Teeth cleaning- by vet or brushing

[Cody & Duchess]

I was curious (what else is new) how often do you brush your dog's teeth? If you brush your dog's teeth - was it hard to get them to allow you to do it? Also, how often do you get them cleaned by the vet? Does it really make a difference or am I just financing my vets boat?

[Smokjbc]

I was curious (what else is new) how often do you brush your dog's teeth? If you brush your dog's teeth - was it hard to get them to allow you to do it? Also, how often do you get them cleaned by the vet? Does it really make a difference or am I just financing my vets boat?

 

 

The difference between brushing teeth and having the vet do it is the same difference as you brushing your own teeth or having them scaled by a dental hygienist. We all need that done, and most people brush their teeth regularly. I don't believe you necessarily need it every year, but when tartar starts to build up, before the breath gets stinky, it might be time to have them scaled. If you do that and keep up on the brush (I admit to never hassling with brushing, but many of our dedicated clients do so!) , you can usually go longer between cleanings.

 

Dental disease can result in bacterial infections that affect kidney, liver and heart function.

[stockdogranch]

No brushing, no vet. Raw meaty bones

 

A

[WildFlower]

No brushing, no vet. Raw meaty bones

 

A

 

 

Daisy is still young but I am giving her a RMB once a week to help keep her teeth clean and strong. I have read here that it can really prevent having a dog's teeth cleaned.

[Cody & Duchess]

The meat bone issue - I am a chicken. Won't let my husband give them any for fear of the bone splintering. What type of bones are safe. Cody has a big mouth. Now folks I am really going to sound like a idiot - where are your dogs when they are eating these bones? I would image that in the house is a mess - but in the yard the bone gets filthy and the dog is eating dirt. Should I put newspaper down on the porch?

[Lenajo]

We get big slices of beef neck for chewing and cleaning teeth. We buy ours from www.blueridgebeef.com. I like them better than marrow bones because they don't cause so much loose stool.

 

Even my friends who don't feed raw as a regular diet like these.

 

He can eat it in his crate (vinigar and hot water is a nice safe cleaner). Clean grass won't hurt him either.

 

 

 

 

The meat bone issue - I am a chicken. Won't let my husband give them any for fear of the bone splintering. What type of bones are safe. Cody has a big mouth. Now folks I am really going to sound like a idiot - where are your dogs when they are eating these bones? I would image that in the house is a mess - but in the yard the bone gets filthy and the dog is eating dirt. Should I put newspaper down on the porch?

[vanillalove]

There is also a product called DentaTreat made by Wysong, if you could find that. It is a powder that smells and apparently tastes like white cheese. I have met quite a lot of dogs who were put on Raw later in their life and their tartar and build-up was so awful that even the bones couldn't get off the last bit of the guck. Wysong is all natural, and while I don't necessarily agree with their food, I am in love with all their supplements. You can sprinkle DentaTreat on the food or you can sort of use it as a toothpaste, if the bones are still too scary for you.

 

However, you have to remember that these bones are supposed to be given UNCOOKED. Cooked bones will splinter and could cause some serious injury. But giving them a raw bone (the way they would eat an animal in the wild) is perfectly fine. No wild dog ever needed vet attention for their teeth, why should ours?

[Tommy Coyote]

No brushing, no vet. Raw meaty bones

 

A

That's what I do, too.

[WildFlower]

The meat bone issue - I am a chicken. Won't let my husband give them any for fear of the bone splintering. What type of bones are safe. Cody has a big mouth. Now folks I am really going to sound like a idiot - where are your dogs when they are eating these bones? I would image that in the house is a mess - but in the yard the bone gets filthy and the dog is eating dirt. Should I put newspaper down on the porch?

 

I was a chicken about this at first, too. I buy the marrow bones from our local organic grocery store. They are cow leg bones, I think? I freeze them, then give them to Daisy. She only gets to chew on one for about a half hour a week. If you would start to give them, be sure to introduce them slowly (a few minutes at most) as they can cause loose stool since they are so rich. But it depends on the type of food your dog eats now.

