I was thinking of buying my 3 labs some stag bars (for xmas!!) as something they can have to chew indoors that will hopefully last well. do they really last as long as they say? I feed mine raw and they are pretty good chewers. Also; they are incredibly expensive, any suggestions of where is best to buy?
thanks
:)

I guess it depends how much your dogs chew. I have a couple I got for my GR pup and she's not that bothered with them and it seems, having talked to her brothers owner, that she is doesn't chew that much compared to him. She has a gnaw now and again and has hardly made much progress really. Now, give her a nice bone and she she'll chomp for ages.

In another topic on stag bars/antlers, Tooolz posted this link, 
http://www.dentalvets.co.uk/news.html
which made me think twice.

Thanks for the link Lacy.  Makes very interesting reading. 

Mine have Stag Bars in their toy box.  They aren't something they choose to chew on obsessively - but that might be my dogs.

Stag Bars also vary, as do the deer they came from. One I had was smoother and flatter, and both dogs loved it - to the extent it had to be thrown as it had worn too small - while the other antler pieces were ignored or only used occasionally.

I've seen "Bull Bars" in Pets at Home recently, which look like the horns of Water Buffalo. They are even more expensive than Stag Bars - same company - but I may try them, or at least tip Santa the wink ;)

http://www.puredog.co.uk/our-products/bullbar-horn-dog-chews/

My vet has mentioned he's seen a fair amount of tooth damage from antler, Daisy has them, but isn't that bothered, she has an occasional chew.
Sue I've had the buffalo horn which the dogs much preferred, but they do smell a bit, they also shred rather than break off, the chewed end looks like a stubby paint brush.
I got mine from a stick maker stall at a game fair.

I have 6 dogs and bought them some stag bars last week for the first time and none of them have even chewed on them. Not even the teething pup or my poor steroidy doberman who is food odsessed at the moment. I wont be buying them again.

I bought five last year for my five dogs. the only one who chews them is the pup (was three months when she first got it and has chewed it every day since). None of the others did, until last week when pups mum chewed for a couple of minutes. Gave one away to a friend with a chewy pup. My youngster has had the other four. Only time will tell whether she is the only one with split teeth etc.

I have got a couple but the dogs dont really bither with them. I have got some fallow dear ones which are softer and will be trying them . The other thing I am going to tru is anco root also better for teeth

I've heard about anco root, being a type of wood it is softer and it sort of shreds into tiny bits. Been meaning to get a piece if I could find somewhere

> The other thing I am going to try is anco root also better for teeth

Let us know what your dogs make of them, buy chews for the boys but unless they're edible soon discarded?

I have used them - as an alternative to chewing things they shouldn't!  The youngster is working on one right now.  They do last quite well and are clean to have on carpets etc.  However I did read that about broken teeth and it has worried me.  I have just taken a bit of wood away from him because it was splitting - he stole it off the wood pile - there seems to be a downside to everything you give them.  My friend's dog has just broken a canine tooth with a ball that bounced and hit him in the mouth - it was one of those light up on touch balls that come from Pets at home.  I bought one but took it off my two when I realised that it wasn't chew proof. 

>I guess it depends how much your dogs chew.

I agree with Jodi here, but more importantly it's really how they chew. I allow my Husky to have stag bars (supervised) because he likes to nibble and gnaw the insides... If he were to hunker down on it and try to hard crunch through the Antler I'd remove it and bin it. Luckily as he has many different types of raw bone he adapts his technique accordingly and so far I'm happy to allow him to continue as he's getting it right ~ that said the fact remains I'd never allow him any type of bone / hard 'chew' with out me being there. As already stated by Ceejay there is risk in anything we give them.

My toy breed has two of these. They're not something she uses every day, she tends to have a phase of chewing them and then they go back in the toy box. In fact, she spends more time throwing them around and chasing them !

>In fact, she spends more time throwing them around and chasing them !

