Homemade ways to whiten dogs teeth?

[JayBee612]

Any homemade ways, that are safe for dogs, to whiten their teeth and also kill bad dog breath?

 

I was just interested in hearing what people have come up with.

[simba]

Toothbrush seems to work fairly well. I brush whenever I remember, other people brush daily.

[JayBee612]

Toothbrush seems to work fairly well. I brush whenever I remember, other people brush daily.

 

 

Do you use a plain tooth brush? One of the dogs I adopted has dirty teeth and the tooth brush didn't seem to do much. I only tried twice though. Maybe if I brush more often and start a routine.

[Jescano]

Raw bones

[chene]

^ This.

[JayBee612]

Raw bones

I was going to actually look into this. Is there any special kind you recommend? Does it clean stained teeth?

 

What about deer antlers?

[MossyOak]

.

[Tess's Girl]

It depends on how your dog chews, my dog is able to chew on antlers, but she isn't a really rough chewer.

 

I give Tess antlers, bully sticks, and the smoked bones you buy at the pet store. She also loves duck feet though those probably don't have much effect on her teeth.

 

For the dog you adopted with bad teeth you might want to look into have his teeth cleaned by the vets to prevent gum disease.

[GentleLake]

Raw bones should be edible bones, meaning that the dog can chew up the whole thing.

 

Duck and smaller turkey necks (some tom turkey necks are huge!) are good, pork, lamb and sometimes beef necks. Chicken, duck and turkey frames are good, too.

 

All of these can be fed frozen for even more cleaning.

 

Avoid weight bearing bones from large ungulates; they can break teeth. Avoid any type of cooked bones, which includes anything you'd buy at a pet store. They're a greater risk of breaking teeth, and are not digestible so can splinter and perforate the gut.

 

Chicken necks are a choking hazard for many dogs, and they're so small they're not going to provide much cleaning. I wouldn't bother.

 

It'll help clean the canines more if there's some meat on the bones so that they have to use the front teeth as well.

[bcnewe2]

I use frozen raw.chicken wings. Or other frozen raw bones. Small enough to be chewed and consumed so they have to chew it up well.

We also have.antlers but not sure about how well they clean teeth.

My oldest is 12 never had hia teeth clean and there is no tarter or visible stains.

They also work to clean dirty teeth.

Only time it hasnt worked for us is we had a.dog who didn't like to chew. h

Her teeth by far were the worst I've ever had. she had bad breath too.

[simba]

I use a toothbrush and dog toothpaste. I got it in a really good sale because I was the only crazy lady who was buying that stuff from the pet shop. Still haven't admitted it to anyone off these forums...

 

For some reason one of the dogs gets bad diarrhoea every time she gets bones (raw of course).

[Izzysdad]

Has anyone had any trouble with the dogs digesting raw bones? Upset tummy's, etc? Oddly I'm just learning that raw bones are ok.

[GentleLake]

^^ Nope. My dogs are all raw fed and have been for years.

 

Feeding raw -- at least if you don't want to kill your dog by not providing the calcium it needs -- means feeding raw bones. Prey model folks feed 10-20% bone. Others feed as much as 50% bone, though I wouldn't personally recommend that style of feeding.

[juliepoudrier]

My dogs are mainly kibble fed, but regularly get raw meaty bones as a treat and for teeth cleaning. They pretty much never have any digestive problems when I give them raw food. I know some people have dogs who can't handle as easily the switching back and forth, so you really just need to try it and see.

 

J.

[Izzysdad]

I'll try a turkey neck or two. Tobey and Izzy could use some dental care...I got Tobey a bison bone for his happy gottcha day/bday and he threw up that night. I suspect he went to town too quickly on the marrow, that the bone was too rich for his stomach. Will try the turkey necks, thank you!

[NorthfieldNick]

Small things like poultry necks or backs don't bother my dogs (neither do heads, which is gross, but my dogs raided the gut pile on slaughter day). Larger bones like sheep or deer necks or ribs I have to ration or there'll be some mild GI upset. They get the frozen bones for 15-20 min, then I throw the bones back in the freezer. No clean up needed

[bcnewe2]

Yes I agree if my dogs feast on rich lamb or beef meat (more meat than bones) they can get a little loose stools but chicken or turkey with bone seem to cause no issues.

[GentleLake]

I think it's more often that the dog isn't used to that much raw meat and the digestive system needs some time to adjust to it. It's not uncommon when people are switching dogs to raw.

 

Too large a meal, even for a veteran raw fed dog, can cause digestive upset, as can too much fat. Lamb and pork are fatty meats.

[RemsMom]

So, if I wanted to try this how would I go about it? My GSD is 85 lbs. and the BC pup is 20 lbs. Would I get poultry necks and/or chicken wings? Freeze them?

 

I like the idea of my dogs having the occasional raw meat. I know I could not go completely raw diet but I remember my Miniature Schnauzer having the most terrible looking teeth. I would like to prevent that with the dogs I have now.

[GentleLake]

Chicken necks and wings are probably too small for your GDS. Both should be fine for the pup, for a while.

 

Go with larger meaty bones for the GSD, and watch the pup closely to make sure she or he is actually chewing and not just gulping and swallowing the pieces whole. When you see that starting to happen, move to larger bones.

 

It's possible you'll see some GI upset (usually loose stools) when you first begin, but may not. And puppies tend to adapt to raw food petty easily. I switched Tansy over when I adopted her at 6 months cold turkey (no pun intended) and she never skipped a beat.

[RemsMom]

I may have to go with larger bones for the pup, she tends to swallow things whole (Husband gave her a Greenie one night and she swallowed it without chewing and I spent the night in a panic thinking she did some harm to herself).

 

I love the idea of feeding raw foods to the dogs, I just don't think I could handle it all the time (I am horribly squeamish when it comes to raw meat).

[D'Elle]

Has anyone had any trouble with the dogs digesting raw bones? Upset tummy's, etc? Oddly I'm just learning that raw bones are ok.

 

I realize I am replying to this rather late. I don't always log in here regularly.

My male border collie gets impressive and explosive diarrhea if given raw bones. Consequently, none of my dogs get raw bones.