02 OctEpisode 79 | What is a bully stick? A very detailed answer to an awkward question
Dogs love to chew on bully sticks. We sell loads of them every day at School For The Dogs, and, very often, people ask what they are. The answer? They're penises! This answer makes some people giggle, some gag and then there are those, like Annie, who are just left with more questions. In this episode, Annie interviews Greg Claypool, a second-generation bully stick fabricator, about the origins of this canine delicacy, how they're produced, and what you can do in order to make sure your purchasing ones that don't stink (literally). Warning: This episode is pretty graphic!
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Find Greg Claypool's bully sticks at bullysticksdirect.com and at storeforthedogs.com.
Transcript:
Annie:
I am testing out a new community platform. If you like this episode, and you would like to discuss it with other podcast listeners, please go to schoolforthedogs.com/podcastcommunity. Make an account, it's totally free. If you would like to ask any dog training questions you can do so there as well. Thanks for helping me beta test this new platform.
*Intro*
Hi, my name is Annie Grossman and I'm a dog trainer. This podcast is brought to you by a school for the dogs, a Manhattan based facility I own and operate along with some of the city's finest dog trainers. During this podcast, we'll be answering your questions, geeking out on animal behavior, discussing pet trends and interviewing industry experts. Welcome School for the Dogs podcast.
Annie:
In my career as a professional dog person over the last 10 years or so, I have developed some weird sub interests. Some of which are kind of gross. For instance, over the last few years, I've thought a lot about how we carry dog poop. I have thought deeply about poop bags and poop bag accoutrements. I have also thought a lot about certain dead animal body parts and no body part of any dead animal has taken up quite as much brain space for me as the bully stick, which is a dried bull penis that dogs love to chew on. Particularly as someone who has sold many bully sticks in her life, I have often found myself in the awkward position of having to explain to people that it really is made out of a dried bull penis, which is a conversation that has just concluded with giggles many, many times.
Also, I always think it's like dogs really have it made, you know, I mean, if you are literally consuming another species’s genitals, I think you are the evolutionary winner here and it's not even like the dog had to kill the animal we're just giving it to the dogs because we love them.
Anyway, a few years I felt like, you know, I have fielded so many questions about bully sticks. I need to educate myself a little that about bully sticks. Really? What are they actually, what part the penis are they, are they really penises? Is it like some sort of like tendon that's like penis adjacent? I don't know a lot about bull anatomy. So I, like, spent an hour or two on Google and I wrote it a blog post called, Do you know what a bully stick is?
And there must be a lot of people who are Googling what is a bully stick because this blog post probably has been read by more people than ever read anything else I've written. And I did my best really just from Google searching to try and figure out everything I could about bully sticks, but that was like seven or eight years ago. And I felt like I wanted it to update my research on what a bully stick is. Especially as I'm now with an online store and a physical store. We're selling a lot more bully sticks than ever before. And I'm also just like trying to be more conscientious about everything that we sell in our online store and our actual store. I just, I feel like with all the craziness in the world right now, one thing we can do at least is be thoughtful about what we're consuming or what we're selling.
So I emailed and called Best Bully Sticks, which is a site I have ordered from many a time. And they're great. They have great bulk bully sticks. They have good deals, but I couldn't get anyone on the phone. And I couldn't -I just felt like I was getting lost. And if I eventually found someone, I was just going to get some like, I don't know, press release or pat answer about what a bully stick is. So I looked around some more at other places that sell bully sticks and I found the website bullysticksdirect.com. There was the phone number on the site. So I called up and what you're going to hear is conversation with the company's owner, Greg Claypool. He runs the company, which is based in Rey, Michigan. And it was started by his father, now retired.
If you are at all squeamish, or you are offended by the word penis, or you're in the room with someone who may be offended by this word, this is your official trigger warning. There is a lot of talk about bovine anatomy in this conversation; but I really learned a lot of interesting stuff talking to Greg so I'm hoping you will get something out of this conversation as well.
As of week, we are now stocking Greg's bully sticks exclusively in two lengths and two different widths, both storeforthedogs.com and in our East Village shop. And we are also probably going to be starting to stock his esophagus treats and some treats that we're calling “sack snacks.” That name was thought up by our trainer Em, we had a friendly competition who could figure out what we should call these treats. And I think Em won, by the end of this episode, you should know exactly what “sack snacks” are.