Hahaha!! That is soo true! Storm likes to play 'hide and seek' with his, burying it in sofas, beds much more husky mischief to be made in digging up my house!! ;-)

I spent a morning with a friend who has one of my pups brothers and we fell to discussing our dogs as we watched them playing. Her pup suffered from campylobacter a few months ago and has been left with a bit of a delicate stomach, hopefully a temporary thing. She hasn't given him anything other then his food, so no chews etc. He has demolished several nylo bones and the family has to make sure he doesn't get at the furniture or shoes. My pup has a cast iron stomach, has only had diarrhoea when she has been wormed, so has had a daily chew, something like dried tripe, dried cow scalp, a rawhide chew I've found less likely to come away in easily swallowed chunks and raw bones. She seems less interested in chewing anything else and I'm wondering if having that chew session each day has satisfied her need to chew, whereas her brother has been denied the oppourtunity and therefore chews inappropriate things to satisfy the need.

Bought some for the dogs 2 years ago and they didn't touch them so they got binned when we moved house. Got some new ones (from Batleys, much cheaper and you get the choice of 4 sizes so can have a good root through) and the pup has got one or two of the others interested in them now. No one spends longer than 10 minutes (at the most, I would say) having a gnaw but at least they've got the option and, as others have said, they don't smell or make a mess on the floor (and can survive being outside).

Currently my flatcoat is chewing away at a large  bone from a t bone steak my son had yesterday ( raw I may add the bone that is) gsd couldn't be bothered

I guess all things have risks you just have to weigh them up for yourself and your dogs . Will report back re the anco roots but will have to wait until Christmas as they are their pressies oh yes I got mine at discover dogs but you can get them on line

2 of my dogs have had a tooth removed in the last 18 months due to slab fractures (one from a stagbar and one from a nylabone). Hard chews/toys are now banned in this house! According to one of the veterinary reports, if you can't dent the toy with a fingernail then it may damage teeth.

My girl has one and one of those bull bars. Her first antler (not a stag bar one) she compleatly ignored for ages untill one day started chewing it, eventually worn it down so I got a stag bar. I saw the bull bar in pets at home so got one to try, she seems able to chew it down easyer than the stag bar.
I don't let her have either all the time as she broke a tooth, don't know if it was the stag bar or a stuffed bone she bit threw that did it. So now she only gets them if I want to keep her quiet for a short period. I know of some who said there dog broke a tooth on a stag bar.
Chew wise I like those smart bones pah sell, they look like a knotted rawhide bone but it's not raw hide.

LOL, sometimes the language differences between the U.K. and Canada are interesting.  We just call those antlers.  I have to tell you it was pretty disappointing to open this thread and find not one word of a wild night out with the boys pre wedding.  :)

LOL! 'Stag bar' is the market brand name for sawn sections of antler. :-)

tomorrows chew toy is a pigs trotter ! lets see how they go with that

afraid mine would call that 'dinner' not a toy, and it lasts approx 20 minutes! That is about 23 minutes longer than any other bones though...........
I'm a bit dubious over the stag bars after seeing peoples opinions, I may put the same money into some kongs and try and stuff them with something not too messy for indoor entertainment instead.

I think mine will be much the same but as they are raw fed will just deduct from dinner. 

mine too, I think practice must improve their bone chewing ability. I hear people talking about 'recreational bones' but I've yet to find ANYTHING that a labrador can't consume completely give time!
hope you dogs enjoy their dinner, btw, I've taken to adding a bit of liver to the trotter to counteract the tendency to produce a peculiarly yellow and crumbly output :-/  (sorry for TMI!)

oh well that didn't last long just 20mins but she loved it. Gsd hasn't had his yet as he is out having a nice walk

My boys have antlers - I find they tend to be ignored for a while, and they don't seem to know what to do with them.  The best have been Fallow deer antler strips, which seem to be softer and more chewy.  They have had nylabones, but the ends soon get frayed and sharp.  With hide chews (apart from concerns about their origin and processing) my older boy tends to rip softened sections off and swallow them, then bring them back in the middle of the night :( . 

We'll have to look for bull bars and smart bones next time we go to pets at home.