Although bully sticks are a very popular dog treat that are used all over the world, they do have a number issues such as their higher price tag and as many as a third of dogs being allergic to beef protein so we do often see people asking for advice on bully stick alternatives.
With so many people reaching out as well as dog treats being an important part of enrichment and nutrition for your dog, we have decided to publish our article going over the best bully stick alternatives on the market.
Our hope is that we will be able to help as many of our readers as possible find the perfect alternative to bully sticks for their dog that are cheap and that your dog will love.
Thankfully, there really are a large number of options available so we should be able to help you find the perfect alternative for your needs.
Due to seeing a number of specific questions relating to different types of bully stick alternatives, we have decided to add our table of contents to our article below.
It should make it much easier for our readers to skip to specific sections of the article with ease without having to skim over sections of the article that are not relative to the type of bully stick alternative that they need.
The Best Bully Stick Alternatives
Most dog owners consider dried pigs ears to be the best bully stick alternative on the market due to dried pigs ears being cheap, dogs finding them taste, and also being tough to chew so they keep your dog busy.
People often over look the time factor of a bully stick and long it can keep your dog busy for making pigs ears the best alternative.
Now, just like bully sticks, there really are a ton of options for pigs ears on the market right now and it can be a pain to find an option that is worth giving to your dog.
In our opinion, Brutus & Barnaby's pigs ears are the best option due to their low price point, high quality, and brilliant reputation amongst dog owners.
Using Brutus & Barnaby’s pigs ears as your bully stick alternative ensures that your dog is getting a high-quality treat that will be able to keep it busy for a long period of time.
They tend not to have as strong of a smell as bully sticks too offering them another advantage over bully sticks for some people.
Alternative To Bully Sticks For Dogs Allergic To Beef
Around a third of all dogs are naturally allergic to beef protein so will need an alternative to bully sticks with pig’s ears, chicken necks, and duck feet all making excellent alternatives.
They shouldn’t cause any problems with your dog’s beef allergies while still being able to keep your dog occupied for a long period of time.
As we mentioned above, Brutus & Barnaby's pigs ears is our recommended product for pigs ears with Fresh Is Best chicken necks being our recommended chicken neck provider, and Canine Butcher Shop duck feet being our recommended duck feet product.
We have a dedicated article going over the most common bully stick side effects in dogs and the most common problem is due to allergies to beef protein.
Switching the beef muscle bully stick out for a non-beef bully stick alternative is a quick, easy, and cheap way to avoid these issues in your dog but still provide them with a tasty treat that they will love.
Vegan Bully Stick Alternative
The best vegan bully stick alternatives on the market are usually dried yam or sweet potato based treats. Provided the dog treats have been dried correctly, they can keep your dog occupied for just as long as a bully stick while still being a tasty treat.
Although there are a number of vegan bully stick alternatives on the market right now, Sweet potato dog treats are probably the best option. Not only are they 100% vegan friendly, they are also delicious, cheap, and help to keep your dog occupied.
We know that there are some vegan alternatives to bully sticks that are based on other fruits and vegetables but they tend not to be as good as the ones based on yams or sweet potatoes.
Some of the other vegetable and fruit options can also be considerably cheaper too so we usually recommend that you avoid them if possible.
Healthiest Bully Stick Alternative
Bully sticks are actually much healthier for most dogs than many people initially realise but other lean protein and animal fat based options can make healthy bully stick alternatives.
There are also a small number of vegetable based alternatives to bully sticks that are healthy for your dog too.
Although dogs are omnivores meaning that they are able to do well on diets made up of animal foods, plant foods or a mix of both, it does tend to be easier to keep a dogs diet healthy on a mixed diet.
This is why we always recommend you consider a custom made dog food for your dog as it is tailored specifically to your dog’s needs and can work out to be the same price as off the shelf dog foods if you order the monthly subscriptions.
Those custom made dog foods tend to be the healthiest options too but are only suitable for the main meal of your dog.
When it comes to healthy alternatives to bully sticks for treats, we would recommend high-quality pigs ears due to being made of mostly lean, healthy protein sources.
DIY Bully Stick Alternative
DIY bully stick alternatives are becoming increasingly popular with beef, chicken, turkey, pork, and lamb usually being the meat of choice. All can be great options but it can be a pain to get the meat to dry quick enough to prevent health issues in your dog.
If your dog constantly swallows whole bully sticks then switching over to a DIY alternative can be the best option as you are able to size your bully stick alternative as required.
Another option is to just cut the bully sticks down to much smaller sizes before giving your dog the bully stick too.
One of the best options for smaller dog treats is to use Stewart freeze dried dog treats as they are small and very easy to break up in your fingers if you need them to be smaller.
This can be the best route to take if you are looking to make your own DIY bully sticks due to your dog always swelling the full stick.
Cheaper Alternative To Bully Sticks
Cheap bully sticks usually use low quality meat sources so a cheaper alternative to bully sticks is usually the best option with pig’s ears or chicken necks often being the best options. They will often be cheaper than bully sticks while still offering your dog a delicious treat.
Brutus & Barnaby's pigs ears and the Fresh Is Best chicken necks are usually the best options due to having a good mix of a low price tag while still being a high quality dog treat.
If you are on a tight budget then there are a number of other alternatives for pigs ears and chicken necks on the market but quality does tend to drop off rapidly.
Unfortunately, ducks feed tend to be around the same price as bully sticks ruling them out as a cheaper alternative. Some Sweet potato dog treats can workout to be much cheaper than bully sticks but some dogs tend not to eat them.
Alternatives To Bully Sticks For Puppies
Himalayan chews are one of the better alternatives to bully sticks for puppies but they often won’t hold the attention of your puppy as well as an actual bully stick will. Still, you can try Himalayan chews as a potential alternative to see if your puppy likes them or not.
There are a huge number of low-quality Himalayan chews on the market right now so we always recommend that you stick to the official Himalayan Pet Supply brand if possible.
They offer the best quality Himalayan chews for the lowest possible price with most dogs tending to love them.
As we mentioned though, most dogs will not focus on a Himalayan chew as much as they will focus on a bully stick. One popular workaround is to take a high-quality bully stick and then cut it into sizes of two inches long.
This may be a suitable option for some puppies but you will have to factor in your own circumstances.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over the best bully stick alternatives on the market to an end. We hope that we have been able to help you find the best alternative to bully sticks that meets your requirements and that your dog will love. Most of the featured alternatives in our list can usually be used as a one for one swap with a bully stick without issue due to dogs loving them so much.