*Music*
Greg:
I’m a second generation when it comes to bully sticks. My father was one of the original pioneers of actually bringing all natural body part chews into the American market. One of the original ones to bring pig ears over from Europe and start selling them in the early eighties. And then he got into the bully sticks.
Annie:
How did your father get started in this line of work?
Greg:
So he actually started right out of high school, he opened up a pet store and owned a couple of pet stores and was selling, you know, everything from puppies to all the treats and chews. And then an opportunity came along where there was, down in Texas, one of the original company, which was Meyer pet products. They're pretty, they're big company. Now they have dog food and so on. My dad joined on with them and they started using all the scrap parts of the cattle that weren't getting used in the slaughter process.
They found out like the homes and a lot of these parts: the bully stick, the pizzle, the bones, it was getting grind up to do a meat meal in it. So they went and started manufacturing it and processing it and putting it into the market and they found out that dogs really started liking it. And that's kind of how he started offering those. And then he would call around pet stores and it was a very hard sell at the very beginning because pet stores, weren't used to buying hooves and cow penises and cow years and pig snouts and all these different things. But it was actually great because they were able to use what essentially was scrap that they were just kind of throwing out and turning it into it so they were able to process the news pretty much, 100% of the slaughter when you go through the entire process with that,
Annie:
What made him then think, you know, I want to go see about these unused animal body parts.
Greg:
Yeah. He was actually at one of the pet expos, as you know, in our industry, in the pet industry, you have SuperZoo and Global are the kind of the two big expos where everybody gets together, the big conferences and while he was down there trying to source products ge seen a booth and he just started talking with a gentleman about it that was a big cattle rancher down in Texas. And they just kind of started talking just the opportunity was available. And he went down there and they bought ovens and they just started experimenting,
Annie:
Experimenting with some parts of the cattle that weren't being used.
Greg:
Yes. Correct.
Annie:
Do you still have a pet store?
Greg:
Yeah, at that time he ended up actually shutting down the pet stores and then going full time into the manufacturing of these different body part items off the cows and pigs.
Annie:
Interesting, so until the 1980s, you're saying bully sticks were not really a thing that dogs got to enjoy.
Greg:
Yes.
Annie:
So those other parts were just being ground up.
Greg:
Yep. They were just being ground up or, uh, you know, thrown away.
Annie:
Were you aware of what your dad did for a living when you were a kid?
Greg:
Um, we always had, because of, they were trying different items and experimenting with different things. There was always be body parts around my house. There was between the femur bone or a knuckle bone or a pig ear. They would just be randomly in his office around the house and friends would come over and they didn't understand it, I guess my dad was very good with sitting down and explaining what he did. And, um, at that time it was he was very busy because it was kind of explosive growth when he started calling around and distributors at the time, it became very, very popular. So it was pretty amazing that my father would made a living off of selling cow parts.
Annie:
Were they called bully sticks when he started selling them? What that what people refer to them as, because it's also often referred to as like pizzle.
Greg:
I'm not exactly sure. Back then, if they originally call it a bully stick or a pizzle or what the name was, I'd have to go back and see if I could find the old price list at that time that they were using.
Annie:
It's interesting to me how they seem like they're never called penises. You know, like best bully sticks is a site that I've ordered from many times. And I did a search on their site to see how many times it actually says this product is made from some kind of penis. And I counted one time on the entire site. Instead we call them bully sticks or pizzle. Do you encounter people being shy about talking about what this product is actually made of? I mean, besides calling a bully sticks, a pizzle and stuff, there's also reference to it being muscle or tendon. Is that something you've encountered a kind of hesitancy to talk about what it actually is?
Greg:
Yes, there is. There's been quite a few times where I've just referenced it as a tendon, just because of the awkwardness of when you start talking about, um it's a cow penis, and then I've been, there's been so many times that I've been in stores talking with the owners or trying to sell them and somebody would, the store owner would go to a customer, “Hey, do you know what this is? And they're like, no, we buy it all the time.” And there is the fact that a lot of people out there don't exactly know what that is. So there's a lot of times where I just start off, it's a tendon and then how many people times, Oh, that's gross. And they kind of throw it back on the counter into the box because it definitely is different when you're talking about, you got a cow penis in your hand.
