Tag: bully sticks for dogs

National Mill Dog Rescue recently received a donation from BestBullySticks.com and we always love learning more about the rescues we donate to and sharing their stories with our customers and fans. We didn’t know we would be so affected by the stories that were told, but are so grateful for National Mill Dog Rescue’s experience, care and love they pour out on dogs. Keep reading for more about National Mill Dog Rescue, their beginnings, their inspiration and their successes.

When & Why did you start?

National Mill Dog Rescue was established in February 2007, in honor of a forgiving little Italian Greyhound named Lily. Theresa Strader, NMDR’s Founder and Executive Director, rescued Lily from a dog auction in Missouri. Prior to that day, Lily had spent the first seven years of her life as a commercial breeding dog, a puppy mill mom. Determined that her years of living in misery would not be in vain, Strader started NMDR, giving a voice to mill dogs across the country.

During her years as a breeding dog, Lily spent all of her days confined to a small, cold wire cage in a dark, foul-smelling barn. Never was she removed from her cage for exercise or socialization. In her dreary confines, Lily was forced to produce one litter after another with no respite. Like all commercial breeding dogs, she was a veritable breeding machine whose worth was measured in only one way - her ability to produce puppies.

By seven years of age, Lily was worn out. Commonplace in the industry, she had received little to no veterinary care throughout her life, the result of which, for her, was terribly disturbing. Due to years of no dental care, poor quality food, rabbit bottle watering and no appropriate chew toys, the roof of Lily’s mouth and lower jaw, had rotted away. Her chest was riddled with mammary tumors and she was absolutely terrified of people.

Strader brought Lily and twelve others home from the auction and declares that even for a highly seasoned rescuer, the following months were the education of a lifetime in rehabilitation. That she would take up the cause for the mill dogs was never in question and National Mill Dog Rescue was promptly underway. In five short years, NMDR has amassed over 1,300 volunteers and has rescued over 6,300 puppy mill survivors.

Run almost solely by volunteers, NMDR has pledged to put an end to the cruelty of the puppy mill industry. Through widespread informative efforts, NMDR hopes to educate the public to acquire their companion animals through reputable breeders or better yet, from shelters and rescue groups across the country. Read more

This is the start of a weekly question and answer section where we hope to expand on typical questions that we get on a daily and weekly basis.  We hope that this information will be found informative and urge you to still contact us if you have any additional questions!

Are all bully sticks created equal?  What are the differences?

The first thing that one should consider when purchasing bully sticks or any other all natural dog treats is the country of origin.  Most of the bully sticks found in major pet stores are from India or other parts of the world outside of South America.  The living conditions of people and livestock in these countries is less than appealing and as such we only sell product from free-ranging South American cattle.  This cattle is considered "green cattle" as it is not given hormones or fed feed.  This cattle typically grazes freely on open grass fields and grows naturally.  Many people ask why not make bully sticks from North American cattle?  The reason for this is that it is expensive, and also most of the cattle in the US is kept in feedlots and encouraged to grow at a much faster rate (growth hormones) than free-ranging cattle.

Another difference between bully sticks on the marketplace is whether or not they are vertically drained and then baked.  It is much cheaper to sun dry bully sticks and other natural treats, but it is much riskier as potential diseases and bugs can enter the product much more easily.  All of our treats and chews are all-natural and oven finished, which is more expensive but keeps the quality of the product high.

We are also routinely asked about "odor-free" bully sticks.  Quite simply put there is no such thing.  Bully Sticks are an all-natural beef product and as such should have some odor to them.  If you ate a banana or even a steak your expectation is that it would smell like a banana or a steak..and if it did not you would be concerned.  Many manufacturers currently selling bully sticks wash their products in peroxide (bleach) and other chemicals which are not healthy but cause the product to have no smell at all.  Again, we prefer to offer products which are truly all-natural and as such they may have a slight odor.

Lastly, we recommend asking the store where you purchase treats and chews like bully sticks from if their products are irradiated.  A lot (most) of the bully sticks on the market today are irradiated (treated by radiation to reduce the chance of infectious diseases) ours are not.  All of our products are lab tested in country and in the US by both the FDA and USDA and are approved without problem or disease.  We don't know about you but we would not want our dogs treats or food undergoing radiation therapy to make sure that it is safe to eat.  As long as the correct manufacturing processes are in place a bully stick or any other dog treat should never be irradiated.  It is common for manufacturers to hide whether or not their products are irradiated so make sure to ask!

We hope that this clears up any confusion and answers some of the common questions regarding bully sticks that we get on a regular basis.

About the Author

Best Bully Sticks is a leading provider of dog treats, bully sticks, antlerz, Sam's Yams, and other dog chews and treats. They can be found online at: http://www.bestbullysticks.com .