Navigating the world of dog chews can be really difficult especially for new pet owners. It’s no secret that dog’s love to chew! They will chew just about anything; flavor is just a bonus!
When it comes to the king of dog chews, we have to look at the two most popular options: Yak chews and bully sticks.
Here is a detailed comparison between yak chews and bully sticks for dogs. We’re going to compare them directly to help you make a choice that suits your dog's needs.
Yak Chews Vs. Bully Sticks: A Detailed Comparison of the Best Dog Chews
We will compare bully sticks and yak chews based on the following key points and give 1 point to each depending on which one wins each category.
Benefits to Be Compared
- Ingredients
- Nutritional Value
- Long Lasting/ Hardness
- Texture
- Options
- Odor & Mess
- Benefits
- Potential Hazards
- Additives
- Price Comparison
What Are Yak Chews?
Searching for a chew that’s long lasting and nutritious? Enter the yak chew, a cheese chew that is smoked and dried to naturally cure. Made from the milk of yaks, which are the furry behemoths that call the Himalayan region home, these chews are like nothing else you’ve seen on the pet aisle.
They’re all-natural and free from the artificial ingredients that are often found in other chews. No weird chemicals, no artificial colors, no preservatives. Just pure, wholesome goodness for your furry best friend.
And here’s the best part: yak chews are long-lasting, which means your dog will be occupied for hours on end. Say goodbye to the days of a bored, destructive pup. With a yak chew, your furry friend will be happy as a clam (or a yak, if you will).
What Are Bully Sticks
Bully sticks are another nutrient rich chew option made from the pizzle of bulls. They are first harvested and then hung to dry/stretch.
You can find all natural pizzle (usually the smelly ones). If the smell is a bother, you might consider odor free bully sticks, but keep in mind that they may contain formaldehyde or bleach which helps to mask the natural scent. We personally prefer to give them to our dogs as natural as possible and therefore recommend that you do too. WoofCrate only carries bully sticks that are completely natural.
Round 1: Ingredients
In the first round of our showdown, we’ll take a close look at the ingredients in each chew.
Yak chews are typically made from yak and/or cow milk, lime juice and salt. This 3 ingredient list, makes them an ideal choice for dogs with food allergies or sensitivities, as they are free from common allergens like grains or gluten. The salt is only used to help separate the caiseen in the milk, so no need to worry about salt content.
Bully Sticks on the other hand, are made from beef or buffalo pizzle, which is a single ingredient. While this may make them a good option for dogs with sensitive stomachs or allergies to other meats, they are not suitable for dogs with beef or buffalo allergies. They also tend to have an odor due to the nature of the chew.
We’ll give the point to both the yak chew and bully stick for being hypoallergenic, nutritious and having a simple ingredient list.
Points: 1 Yak Chew and 1 Bully Stick
Round 2: Nutritional Value
In the second round of our battle, we’ll take a look at the nutritional value of each chew.
What main nutrients do yak chews offer?
Yak chews provide vital nutrients like protein, calcium, phosphorus, zinc, iron and vitamin A.
- Protein: Yak chews are a great source of protein, which is essential for building and repairing tissues, as well as maintaining a healthy immune system.
- Calcium: Calcium is important for bone health and development, and yak chews are a natural source of this mineral.
- Phosphorus: Phosphorus is another mineral that is important for bone health, as well as for energy production and cell function.
- Zinc: Yak chews contain zinc, which is important for skin and coat health, as well as for immune system function.
- Iron: Iron is essential for the production of red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout the body.
- Vitamin A: Yak chews contain vitamin A, which is important for vision, immune system function, and skin and coat health.
Overall, yak chews can provide dogs with a healthy and satisfying treat that is rich in nutrients. They can help support healthy bones, skin, and coat, as well as boost immune system function and provide energy. However, it’s important to choose high-quality yak chews and monitor your dog while they are chewing to ensure that they are not swallowing large pieces or breaking off small chunks that could be a choking hazard.
Yak Chew Tip
Once the yak chew gets small, it can be rather unsafe for your dog to continue chewing on it. You can take the chew, dip it in some water to soak for 30 seconds and put the yak chew in the microwave. It will turn into popped yak cheese (like a crunchy yak popcorn).
Yak chews are quite hard and although most dogs will be perfectly fine as they will chew and lick the yak chew with all of it’s digestible goodness, you still need to pay attention to your dog while they treat themselves to ensure they don’t swallow it/choke or break a tooth. Check out this resource on safe chews (both yak chew and bully sticks are VOHC approved)
What main nutrients do bully sticks offer?
Bully sticks are also high in protein, but they are higher in fat than yak chews. Depending on your dog’s dietary needs, this may make them a less suitable option. However, the fat content in bully sticks can also provide a good source of energy for active dogs.
- Protein: Bully sticks are a great source of protein, which is essential for building and repairing tissues, as well as maintaining a healthy immune system.
- Chondroitin and Glucosamine: Bully sticks contain chondroitin and glucosamine, which are important for joint health and can help reduce the risk of arthritis in dogs.
- Phosphorus: Bully sticks are a good source of phosphorus, which is important for bone health, as well as for energy production and cell function.