Annie:
Well, technically a bull penis, but yeah. I mean, is the thing the actual penis, or is it some kind of like ligament? I mean, is the penis a tendon? Like, let's get graphic here. I want to know, like, are we looking at like the dry shaft of an actual penis or is it some kind of thing that's inside the penis that we're looking at?
Greg:
Nope, it's actually 100% penis. So what happens is they kind of go into it with that is when I was saying, um, what's, uh, we specialize in an odor free bully stick. And so to get that, what happens is in the process just gets it, show the point that it is actually a penis is because in the process of manufacturing the bully stick is that we actually slice it open and drain out all the blood in urine, out of it, and then cut off the testicles. Then we drain the urine out of it to get that smell out before we start processing it.
Annie:
So are there some bully sticks manufactured out there where they're not doing it?
Greg:
Yes. Correct. Then that's the big difference, which people don't understand when it comes to bully sticks and buying from a company that's doing it properly because there's actually different ways and proper ways of doing a stick. And the main difference here is, one is the taking the time and the effort- there's a difference between there's some cheaper bully sticks in the market, and then there's premium bully sticks. So an odor free bully stick compared to a smelly bully stick -there's a difference in price, but there's a reason for that price is because due to the odor-free, there's a couple extra steps in the processing of the bully stick, which is done by hand. So you have…it's more labor intensive to get an odor free bully stick. And then also a lot of bullies sticks manufacturers, dry the bully sticks, and we hang them and dry them in ovens, but there's a lot of places that actually just dry them outside in the sun.
So when you think about that, that's a very scary because of…you're having flies, you're having meat out in the sun, roasting at these very hot temperatures, depending on which country and where there manufactured at. And that's the difference is when you get into it, you have to be very careful because of the process. And with that salmonella, E Coli that's a big issue when it comes to any of these natural body parts. And a lot of times that has because of the processing, they're doing it, they're cutting corners, as you would say, or trying to do a cheaper… make it cheaper instead of doing it the correct way. So when you buy bully sticks, it's worth doing the research and making sure you know where that bully stick is coming from.
Annie:
So you want to make sure that it is oven dried, not air dried, sounds like. You want to make sure that it's cleaned before drying. And what you're saying is also well, from what I understand, the longer it dries, the less smelly it's going to be, right?
Greg:
Well, it's actually the making sure that you drain the blood and the urine out of it properly because once you cook it and then you have that smell. So when you look at an end of a bully stick, the ones that have a yellow tint to them, that means there's still urine in it. And that's where the smell is coming from. When a dog starts chewing on it, it's actually a urine smell or a blood smell is letting off that offensive odor. But if you look at a bully stick that is clear at the very top, that means that the blood and the urine was cleaned out of it properly. So that's the difference when you look at a bully stick where you can really tell if it's odor free or not, if there's a yellow tint, or if it's just white.
Annie:
Since we're getting into the nitty gritty, what happens to the testicles? Are those made into any other things?
Greg:
Actually, they do. So on a Bully Stick Direct, I call it bully stick ball jerky. So what we do actually is we take the testicles, we slice them and they turn into a jerky, a very soft jerky. So we do use that as well. And once again, we put the name on it, Bully Stick Ball Jerky. Because once again, it kind of goes back to when I was trying to figure out a name for that. It kind of goes back to when you were asking about, are we open about actually calling it a penis or a testicle? So that was one of the things that I was trying to make. And it was tough because.. make a tough choice because I didn't want to say a bully stick testicle jerky. So I figured that trying to get a name that wasn't in a way too offensive, as you would say to some people. And so that's why, but we do use the testicles as well to make a jerky.
Annie:
Do the dogs like the bully stick ball jerky.
Greg:
Yes, they do. It's great for… a lot of times, a bully stick is a very hard chew. So if you have an elder dog or a dog that's missing teeth that likes bully sticks, it's a great alternative to the bully sticks because you're still getting… the dogs still enjoying that part of a bully stick. It's just a different way or alternative to the regular bully sticks for dogs that can't chew on a bully stick.
