Become a chew expert

Vet Sourced

Practical, honest guides on natural chews — sizing, safety, and what actually keeps dogs busy.

A dried lamb tripe stick in the foreground with sheep grazing in a softly blurred meadow, illustrating its ruminant origin.

What the Sheep Ate: How Grazing Builds a Green Tripe Stick

Yes — a grazing diet builds the stomach lining a lamb tripe stick is cut from. What forage does to it, and why the flavor picky dogs come for is a step.

Aug 28, 2026 7 min read

Editorial schematic of the four ruminant stomach compartments, highlighting the rumen and reticulum as the tissues called tripe.

Two Chambers of Four: A Tripe Stick in a Sheep's Stomach

Tripe is the rumen and the reticulum, two of a sheep's four stomach chambers. What the other two chambers do, and what makes those two different.

Aug 28, 2026 7 min read

Overhead view of a black-and-white dog eating its regular meal from a steel bowl.

83% Protein on a Lamb Collagen Chew: Reading the Guaranteed Minimum

The 83% crude protein figure is a guaranteed minimum. Read what it means for a lamb collagen chew, and count the chew in the daily treat calorie budget.

Aug 28, 2026 7 min read

A naturally shed antler lies among moss and dry leaves on a forest floor.

Are Antlers Safe for Dogs? What a Veterinary School Says

We don't sell antlers. Cornell and VCA both name them as a cause of fractured teeth — here's what breaks, which teeth go first, and what to give instead.

Aug 27, 2026 6 min read

Owner calling for veterinary advice with the chew package ready to describe.

My Dog Swallowed a Bully Stick: What to Do in the First Hour

Call your vet if your dog drools, gags, struggles to swallow, brings food back up or keeps gulping after eating a bully stick. Then the two-day watch window.

Aug 27, 2026 6 min read

Owner showing the remaining chew to veterinary staff after a dog swallowed rawhide.

My Dog Swallowed a Piece of Rawhide: What Happens Next

Call your vet the same day, even if nothing looks wrong. In a simulated dog stomach, rawhide lost just 7.6% of itself at six hours. A piece stays a piece.

Aug 27, 2026 7 min read

Hands wash with soap at a sink while a bully stick rests separately on a dry tray.

Bacteria on Bully Sticks: What the Two Studies Found

Neither study found Salmonella on a bully stick — 26 cultured in 2013, 505 treats in 2025. The figures as published, the two FDA recalls, and the handling rule.

Aug 27, 2026 7 min read

Thumbnail pressing the thickest part of a bully stick to screen its firmness.

How Hard Is Too Hard? The Fingernail Test That Sorts Every Dog Chew

A dog chew is too hard if your thumbnail can't dent it. The veterinary test, the enamel measurement behind it, and a one-line verdict per chew category.

Aug 27, 2026 6 min read

Owner offering two small pieces of the dog's usual food as a training reward.

Your Dog Is on an Elimination Diet: Which Chews Are Allowed?

During an elimination diet trial your dog gets no chews at all, ours included. What counts as food, why one slip costs weeks, what a vet may allow.

Aug 27, 2026 6 min read

Illustrated sample label showing ingredient, analysis, feeding and company-information fields.

How to Read a Dog Chew Label, and What Single Ingredient Guarantees

How to read ingredients, weight, guarantees and calorie information on a dog chew. Treat rules and the conditional AAFCO chew exemption explained.

Aug 27, 2026 6 min read

Older dog walking at a relaxed pace with its owner on a level park path.

Collagen Chews and Your Dog's Joints: What the Chew Supplies

Natural collagen for joint support and dental benefits through chewing. How lamb collagen sticks fit alongside a balanced diet and veterinary care.

Aug 27, 2026 4 min read

Dog searching a trail of scent boxes while an adult handler observes.

Are Bully Sticks Mentally Stimulating? Chewing and the Bored Dog

A long chew gives a dog an absorbing job: occupying rather than taxing, and that is the point of it. What the one trial measured, and what a chew cannot cover.

Aug 27, 2026 7 min read