After reviewing all the HORROR photos of bits and pieces, "sweepings", hanger wires, strings, etc in these various companies' 1-2 lb "value" bags of BULLY STICK PIECES, I went with "NATURAL FARM" "2-3 inch small bully sticks 1LB Value Pack". At first I thought I was getting "overcharged" for only ONE pound while other companies offered TWO pounds for a comparable price. AND the word "SMALL" concerned me that these would be SMALL bully sticks - you know - PENCILS - probably hollow pencils at that - NOT SO! I went with them because they have their own production facilities, state they oversee every step of production and I was SO pleased with their 3 inch trachea pieces - beyond compare. SO - I hit "buy now" for Natural Farm's version.
WOW - was I beyond pleased.
FIRST - SIZE. I laid out all the pieces. They are not little nubs, tips or scraps. In fact, only 9 fell into the 2" size range. 27 measured in the 2-3 inch range (leaning closer to three inches) and 18 in the 3-4 inch range.
SECOND - SHAPE. Photos of other brands (even Best Bully) showed pointy "ends" and "ringed" segments and segements with apparently the hanging wires used in drying. In other words - SCRAPS that should be ground up to make bully chips or coat "kabobs"! NOT THESE! These all look like PREMIUM, PREMIUM, PREMIUM bully sticks after being sawed to "size" and these are the extra inches. NOT THE FLOOR SWEEPINGS that couldn't be sold as PREMIUM bully sticks. The ends of each stick show the evidence of slight "shredding" from being sawed AFTER DRYING - in otherwords - to "cut to size" - not floor sweepings. WOW is all I can say. So I'll say it again: WOW! ! !
THIRD - HOLLOW vs SOLID - NONE of these sticks are hollow. They are all "FULL" - if you purchase bully sticks you will know what that means. SOLID sticks! And none of the sticks are "wrinkled" like a dehydrated "gullet stick". These are HARD, SOLID, "PLUMP", EXACTLY what you hope for.
FOURTH - DIAMETER. Are these pencil bullies? NO WAY! 1 was what I would call a pencil bully stick (but not hollow) - in the 3-4 inch pile. The rest were the PREMIUM bully sticks you pay EXHORBITANT prices for. In addition, 7 of the 2-3 inchers were those extra wide, "JUMBO WIDTH" and "JUMBO THICKNESS" bullies and 2 of the 3-4 inchers fell into that category. 4 of the 2 inchers were the jumbos.
FIFTH - QUALITY - These are all UNIFORM in quality and range from light tan to darker brown in color. None are "shrivelled" or hollow. None smell. All are HARD, SOLID, the most premium and beyond quality standards I have ever seen. Again, the only way I can describe these is PREMIUM and some JUMBO bully sticks cut to size and these are the extra inches left over.
SIXTH - "FLAVOR" - let's face it - no matter how much I think I got a good deal by "looks", if my dog doesn't like them, they were a waste of money. THEY MUST SMELL AND TASTE GREAT because my dog goes CRAZY when I handle the bag and drops whatever chew he is working on to work on one of these until his jaw muscles are exhausted. The "SMELL" I am referring to is not a human detectable odor, but one that only dogs detect. To me, they are ODORLESS and CLEAN. They are not odorless to my dog. GREAT!
BOTTOM LINE - These are NOT SNACKS (like a gullet stick) and NOT SCRAPS. These are over the top quality HARD, SOLID, PREMIUM bully sticks. In my opinion and according to appearances, they are the pieces left ater PREMIUM and JUMBO bully sticks were cut to a precise length (6 or 12 inches) and which couldn't be sold due to length. These are NOT SCRAPS!!! If you have a dog that length will not matter to, these are the VALUE PACK they are represented to be. I have a MinPin service dog. A 6 inch bully stick is about a week's worth of chewing (along with alternating between other chews like Lambzearz (2-4 day chew) and Natural Farm Beef Trachea 3" pieces (2 day chew). It's not that my dog couldn't eat the chews faster, it's that they are SO HARD they take that long to chew and rest and return. THAT is value. Even if your dog is "big" and you are considering a "value pack" of "small pieces" - THIS IS THE PACK!!!! AWESOME.
PROS - I received clean, long-lasting shorter PREMIUM and JUMBO bullies to take with me or use at home - these are PERFECT size even great for the car crate. AND - most important - my dog LOVES THEM.
CONS - NONE!!!! I will definitely buy this value pack again when I run out. I am happy with these and the 3" trachea from NATURAL FARM as well. The only CON is - CHEWY.com doesn't carry any NATURAL FARM products.
I hope this review was helpful.
AND I HOPE NATURAL FARM MAKES SURE THIS REVIEW REMAINS ACCURATE.
Keep up the great products!!!! We and our dogs apprecieate them.
100% Beef