Annie:
Is there any kind of products made from cows-from the female ones? Is there like cow udder jerky or something like that?
Greg:
No, I haven't seen anything in that case. I mean, pretty much the only difference they have all the same parts except for that part, as we know, and I know there's anything that we use with that part of a female.
Annie:
There's no cow vagina chews out there.
Greg:
No.
Annie:
I feel like it's there. I wonder if it's like, if, because we live in this male dominated society, if like, that's why we don't talk about the fact that these are penises. If they were vaginas that would be talked about all the time.
Now let's talk about sourcing, where do you get your bull parts? And are they treated in the same location where the bulls are raised and slaughtered?
Greg:
So Bully Stick Direct sources sticks from multiple different countries. One of the reason why is that there's less and less bulls in existence to this day because of artificial insemination. So they're not needing as many bulls. Majority of our product is now getting sourced from South America. And the big reason is why I would love to have all American made bully sticks, but the problem is in the United States with artificial insemination, there's less and less bulls out there to meet all the demand of how many people buy it in the US markets. So we do get a limited amount of product from the United States and a majority of our product is coming from South America, from Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia.
Annie:
Okay. And what do you look for when you are getting bull parts or choosing, I guess, I don't know, what do you call it? A farm? A processor?
Greg:
So I partner up with manufacturers and so with that it's comes down to integrity as well. And when you go into a lot of these countries, it's making sure that they're doing the process correctly. And the biggest concern with bully sticks and manufacturing- it's no different than the meat industries anywhere- it's that you have to take it very seriously because of salmonella, E coli, and some different things that can happen through the process of doing these types of parts and that's the cleanliness of the manufacturing facility using stainless steel appliances and having regulations set up to make sure that it's done properly and safely and being healthy through the process. So I partner with manufacturers that have this entire supply chain together. And when I say that it's coming down to the farming to the slaughtering then to the processing.
So there's those three main steps. And that's one of the benefits of doing it that way is because also when I was talking about the difference between odor free and non odor free is a lot of times when you slaughter cattle and you get the parts and you send them to manufacturing, a lot of time, you freeze them. And then when they get to the manufacturing, you unfreeze them, then you process some. But the problem is when you do that, that blood and urine is very, very difficult to clean properly to get them odor free. So if you're able to get fresh, raw material, meaning non frozen to the processing facility and clean them that way, that's how we're able to get a hundred percent odor free bully sticks. So when I try to find manufacturers to partner with throughout South America, I personally go down there, meet with them, go through there, make sure everything's done properly and see if they are able to get that fresh material.
Annie:
Okay. They are shipped to you then.
Greg:
Yep. So after the processing we go through and then it is shipped up here to Michigan and then we process them here. We also do a separate step as well, just make sure is actually everything comes into the United States or to Michigan in bulk packaging. And then we process them here just as an extra cautious layer of making sure, looking at all the product before we package it in bags and put it out to the market. We want to make sure that it meets our quality control before we send it out there. And that's the big difference is-we're not the biggest guys in the market. There's definitely some Goliathsout there where they have all their manufacturing done and their packaging done down there, Where being a smaller company, we have a premium process. We take that time to make sure that we're putting out product that's good quality that meets our standards and that nothing that's going to go out there that could harm any of the dogs out there.
Annie
How big is a bull penis before it gets chopped up into bully stick length?
Greg:
A bully stick is usually between 32 and 36 inches standard size and bully sticks are six and 12 inches. But when we first cut the bully sticks, it's actually very long, 32 to 36 inches and we cut them. Well, the thing is that the bully stick is very large at the very top and then it comes down to a point which is skinnier. So when you buy bully sticks, you have the option of different sizing and everybody has their own wording for the different sizes because you are where you could just break it down to a small, medium, large, extra large bully stick. And that's all depends on the weight and the dimensions of the bully sticks itself or the density of it. And so when you compare apples to apples between say Best Bully Sticks and Bully Sticks Direct is that we offer 100% of the time odor free bully sticks.
Annie:
I mean are they really odor-free. I always tell people like, it's still, it's still an animal part. Like it still might smell. Do you feel like you can really say that they're totally odor-free or they're like less smelly than they could be?