 

I ALWAYS supervise RMB chewing.

 

Daisy chews on hers in the house. I try to keep her in the kitchen but she has this strange ritual that she does for RBM time. She takes the bone very gently from my hand like its a treasure and then runs into the living room onto the carpet! Then she proceeds to set the bone down and roll on it and around it. Then chewing is allowed to commence. Silly girl. I just vacuum the carpet after RBM time.

[Lenajo]

I've never had a dog who's teeth didn't get clean with raw bones. It can't solve rot, but everything else - green goo, years of tarter 1/2 inch thick, bye bye!

 

There is also a product called DentaTreat made by Wysong, if you could find that. It is a powder that smells and apparently tastes like white cheese. I have met quite a lot of dogs who were put on Raw later in their life and their tartar and build-up was so awful that even the bones couldn't get off the last bit of the guck. Wysong is all natural, and while I don't necessarily agree with their food, I am in love with all their supplements. You can sprinkle DentaTreat on the food or you can sort of use it as a toothpaste, if the bones are still too scary for you.

 

However, you have to remember that these bones are supposed to be given UNCOOKED. Cooked bones will splinter and could cause some serious injury. But giving them a raw bone (the way they would eat an animal in the wild) is perfectly fine. No wild dog ever needed vet attention for their teeth, why should ours?

[mum24dog]

As other have said. Last time my dogs were in for a check up my vet asked how often I brushed their teeth and was surprised when I said never.

I feed complete dry but they do get the odd bone as well.

Never had a dog need a dental.

 

Pam

[BustopherJones]

The difference between brushing teeth and having the vet do it is the same difference as you brushing your own teeth or having them scaled by a dental hygienist.

Well put! Annie has a very delicate digestive tract (she has been, and will be, on prescription dog food for her entire life), so some of the suggestions as to special foods would not work for her. I brush her teeth once per week; the vet cleans her teeth whenever a build-up occurs that needs professional treatment.

[Tommy Coyote]

I was a chicken about this at first, too. I buy the marrow bones from our local organic grocery store. They are cow leg bones, I think? I freeze them, then give them to Daisy. She only gets to chew on one for about a half hour a week. If you would start to give them, be sure to introduce them slowly (a few minutes at most) as they can cause loose stool since they are so rich. But it depends on the type of food your dog eats now.

 

I ALWAYS supervise RMB chewing.

 

Daisy chews on hers in the house. I try to keep her in the kitchen but she has this strange ritual that she does for RBM time. She takes the bone very gently from my hand like its a treasure and then runs into the living room onto the carpet! Then she proceeds to set the bone down and roll on it and around it. Then chewing is allowed to commence. Silly girl. I just vacuum the carpet after RBM time.

Do you thaw them before giving them? I have heard that frozen bones are too hard and the dogs can break a tooth on them. I've given frozen bones with no problem but now I thaw them out. My dogs love marrow bones.

[Root Beer]

No brushing, no vet. Raw meaty bones

 

A

 

Same here.

[Lewie'sMom]

No brushing, no vet. Raw meaty bones

 

A

 

Yepper. RMBs for sparkling white teeth.

[WildFlower]

Do you thaw them before giving them? I have heard that frozen bones are too hard and the dogs can break a tooth on them. I've given frozen bones with no problem but now I thaw them out. My dogs love marrow bones.

 

I don't take them out and thaw them but I watch her with them and it takes her a good 15 mintues before she really chews them. She does here little ritual and licks them quite a bit before she really chews them. I started a discussion on RBMs when I first started giving them to her with a question about thawing and freezing them. It seemed like there were some other board members that did that. But thanks for the heads up - I will definitely continue to watch her with them.

[Lizmo]

No brushing, no vet. Raw meaty bones

 

A

 

Same for us.

