# Bully Stick - Choking Hazard?



## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

Last night Swizzle was finishing off a bully stick. It was probably about the size of a dime. I look over and I could see there was a problem. I was worried he was choking on the bully and I opened his mouth. Speared on his last moler was the bully. I tried to get it out with no luck. My husband tried - no luck. Finally Swizzle must have worked it off the tooth and swollowed it while I was getting tweezers. We immediately went around the house picking up a few bully small pieces. My husband wants to ban bullys. Swizzle loves them. We get the curly kind. Are they a choking hazard?


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

That had to be scary! Been there, done that myself. I've seen Chagall gulp rather sizable pieces of a bully stick. Following one episode, he looked like he was trying to heave but couldn't. I picked him up and searched around his mouth, patted his back and walked him around outside until he was more comfortable. After that I thought, "No more bully sticks!" But like your Swizzle (cutest name _ever,_ by the way!) he_ LOVES_ them.

I watch him like a hawk with them now and take away the "nubs" before he tries to swallow them. Most of the time he manages to chomp the whole stick with no problem. I suppose they could be a choking hazard, really anything can be. But I'm on the fence about them. I'll wait for others to weigh in to see whether to keep giving them to him. I think I may start pushing them into his Kong, which someone recommended doing with the Himalayan Yak Chews (have you tried those? they break up into smaller, digestible pieces).

I'm sure glad Swizzle is okay! I hope, for both our poodles' sakes, this isn't a case of something they love being "bad" for them and ultimately "banned." I think of dark chocolate and it being taken from my life....


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## LEUllman (Feb 1, 2010)

I get longer, bigger ones now, and make them disappear when they get shorter than about three inches.

Edit: After posting this, I realized I needed to find out what to do if my dog was ever choking. Here's a quick video that might save your poodle's life:


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## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

I do the same ... any chewie item less than two or three inches goes in the trash. Vasco can be quite ambitious about what he thinks he can swallow :smile:.


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