Greg:
It just depends on the processing. There are bully sticks odor free, doesn't have an offensive odor. And once again, that all comes down to the processing of the bully stick, how well you properly clean the bully stick at the end of the day. So there is and there's a lot of product that actually comes out of certain countries where it's very hard to make an odor free bully stick because what the cattle are grazing on with free raised or out there grazing on grass and so on and that's one thing. But in certain countries, there's a lot of spices and plants that they're eating at actually make the process of getting it odor free a lot different and you're seeing it. I don't know if you ever actually got a really bad bully stick as far as older, uh, they put it on their couch or behind the chair or something. And you don't notice that you're having that offensive odor and there are odor free bully sticks.
Annie:
Ok, you have convinced me.
Greg:
I’ve cone this, This has been my life. So I might be rattling out a little bit more, but it's not every day that I get to talk about something that I truly love and enjoy and what I do for a living. So this is pretty amazing talking to you about this.
Annie:
Good. I'm glad. So, you know, you say that they're normally like 36 or so inches, right? And then they get cut up. So that is sorry to get graphic, but it's like the actual penis. Does it start out that long or does it like when it's dried, it gets that long. Like our cow penis is 36 inches long or bull penises I should say.
Greg:
They are very long, but what we do, we actually stretch them out or put a weight at the end of them to stretch them out as we put them into the oven. Some manufacturers, they lay them on racks and we personally hang them. And then we put a weight at the very end of them to stretch them out. And that also helps with the drainage as I keep coming back to the process of draining out the blood and urine properly is that we hang them to make sure as we wash them, it's draining down, out the tip of it. So we actually- to get to the 32 to 36 inches that is with actually stretching them out.
Annie:
I'm assuming this is done after the bull is deceased.
Greg:
Yes, that is correct. We purchase product from the slaughter houses. So they go through the process. So this is actually bully sticks. A lot of this is byproduct, but you would actually be amazed that the price of bully sticks continues to go up. One of the reason why is because there are countries that actually eat bully sticks that actually buy them and eat them as regular food.
Annie:
I hesitate to say it, but tell me more.
Greg:
There's just countries that it's a delicacy for them. So it's no different
Annie:
Is China the main country?
Greg:
Yes, it is. China is the main country that is actually buying up a lot of the bully sticks. And that's what we're competing against now is for the raw material. We're competing against China because they come in there and buy it from the slaughter houses themselves. And that's, what's been driving up the price. I mean, bully sticks are not a cheap product over the years. That is the reason why is because there's less and less bold and more and more demand for the product itself.
Annie:
More and more demand because people are getting more interested in eating it themselves?
Greg:
Yeah. As the growth of say, China, they're buying more and more of it. So they're trying to source and they come in there and pay a premium price. And it used to be some of these items, especially bully stick was just a by-product. There wasn't really a use for them. So you could get them at a fairly good price. But now that it's becoming more of a premium product as an edible food in certain countries, that's bringing up the price
Annie:
I have to ask, have you eaten bull penis yourself?
Greg:
I have not.
Annie:
You're not curious?
Greg:
I'm not that curious. I mean, I've dealt with bull pizzles, my entire lifestyle selling them, and that's just something that has never sparked my interest to actually try it.
Annie:
Okay. And you talked about them being stretched sometimes at the end of the bull penis, it looks like the tip. Is that really what it is like the tip of like the fore skin of a penis?
Greg:
Yep. It's the, and we call it end skin yup.
Annie
The end skin. So before you stretch it out. How long is the non stretched bully stick?
Greg:
Um, I would say about 20 to 24 inches.
Annie:
And I've seen, I mean, I know from purchasing bully sticks, you can get ones that are like thicker cuts and thinner cuts. Is that just depending on the size of the bull it came from, or does that have to do with how much it was stretched?
Greg:
The type of bowl that it came from. And then also, because it starts out thicker at the very beginning where the penis meets the testicles and then it gets thinner as it gets further out. But when you do it, that's the difference between when you buy a small six to eight to a monster bully stick, you're buying the first cut. So the skinny one is usually connected to the end skin and the thickest biggest one is the largest where starts of that's connected to the testicles.
