Become a chew expert

The Chew Guide

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

A shopper lifting a whole dried cow ear with tongs to examine its width.

Choosing a Cow Ear: Size, Odor and What the Labels Mean

We don't sell cow ears. If you are buying one anyway, choose by width rather than the size on the bag, and read what natural and low odor really mean.

Aug 27, 2026 6 min read

Two dried cow-tail sections showing differences in thickness and shape.

Are Cow Tails Safe for Dogs? The Bone, the Fat and the Numbers

We don't sell cow tails. The safety answer anyway: fine for a supervised adult chewer, wrong for a gulper, because the bone works loose part way through.

Aug 27, 2026 6 min read

Are Bully Sticks Rawhide? No, and Here Is the Sixty-Second Way to Tell

No. A bully stick is one dried beef muscle, the beef pizzle; rawhide is cattle hide routed through the leather trade. Here is how to tell them apart by eye.

Aug 27, 2026 6 min read

A hand closing a clear container of dry unused bully sticks on a high pantry shelf.

Odor Free Bully Sticks: What Makes a Chew Odor Free

Every Foodiepaws chew is odor free — bully sticks, lamb collagen and lamb tripe: dried low and slow, one ingredient, fine indoors. How the drying does it.

Aug 27, 2026 6 min read

Pig, goat and lamb illustrations connected to shared bone and keratin material cards.

Pig, Goat and Lamb Trotters: One Question, Three Animals

We don't sell trotters. A dried pig, goat or lamb foot is weight-bearing bone plus hoof keratin, and the animal changes the size, not the material.

Aug 27, 2026 7 min read

An owner and clinician discussing Dental development and Chewing behavior beside a seated puppy.

Are Cow Ears Safe for Puppies? An Age Gate With a Reason Attached

Foodiepaws doesn't sell cow ears. Most puppies can handle one from about 12 weeks, when the baby teeth start dropping out and permanent teeth erupt.

Aug 27, 2026 6 min read

An owner cleaning a tiled floor while the dog rests nearby in a separate comfortable area.

Can Bully Sticks Cause Diarrhea? The Usual Cause Is Not an Allergy

Yes, but the usual cause is dose, not a beef allergy. Tell the three causes apart by timing, then put the chew back on a schedule with real days.

Aug 27, 2026 7 min read

Close side view of a dog sniffing a bully stick with its mouth closed.

Why Do Dogs Love Bully Sticks So Much?

Dogs love bully sticks because chewing is a built-in behavior with a real function, and a dried beef pizzle keeps paying out flavor to the last inch.

Aug 27, 2026 7 min read

A dog-care notebook with blank columns for water, appetite, stool and chew time.

Bully Stick Side Effects, Ranked by How Often They Happen

Soft stool and uncounted calories are the common ones, and both shrink with a smaller stick. Choking, obstruction and a cracked tooth are rare. Ranked.

Aug 27, 2026 7 min read

A large adult dog beside its standing owner, who holds a full-length bully stick vertically at their side.

Bully Sticks for Large Dogs: 12 Inches Is the Floor, Not the Ceiling

A dog over 60 lb should start at a 12-inch bully stick: length keeps the chew outside the mouth, so the three-inch stub arrives late. Where the ceiling sits.

Aug 27, 2026 7 min read

An owner clearing fallen branches from a yard while the dog waits behind a secure garden barrier.

Why Your Dog Eats Sticks, and What to Hand Him Instead

Dogs eat sticks for four reasons: boredom, teething, pica, and a medical problem underneath. Only the last two need a vet. How to tell which one you have.

Aug 27, 2026 7 min read

A single complete bully stick with its natural outline and longitudinal fibrous texture clearly visible.

What Is a Bully Stick? The Straight Answer

A bully stick is dried beef pizzle — bull penis, cut to length and dried hard, one ingredient. Plus what to look at on a stick to tell a real one.

Aug 27, 2026 6 min read