Teeth Cleaning

[Kat762]

My BC Finn is just over a year old, and I've noticed that his teeth ,particularly the side and rear molars, are quite stained/tartary. Certainly not the white teeth you would normally see on a young dog.His teeth are brushed regularly,3x a week.He is on dry kibble ( we rotate brands: Innova,Evo,Solid Gold & Wilderness ) and he gets canned food ( usually wilderness ) once a week.My husband gives him bully stix to chew on, we're phasing those out in case they stain but it hasn't made a difference yet.( Yuk, I don't much like them anyway ).

My husband is pushing to make an appt for him at the vet for a dental cleaning,however because I used to work for the vet as an asst, I am not inclined to want to put a dog ( esp a young dog, esp a border collie, esp MY border collie ) under anesthesia unless it is absolutely necessary.

Has anyone else had this situation, or have any suggestions , or ideas what would be causing this at such a young age ?

[Bo Peep]

The vet will probably say it's way too young. Give raw bones or something to chew on. Kong's, etc... Dogs teeth at that age shouldn't have any tarter, might be the food you choose- I'm no expert. Even at 5 or so years, if regularly fed toys and good bones, there should NOT be a problem. I, also, would love to follow this thread as I have a rescue with some tartar.

[bc4ever]

My husband is pushing to make an appt for him at the vet for a dental cleaning,however because I used to work for the vet as an asst, I am not inclined to want to put a dog ( esp a young dog, esp a border collie, esp MY border collie ) under anesthesia unless it is absolutely necessary.

 

I've been putting off getting Scooter's teeth cleaned too, due to the anesthesia thing. He's 3 1/2 years old, but his teeth too seemed to get a lot of tartar early on. I'm just a little uneasy about the cleaning thing since he had problems when we had him neutered when he was younger.

[stockdogranch]

Raw Meaty Bones. Regularly. Or just raw food,

 

A

[Lenajo]

Ditto

 

Raw Meaty Bones. Regularly. Or just raw food,

 

A

[Rockstar]

Raw Meaty Bones. Regularly. Or just raw food,

 

A

 

How regularly? Once a week? Twice?

My boy Kipp is just over a year also and came to us with tartar/icky teeth that I haven't experienced with younger dogs. He eats dry kibble, twice a day. No wet food whatsoever. He won't chew rawhides or bully sticks, but I'm sure he would love some raw meaty bones on a regular basis!! But I don't want to overdo it either.... Thanks!

[bc4ever]

Raw Meaty Bones. Regularly. Or just raw food,

 

A

Would that be likely to upset his stomach? Would I introduce them slowly, like when switching over to a new brand of dog food? Will that clear up tartar that's already on the teeth, or just keep more from forming? I know...lots of questions.

[Root Beer]

When Maddie's vet recommended a teeth cleaning, I started giving her raw chicken quarters (small-ish ones) or turkey necks in place of her dinner 3 - 4 nights per week. I do feed twice a day, so she gets her regular breakfast in the morning and then in the evening she gets the raw meaty bones.

 

I didn't do this gradually. I raw feed Speedy and Dean, so to me giving raw meaty bones is a normal part of life. She had no issues with this being incorporated into her diet.

 

It has been about a year now and her teeth are much, much better. When she went in for her annual exam this last time, there was no talk of teeth cleaning and the vet wrote on her sheet that her teeth were in good condition.

[bc4ever]

Thanks for the info! I've been trying to decide what to do about the raw food diet. So many opinions, but I think I'm going to try it!

[Root Beer]

Thanks for the info! I've been trying to decide what to do about the raw food diet. So many opinions, but I think I'm going to try it!

 

You might want to get hold of a small book called "Raw Dog Food" by Carina Beth MacDonald. I found it incredibly helpful when I was getting started and it really helped me have the "guts" to give my dogs their first bones.

[bc4ever]

You might want to get hold of a small book called "Raw Dog Food" by Carina Beth MacDonald. I found it incredibly helpful when I was getting started and it really helped me have the "guts" to give my dogs their first bones.

 

Thank you! I'll look for it tomorrow.

[Guest SweetJordan]

When I adopted Riley at 15 months I thought her teeth looked horrible. She had a lot of tartar and I hated it every time I saw it. Esp. when my 5 year old dog had beautiful teeth. I thought that Riley's teeth should not look like that esp. at such a young age. I suspect it was mainly due to her diet(now that's she's with me she eats raw). I was going to wait until she was a little older though to have her teeth cleaned. But then she ended up needing sealants (no more marrow bones for her) on her canine teeth so her teeth were cleaned as well. Now they look beautiful. She didn't have any problems w/ the anesthesia and wasn't under for very long. Maybe 30 min give or take a little. She did get a little loopy afterwards which is expected. When we left the office I took her by the grass to potty. She went into herding mode and started stalking for no reason. Perhaps instead of pink elephants she was seeing sheep. She slept on the way home about an hour drive and was back to herself the next day.