NOT ALL BEEF PIZZLE IS CREATED EQUAL (more on this later)
Beef pizzle, or bully sticks are made from the penis of a bull or steer. There are even some bison and buffalo pizzle's available in the market.
The use of a beef or bull pizzle as a dog chew came about from figuring out what do to with every part of the cattle once it was slaughtered. As a high in protein long lasting organ, it was a perfect fit to dry and turn into a chew.
Beef pizzle will vary from thick to thin, as well as from odor free to quite smelly.
Smelly or not?
This comes about due to how its processed. The way we like to explain it, is by comparing it with a fish store. If you ever walk by a fish store in the evening after they have washed everything down, it may smell like stinky fish. But if you buy fresh fish and cook it, it smells like fish, not dead fish. If the pizzle is taken from the carcass and kept fresh, and then properly cleaned and dried in a proper way, that gets rid of most of the odor, by not allowing it to star smelling in the first place.
Thick or thin?
This is usually dependent on the origin of the raw materials. In the USA, most cattle are steers and are slaughtered at around 18 months, that and the fact that they are missing some of the hormones', makes their pizzle not develop as large as a south American bull that is almost 4 years old. Therefore, South American bull pizzle is usually thicker then American.
Is beef Pizzle Safe?
Generally speaking, anything made in the USA and sold by a reputable company, will be safe.
The USDA has pretty strict requirements for anyone who wants to import. They require irradiation that kills bacteria, parasites or salmonella. So while there have been outbreaks in the past from product imported from Asia, they are generally safe.
TickledPets Bully Sticks
TickledPet sources and makes its own pizzle in the USA. Our secret method of processing keeps them odor free. We source from bulls as well as steer, so we have a variety of sizes of beef pizzle, from jumbo to just average.
To see our bully sticks, including our Odor Free USA Pizzle, click here.
