# Antler "Care"



## mvshepherd (Oct 8, 2010)

Hello everyone, I think this may have been discussed already but I couldn't find an exact answer so am starting a new thread. I just started giving my 3 year old aggressive chewer elk antlers and am wondering how to take care of them since they are so expensive. I guess they are technically "raw," hence my query in this category. I tried raw bones awhile ago but they are so messy and I have carpet in the house.

Most vendors told me to just leave the antlers to dry on their own after being chewed on, but Antler Chews for Dogs - All About Antler Dog Chews says to wash them - I tried that with a couple and I think mold grew on it, probably because they couldn't dry out properly so I threw those out. I just bought another nice big elk antler. She loves it but after just one chewing session, the center of the antler is dark brown. She gnawed the center with her front teeth and got some of the brittle stuff out, then that whole area turned dark brown. Has anyone else seen that on their antlers? If I leave it around, do I need to worry about bugs making a home in the porous center? How do you make sure mold/bacteria doesn't grow on it, esp with all that doggie saliva....? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Assuming the photos uploaded, the left one is the new one with the dark brown center. The right one is the one I threw out - is that whitish stuff mold?


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i give my dog elk antlers and femur bones.
i give him the bones and antlers and that's it.
i don't wash them and they lay around for a long
time. i do check them for cracking and sharp edges.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I just leave them out until they are too small/choking hazard then take away and toss them in the garbage. I haven't had a problem with mold. Bugs, I doubt  would be an issue.
The elk antlers I get are big, and we have a band saw to cut them center-wise, so the marrow is exposed. The dogs want that marrow. 
I don't think the center in your picture is mold, but I also don't know how long you washed/soaked them to moisturize them.


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## wyominggrandma (Jan 2, 2011)

I just use the ones from the elk and deer we shoot during hunting season. Holly has been chewing on one for about 3 months now,she really likes it. I never wash them or anything, just take them off the head and give them to her.Been giving my dogs antlers for years and years. Once they get them too small, I just give them another one. I have boxes of them downstairs.


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## Cheerful1 (Sep 27, 2011)

I give Joey an elk antler I bought from Yellowstone Antlers. I don't wash it; haven't seen any mold or anything funky.


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## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

doggiedad said:


> i give my dog elk antlers and femur bones.
> i give him the bones and antlers and that's it.
> i don't wash them and they lay around for a long
> time. i do check them for cracking and sharp edges.


Same as doggiedad here


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## mvshepherd (Oct 8, 2010)

Thanks to everyone for the assurance that just leaving them out and not washing is fine.

Has anyone seen the center turn brown after gnawing (left photo in my first post)?


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