Annie:
Interesting.
Greg:
Yeah, there are different sizes with bully sticks, not just a straight bully stick, but you can get them in springs or the full length canes. There's donuts out there. And so it's just different variations of a bully stick. But when you get into those different variations, they're a little bit more expensive the reason why is because it's just more labor intensive than just hanging them, drying them, because then there's another process of say a spring -ou have to actually take the bully stick and wrap it around a pole. And that's how it gets the spring look to it,
Annie:
The curled ones. Then there's braided ones. So I guess it ‘s omeone's job to braid them. There's people who actually make walking sticks for people out of bully sticks.
Greg:
Yeah. I viewed ats expos before I've had the 36 inch bullies stick where I've kind of just had it and leaned it up, you know, and as I'm standing there to take some pressure off my feet, so I've definitely used that as well. So yeah, there's definitely different variations. I've never seen it actually, if somebody use it and promoted it that way. So that's pretty interesting. I'm going to have to do some research later on that myself.
Annie:
And it also looks like on your site that you sell pig penises. Is that right?
Greg:
Yes. Correct.
Annie:
Tell me more, Greg. I mean, is there a reason they're not as popular and well-known and, and, and what do we call a pig penis? If we can't call it a bully..
Greg:
I call it a pig pizzle. Because as you say, there's a lot of different variation, so it's still the penis of a pig, but they're much smaller. You don't get the length, the thickness of them. They're not like a bull’s. I don't think they're as popular because for a bigger, heavy chewer they go through them a lot quicker. They're great for small dogs. As far as if you're looking for a chew, that's longer lasting a pig pizzle is definitely a great option for you.
Annie:
Interesting. Okay.
Greg:
It's the same process as the cow, the same process but those ones are pretty much- you're not able to get those odor free because they're not large enough to cut open and split and clean properly. So it's a much harder process. And I just don't know if there's anybody out there that has an odor free pig pizzle.
Annie:
Okay. And you also sell turkey tendons.
Greg:
Yes.
Annie:
Tell me about Turkey tendons. They look like rawhide little, I don't know what you call those like straws.
Greg:
Yeah. This is actually non rawhide. That's the great thing about the turkey tendons. The turkey tendons have been amazing. I have not come across the dog yet that has not liked the turkey tendons. They absolutely love them. And the process is once again, is that with a turkey tendon are they're raw hide free 100% digestible single ingredient. So the turkey tendons are more of a jerky than a chew. So it's more of, I categorize like bully sticks as a chew and the turkey tendons are more of a treat.
Annie:
Right. Because they eat them. It's not like they're lying in bed, working on it for an hour..
Greg:
Yup, exactly. And that's the big difference is that just educating people and getting the information out there is because people are still not fully know the difference between a treat and a chew. And a lot of times I see that by the feedback people expect like a turkey tendon to be more of a chew. So it's just really depends on the type of product, but that's why bully sticks are so popular. Because as far as a single ingredient, all natural, fully digestible treat, there's nothing else out there that's going to last as long as a bully stick.
Annie:
And what's going on with your moo taffy. What is that?
Greg:
Yeah. Moo Taffy is the esophagus. So that's a great chew. I would say that that's a product that's right between a treat. Taffy is a cheaper alternative to a bully stick. It's still a chew. It's not going to last as long, but the process of when they actually really have to work on it. So that's the cheaper alternative to a bully stick if a bully stick is just out of your price range, you're not getting enough of them. And you want to treat in between there. I would definitely always back recommend moo taffy.
Annie:
So I know your parents are retired now. I'm curious what they think about this model that you now have of selling directly to the customer. Whereas they, I think from what you said, I understand they were selling mostly through distributors to stores and also what they think about the fact that bully sticks are so much more popular than they were back when they started out.
Greg:
Yeah. They had a tough time. That was the transition from the old model to the new model. And my test started in it the way that they did business and especially in the pet industry where distributors played a pivotal part with selling, a lot of times, when I was doing sales for my parents' company through my life, as we would sell directly to the distributors, they would sell directly to the retail stores. So the whole model of selling was different. So my dad had a tough time with the transition of the old model to the new model, with the internet and going online and doing that
Annie:
Tough time, sort of with the actual business part of it, but are they tickled to see how popular bully sticks are?