- Iron: Iron is essential for the production of red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout the body, and bully sticks provide a good source of this mineral.
- Magnesium: Magnesium is important for maintaining healthy muscles and nerve function, and bully sticks contain this mineral in significant amounts.
- Vitamin B12: Bully sticks are a good source of vitamin B12, which is important for the production of red blood cells, as well as for nervous system function and energy production.
Overall, bully sticks can provide dogs with a healthy and satisfying treat that is rich in protein and other important nutrients. They can help support healthy joints, bones, and muscles, as well as boost immune system function and provide energy. However, as with any dog treat, it’s important to choose high-quality bully sticks and monitor your dog while they are chewing to ensure that they are not swallowing large pieces or breaking off small chunks that could be a choking hazard.
It can be difficult to quantify the difference between the two. They really both offer a wonderful nutrition list. We’ll give them both a point.
Points: 2 Yak Chew and 2 Bully Stick
Round 3: How Long Does It Chew?
In the third round of our battle, we’ll take a look at how long each chew lasts under the jaws.
This is a subjective test and may require some testing on your own end with your land shark! But, we ran a test with our red nosed Pitbull as well as our Australian Shepherd and it wasn't even a close battle. The yak chew outlasted the bully stick by days to even a week. We ran the test 3 times and had similar results each of the 3.
12" Bully Stick:
Pitbull: Lasted 20-25 minutes of continuous chewing
Australian Shepherd: Lasted 30 minutes of continuous chewing
Yak Chew:
Pitbull: Lasted several hours of continuous chewing over several days
Australian Shepherd: Lasted several hours of continuous chewing over several days
The yak chew takes the cake being a longer lasting dog chew
Points: 3 Yak Chew and 2 Bully Stick
Round 4: Texture
Yak Chew Texture: Hard, Crunchy and Bumpy. This is achieved through the process of drying the cheese.
Bully Stick Texture: Hard, only becoming soft when chewing for long periods of time. Achieved through the drying/stretching process of the meat.
Points: 4 Yak Chew and 3 Bully Sticks
Round 5: Options & Variation
The options for bully sticks can be quite basic. You’re able to purchase bully sticks that are 6” or 12”, sometimes larger and will have the choice of thin/regular or thick.
Yak chews on the other hand have a vast range of choices you can surprise your pup with! Explore options like yak puffs (soft and crunchy) these are akin to crunchy biscuits or different flavors like turmeric, carrot, blueberry, strawberry, coconut or natural.
This win goes to Yak chews for having innovative, tasty options that help to cater to different flavour profiles and preferences.
Points: 5 Yak Chew and 3 Bully Stick
Round 6: Odor and Mess:
Both bully sticks and yak chews don’t really make a mess. Generally, they are hard enough that they don’t break off in pieces. It’s an easy, simple treat to give your dog without worrying. However, you might need to consider where they are chewing it. It’s best to avoid carpet so that there will be no staining.
Bully sticks will have a stronger odor by nature since they are an animal product, Yak chews on the other hand actually have a pleasant slight odor of smoked cheese (which is only noticeable if you hold it up under your nose.
Points: 6 Yak Chew and 3 Bully Stick
Round 7 Benefits:
We covered the main benefits of each chew in the nutritional value section, but you may also want to consider that yak chews can have extra benefits due to the ability to mix the cheese with other healthy foods!
- Coconut Yak Chews
- Carrot Yak Chews
- Turmeric Yak Chews
- Blueberry Yak Chews
- More
Points: 7 Yak Chew and 3 Bully Stick
Potential Hazards
Bully sticks might be considered the safer option when it comes to choking because they are easily digestible in stomach acid if accidentally swallowed. They are also more narrow which can help to avoid suffocation in the case that it was accidentally swallowed.
The nice thing is that dogs are innately smart when chewing/eating and don’t generally opt to swallow things whole. It’s not a huge concern, but please do ensure you monitor your dog at all times when feeding them any treat, or hard/long lasting chew.
This point goes to bully sticks due to their more easily digestible nature and thin profile.
Points: 7 Yak Chew and 4 Bully Stick
Round 8: Additives
Both yak chews and bully sticks don’t generally have any additives. Odourless bully sticks may have some kind of preservative/additive to eliminate or control odor.
At WoofCrate we guarantee a completely natural treat as we do not stock or make any treats or chews that have additives.
Point goes to yak chews as they don’t have an odorless option and therefore do not have any additives or preservatives.
Points: 8 Yak Chew and 4 Bully Stick
What’s Your Match? Yak Chew vs. Bully Stick
Ultimately, the best thing you can do is try both and see which one your furry friend loves. Both bully sticks and yak chews are going to provide an excellent nutritional value, although the yak chew will last a little longer than the bully stick. Let your dog make the decision on which one he/she likes and you’ll have one heck of a happy pup.
Balancing both in moderation is typically the optimal choice, as they provide distinct nutrition profiles, chew times, and more.
WoofCrate offers a few different options for bully sticks. You can try bully's that are stuffed with super greens, cranberry and even blueberry or just get some natural & delicious chews.
If you're unsure of which one is going to suit your pup best, get a bundle and give them all a shot so you can figure out which one is your winner!
You can also learn more about the top 10 benefits of yak chews.
