It the Ideal Chew Toy for a Dog?

You may have never heard of deer antler as a chew toy, since it's not very widespread. However, you'll be very surprised to learn about the great benefits deer antler can provide your dog.

Don't think this is a new trend — deer antler has been used with dogs for many, many years, and now, with globalization, it's spreading as a healthy practice across the planet.

You're sure to have a lot of questions about its use, benefits, care, or dangers a deer antler has. So let's get straight to the information you need to know.

How Is Deer Antler Obtained?

Let's not think deer suffer so our dogs can enjoy chewing on their antlers. Deer naturally shed their antlers every spring, meaning the antlers fall off on their own every year.

These antlers are collected and cut, making pieces of different sizes so they can be given to dogs of different sizes. They're one hundred percent natural, and no animal suffers to obtain them.

Deer start growing new antlers early in the year, and once mating season is over, they fall off. A deer can grow and shed a lot of antlers throughout its life, naturally.

There are many deer species and subspecies, so you may find this same bone/horn under the name deer antler, elk horn, or fallow deer antler, for example.

Benefits of Deer Antler

Deer antler is a hard bone that rarely splinters, making it an excellent chew toy for our dog, whatever its size. Since it contains marrow, the antler gives off a smell very appealing to dogs, who spend hours gnawing on the bone nonstop, entertained and thrilled at the same time.

An appropriately sized deer antler can last a large dog a long time (weeks, months....). Besides being an ideal chew toy for any dog, as it gradually wears down, it provides calcium and other nutrients.

Deer antler also cleans our dog's teeth completely naturally, removing tartar buildup on their teeth. It's actually highly recommended for our dog to play with an antler daily, since it will keep its teeth clean.

Our dog will be able to chew it for endless hours with no danger at all. However, the antler gradually wears down over the days or weeks, depending on the dog (ours usually make each antler last a couple of months).

When we see the antler piece is too small, it's best to take it away and throw it out to prevent them swallowing it. The antler's purpose is to keep our dog entertained gnawing, since at the same time it's consuming natural calcium and cleaning its teeth. But if the antler wears down to a small piece it could swallow, simply as a precaution we should take it away and give it a new, larger antler.

Sometimes, consuming deer antler causes constipation in the dog. If this happens, we simply need to limit the antler's daily use to fewer hours, and the problem will disappear on its own.

How Much Does a Deer Antler Cost?

Deer antler prices vary a lot depending on the country — if there are many deer in your country, the price is probably very low. However, in countries like Spain, where we need to import deer antler for our dogs, its price is moderate.

Dogs over 30 kilos will need an L or XL size, with XL being recommended. Antler sizes are measured like clothing sizes, XL, L, M, S from largest to smallest.

• XL Deer Antler for dogs over 30 kilos, around twenty euros each.
• L Deer Antler for dogs from 20 to 30 kilos, around sixteen euros each.
• M Deer Antler for dogs from 10 to 20 kilos, around twelve euros each.
• S Deer Antler for dogs under 10 kilos, around eight euros each.

Prices vary a lot depending on the store, though generally, these are the prices found at most stores in Spain. In Mexico, they can be found for about 150 pesos, and in Argentina for roughly the same price.