Greg:
They are my dad, it's in my, it's kind of in my blood, my dad loved selling and being in the pet industry and selling bully sticks and being part of what this has become, he loves it. So it's great. And it gives me and my father an opportunity to still to this day, talk about product and what's going on and manufacturing, and what's the new trends and what's happening. So it actually is great, not just from that standpoint, but for something that me and my dad have in common that we can sit down and have these talks about because it just, it does his eyes light up when I start talking about bully sticks and just talking about them in general.
Annie:
What's next for the dried animal part chew industry for dogs?
Greg:
Alternative protein sources. The thing is with like a cow, we pretty much used every product and manufactured them. There's only so many parts, but now you're getting this scene and I seen it with like the Turkey tendons, it's alternative protein source and it's no different than what the pet foods out there you see for a chicken or turkey or venison. So I think that the future is offering different protein sources or different products if it's from a turkey or a deer or and so on. So I think that's where a lot of this is moving is just different and a lot of dogs, it's good to switch up the protein that you're giving them. If you're giving them just beef, you know, just beef food and beef products it might be worth throwing in a different protein source in there as well.
Annie:
Well, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me. I am thrilled to get so much information on this product that I've been selling for years. And I think our listeners will enjoy knowing what it is they're giving to their dogs. At the very least, I think it's good that we are giving this whole food to our dogs that is single ingredient and it's not going to waste. I'm sure you would agree?
Greg:
Oh yeah, absolutely. That's the best part about it is less product that you're out and being able to use in this situation, being able to use 100% of the slaughter is just amazing. I mean, just process of doing that. So, and then plus finding a product that's so rich in protein and good for animals as well.
*music*
Annie:
You know, there's a lot of things I really love about podcasting. One thing I love is that it gives me an excuse to talk to people who are passionate about what they're doing and to learn something new about something I knew nothing about like dried animal genitals.
It's also fun because it's a little bit like making a mix tape sometimes where I can add in little audio bites or music or whatever. Uh, but one really fun thing is that it also gives me an opportunity to commission. I never in my life thought I would be a musical patron, but here I am, I have these two books of music that for whatever reason is copyright free. In most cases it's because a copyright lapsed or was never renewed. And so I sometimes thumb through this book and see if there's anything appropriate for any episodes, which is where I found this very old song “Bully of the Town.”
And I asked my internet friends, Bill and Lizzie, who are based in Tasmania to record a version of it. And, you know, I say I'm a patron. I don't actually pay anything and I don't pay them at all. They do it for the just the pure love of playing the ukulele. And it's pretty thrilling. I feel like I have this ukulele jukebox that's 10,000 miles away. Make sure to check out Toast Garden, youtube.com/toastgarden.
You can buy Greg's special bully sticks and so much more at bullysticksdirect.com, or you can also now find them storeforthedogs.com.
Two little addendums for this episode. One is after I spoke with Greg, I was wondering what kind of, uh, cows we eat? Do we cows? Or do we eat bulls? Because it sounds like there are fewer bulls than there used to be. And he explained that we actually generally eat castrated males, which are called steer and their penises end up being thinner than the non castrated males. And so their penises are actually what, like the junior sized bully sticks are made from.
The other thing that happened after I recorded this episode with Greg was that, of course, I then started to think about cow vaginas. I just couldn't stop myself wondering what happens with the cow vagina is that used for something too? Am I some kind of awful disgusting weirdo? Maybe? I don't know. Anyway, what I found was that there was an ancient Roman cookbook, very famous in the ancient world. And in this cookbook, there is a recipe for cow vagina. There's this cookbook that was written in the first century AD that offers up several ways to cook cow vagina. All you need is some pepper, celery seed, dry mint, laser root, honey, vinegar and broth and of course, a cow.
Thanks so much for listening. You can support School for the dogs podcast by subscribing, leaving a five-star review, telling your friends and shopping in our online store. Learn more about School for the dogs and sign up for lots of free training resources on our website Schoolforthedogs.com.
Links:
Do You Know What a Bully Stick Is?
