Yak Chews vs Bully Sticks — Which Is Better?

Choosing the best dog chew for your furry friends is not an easy task. There are many options with their own pros and cons.

Yak chews (or yak cheese dog treats) and bully sticks are two old players in the dog chew game. And both have been serving dog parents and their four-legged companions quite well.

Many get confused when choosing between these products. Both are made for the same purpose despite having different characteristics.

Here is a detailed comparison between yak chews and bully sticks and which you should choose for your dog, depending on your and your dog’s preferences.

We will be comparing these products on a few bases and giving them points for being better in each category.

In the end, you should have a clear idea about which one you should pick.

Yak Chews vs. Bully Sticks: A Detailed Comparison

We will be comparing these products based on the following points:

• Ingredients
• Nutritional Value
• Hardness/Long-lasting nature
• Texture
• Variants
• Messiness and Odor
• Additives
• Benefits/Use cases
• Potential Health hazards
• Price Comparison

1. Ingredients

Both yak cheese dog chews and bully sticks are chews made with limited ingredients.

Yak chews or yak bones (like our Tibetan Dog Chews) are usually made using four ingredients — yak milk, cow milk, salt, and lime. They all have their unique roles in creating these cheese sticks.

Bully Sticks, on the other hand, can be considered a single-ingredient product — they are made from bull penises.

This means the yak cheese chews have a more complicated production method than bully sticks.

Know more: How Are Yak Cheese Dog Chews Made?

How the ingredients are sourced is also another thing to consider.

Yak chews are made from ethically-sourced yak and cow milk. Bully sticks, however, are usually made from beef byproducts from slaughterhouses.

In this category, yak chews take the point!

2. Nutritional Value

Yak cheese dog chews and bully sticks offer different nutritional value because of their making.

Cheese chew sticks are made of milk and, therefore, rich in protein and calcium. Bully sticks are high in protein and amino acids.

However, the difference between them is in their calorie content. Yak chews, on average, contain more calories than bully sticks.

Because of low calorie count, bully sticks take this round!

3. Hardness/Long-lasting Nature

Yak milk bones are one of the hardest edible dog chews on the market. They are more long-lasting than bully sticks.

While a voracious chewer might finish a bully stick in a few minutes, they usually take longer (hours or even days) to finish a bar of yak cheese chew.

For their longer-lasting nature, yak bones win this one!

4. Texture

Both yak cheese dog bones and bully sticks are textured dog chews. Your dog should enjoy either one of these.

Yak cheese dog chew from Tibetan Dog Chew

In yak chews, the texture is achieved during the cheese drying process. Bully sticks get their texture when the meat is stretched, dried, and braided.

We declare this one a draw as both products are similar in this aspect.

5. Variants

Yak chews are usually found in various sizes and levels of hardness. Cheese sticks are the harder products, cut into different sizes for dogs of varying age groups, sizes, breeds, and chewing tendencies.

Then there are cheese puffs (like our Tibetan Crunchy Cheese Puffs), which are softer, milk-made treats. They are akin to training treats and dog biscuits.

Bully sticks, too, come in a few variants. For aggressive chewers, there are braided bully sticks. There are straight sticks for nibblers and slow chewers, and for the more intelligent pups, there are bully rings.

For the size and hardness choices, yak chews take the point!

6. Messiness and Odor

Yak cheese treats are the less smelly chew between these two products. These hard chews have a minimal odor, and some companies even add safe flavorings and fragrances to their chews.

Bully sticks are more smelly because of a few factors.

Because they are byproducts of meat factories, they can smell like blood, urine, and even dead animals.

Further, bully sticks that have not been well-cooked or dried smell more than those that have.

They can leave a lasting smell in your house; we humans do not like that.

These chews are on par when talking about messiness. They do not stain your carpets and furniture.

As yak chews are less smelly than bully sticks, the point goes to cheese dog chews!

7. Additives

Yak treats come out on top over bully sticks in this battle. This is because cheese chews are mostly additive-free.

We at Tibetan Dog Chew do not add anything artificial to our hard chews. But there are a few other manufacturers who add flavorings to theirs.

Further, they also do not contain grain and gluten.

As for bully sticks, they also usually do not have additives. However, there have been cases where the makers added Sodium Metabisulfite, a chemical preservative, to their bully sticks.

This preservative has been recognized as harmful in meat products by the FDA.

So, yak chews, again, take the cake!

8. Benefits/Use Cases

Both yak chews and bully sticks have a similar use case. Dog parents use these products to keep their dogs busy and prevent them from chewing on other things like shoes and furniture.

Further, dog chews can also be useful in dog training and exercise.

Dog chews might also be useful in helping cases of dog anxiety and destructive chewing. So, either of these could work on that front.

In depth: Can Dog Chews Help with Dog Anxiety?

However, as yak chews last longer on average, these are preferred more by dog parents with aggressive chewers. Bully sticks are more suitable for people who keep their pups busy for shorter periods.

This one, too, is a draw!

9. Potential Health Hazards

All dog chews, not just yak chews and bully sticks, post a common problem — choking hazard. Therefore, you must supervise your dog while they chew any kind of dog treat.

As for specific hazards, as yak chews are hard, they can, in rare cases, chip and splinter. Small pieces of these chews can cause digestive upsets.

Bully sticks, as mentioned above, can sometimes contain preservatives that can pose health risks to dogs. They might also be contaminated with bacteria.

The lack of preservatives and additives gives yak chews the win on this one!

10. Price Comparison

As yak cheese dog chews and bully sticks are competing products, their price might be one of the deciding factors for you. In this category, yak chews seem to have the upper hand.

On average, yak chews are a better deal than bully sticks, price-wise. They are a cheaper alternative to competing products.

Of course, having more size variants does not hurt, either.

For their lower-on-average pricing, yak chews take the win!

Verdict

Here are the results based on the points:

• Yak chews: seven points
• Bully sticks: one point
• Draw: two points

Going by this, yak chews come out as the superior product!

However, these choices are rarely as simple as choosing the product with more wins.

So, we recommend giving your dog both of these chews to try. See which one they like more before buying in bulk.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Are Yak Chews High in Calories?

Yak chews can be calorie-dense due to their concentrated nature. While they offer a long-lasting chew, it's essential to consider portion size, especially for smaller dogs, to avoid excessive calorie intake. Always factor in these treats as part of your dog's daily calorie allowance to help maintain a healthy weight.

You can order our Tibetan Dog Chews from here or through Amazon.

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While you are here, get better informed about dog parenting and items dogs can and cannot eat.