[sluj]

re: raw meaty bones

I give my dog a raw, frozen chicken quarter or turkey neck once a week, kibble otherwise. The vet said her teeth looked good from a quick look, but I can see a little yellowing at the base of her canines (or are they all called canines? i mean just the fangs). Should I be upping the RMBs, adding recreational bones, or cutting back on something else?

[sluj]

re: raw meaty bones

I give my dog a raw, frozen chicken quarter or turkey neck once a week, kibble otherwise. The vet said her teeth looked good from a quick look, but I can see a little yellowing at the base of her canines (or are they all called canines? i mean just the fangs). Should I be upping the RMBs, adding recreational bones, or cutting back on something else?

 

eta: Allie's 3 years old

[Lenajo]

Her "fangs" or canines are the teeth used for killing, not eating. It's hart to simulate that . The best I can do is to feed very large "au natural" sized pieces of meat and bone. Cow femurs with all the meat on for example.

 

re: raw meaty bones

I give my dog a raw, frozen chicken quarter or turkey neck once a week, kibble otherwise. The vet said her teeth looked good from a quick look, but I can see a little yellowing at the base of her canines (or are they all called canines? i mean just the fangs). Should I be upping the RMBs, adding recreational bones, or cutting back on something else?

 

eta: Allie's 3 years old

[sluj]

Her "fangs" or canines are the teeth used for killing, not eating. It's hart to simulate that . The best I can do is to feed very large "au natural" sized pieces of meat and bone. Cow femurs with all the meat on for example.

 

Thanks! Luckily our butcher has good selection - can even get whole goat heads, though I never have.

[Carlasl]

I've never had a dog who's teeth didn't get clean with raw bones. It can't solve rot, but everything else - green goo, years of tarter 1/2 inch thick, bye bye!

 

Apparently I have a dog that raw bones do no good....it isn't the bones it is the dog, for some reason she won't chew on the bones, she takes the meat off the bones, licks out as much marrow as she can and then just leaves them. She is only 2yrs old and has waaay to much tartar build up on her teeth. She has never been a chewer and I haven't found anything she likes to actually chew on.

 

so teeth brushing and vet dentals for us, there is this liquid that my Vet recommends we squirt in her mouth once a day to help with the tartar build up.

[Debbie Meier]

Apparently I have a dog that raw bones do no good....it isn't the bones it is the dog, for some reason she won't chew on the bones, she takes the meat off the bones, licks out as much marrow as she can and then just leaves them. She is only 2yrs old and has waaay to much tartar build up on her teeth. She has never been a chewer and I haven't found anything she likes to actually chew on.

 

so teeth brushing and vet dentals for us, there is this liquid that my Vet recommends we squirt in her mouth once a day to help with the tartar build up.

 

Have you tried rib bones from something that was young? Some of our dogs weren't into chewing bones until they got their teeth on some yearly lamb ribs, now they are into most any flat bone. Also, sometimes the rib meat is stringy and acts like floss as they try to tear it off.

 

Prior to feeding raw I had tarter chipping parties here in the living room, everyone took their turn on my lap upside down while I scrapped their teeth. Since raw, the parties are over...

 

Deb

[Bordercentrics]

We brush every evening, and none of our dogs have ever needed to have their teeth cleaned by the vet. (This goes for three generations of dogs.) We have a scaler and once in a blue moon we use that if a bit of tartar builds up. We don't ever want to have to anesthetize a dog unneccesarily.

 

Kathy Robbins

[Caerus]

No brushing, no vet. Raw meaty bones

 

A

 

 

This.

 

RMBs have done well keeping my boy's teeth clean. The 2 older cats, on the hand, really need to go to the vet and get their teeth cleaned. They don't tolerate brushing, but they really don't chew on their raw like they should. The kitten's teeth will stay gorgeous though, she loves raw as much as the dogs.