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Teeth
Apr 29, 2010 12:58:42 GMT -5
Post by ed on Apr 29, 2010 12:58:42 GMT -5
Just got back from the Vet and he proposed getting the tartar off my Dale's teeth. No decay and the usual doggy breath. Never had it done before and it aint cheap.Whats the deal with dental chews vs butchers bone for teeth?
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Teeth
Apr 29, 2010 14:32:12 GMT -5
Post by monterradales on Apr 29, 2010 14:32:12 GMT -5
Ed, what works the best to keep them clean is to give them meaty bones which they have to work on to get the meat off. The enzymes in the raw meat help keep the teeth clean and the tendons, grisle, sinew act as floss. Also, there is a homeopathic called Fragaria which people are putting in their dog's water to keep their teeth clean. You could try using that for a while, it's supposed to help loosen the tartar, and then when your dog gets into the natural dental floss it will come off alot easier. It was talked about on either the airedale showbreer's list of the airedale nutrition list, can't remember which. Not only is a dental expensive, I've heard of dog's coming out of it with teeth missing and of course there is the anesthesia which is never a good thing, to be avoided if at all possible.
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Teeth
Apr 29, 2010 15:17:54 GMT -5
Post by thistlesdale on Apr 29, 2010 15:17:54 GMT -5
I'm pretty leery about any "chewy bone"- "milk bone" type products because I assume the manufacturer put something sweet on there, in order to coax a dog into eating it. Like molasses or high fructose syrup. Both of which rot teeth just like any other sugar.
Maybe they do, maybe they don't, I don't know? But it seems like just about everything nowdays is loaded with cheap sweeteners, & I see no reason to assume dog products are any different.
I've got an 11 yr old dog in the yard who went off his feed over winter. Luckily it occurred to me to try pouring water over his dry dogfood before he lost any weight. He's been a real good dog & I hope to get another winter out of him, but I won't allow him to suffer. I owe him better than that.
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Teeth
Apr 29, 2010 15:30:32 GMT -5
Post by dwolf on Apr 29, 2010 15:30:32 GMT -5
Speaking of anesthesia for dogs. Can anyone recommend a good one that can be bought on line or at a horse store? I get all my dog meds & shots on-line now & have the antibiotics worked out too- my biggest expense w/tons of puncture wounds... but i need a good anesthesia for the road & camping. There is nothing worse than needing to knock out your dogs for triage when your seven miles from the car & it's midnight... it's a fortune to get vets after hrs & out of state & a nightmare on the trip. it's nearly impossible & dangerous tyingg them down, etc. I've tried it all....
Any tips please? & thank you very much.
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Teeth
Apr 29, 2010 15:40:48 GMT -5
Post by thistlesdale on Apr 29, 2010 15:40:48 GMT -5
valley vet?
my expertise is limited to vetericyn & tissue adhesive
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Teeth
Apr 29, 2010 17:29:35 GMT -5
Post by hicntry on Apr 29, 2010 17:29:35 GMT -5
Raw chicken with bones in seems to do a pretty good job of keeping the teeth clean if they are clean to start with....providing they chew the chicken up and don't just swallow it. I also pick up knuckle bones periodically for them also. That is their dental protocol. As most of you know, I don't own a dog that has been in a vets office so I don't have to listen to all their sales pitches. The last two that were in a vets office were Hunter, at about 8 weeks, and I put him down at 12 because we had run over his hips at 6 mo and his hips gave up on him. Higgins was at a vets at 1 1/2 years after a hog hunt and never saw another vet. His heart gave out at 14 1/2. When they saw a vet regularily for all the preventative maintenance they try to sell , the dogs were lucky to make 10. I am a firm believer that 99% of the vets make the rest look bad......that line was meant for lawyers but it works pretty well for vets also. If you have one of the 1%, treat em right. There is a story about. I didn't find out the dogs lived longer by accident. I had a dog at the vets once for a simple check up. About a week later I had dogs getting sick in every yard. I got to many dogs here to be hauling any of them into a waiting room at the vets. Some time after that is when I noticed they were living longer, and better, without the vets preventative maintenance.....or maybe it is because I don't favor the weak. We will just have to guess at that one.
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Teeth
Apr 30, 2010 11:41:37 GMT -5
Post by theresa on Apr 30, 2010 11:41:37 GMT -5
I'm not in favor of dental chews such as Greenies or the like. I am wary of Nylabone products that are designed to be ingested, but have used the really hard ones sucessfully as chew toys that kick around the floor for the French to gnaw on. I can't leave real bones out as they would start a fight, but I do feed raw, meaty beef rib bones frequently and they keep the teeth pearly white. For the cats I give raw chicken necks and that does a good job on them. My BIL has two rat terriers who the vet said needed dentals at 400 bucks a pop. I told him to feed the bones - he got cut up soup marrow bones and that did the trick for him. I don't like feeding the marrow bones as the marrow gives mine the runs, plus they are really hard and IMHO cause cracked teeth, while the beef ribs are soft enough to gnaw down nicely. I don't favor the smoked bones, but I have seen them work for folks as well to remove tartar. I also have a dental tool I got at the drugstore and will remove tartar if I see it build up- easy to use and unless you really try hard you can't ruin the tooth enamel.
Some I know use Oxyfresh to add to water to remove and keep plaque and tartar away -not in favor of adding anything to the water myself, but just may check out that homeopathic remedy!
One thing to also consider is the feed - read the label, you may find added sugar which will also cause tartar to build up.
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Teeth
Apr 30, 2010 12:44:42 GMT -5
Post by ed on Apr 30, 2010 12:44:42 GMT -5
Will try beef ribs..thanks to all
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Teeth
Apr 30, 2010 18:55:11 GMT -5
Post by monterradales on Apr 30, 2010 18:55:11 GMT -5
Will try beef ribs..thanks to all Even better are beef neck bones.
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Teeth
May 2, 2010 23:38:11 GMT -5
Post by gundermann on May 2, 2010 23:38:11 GMT -5
Please, if you're going to give them bones, give them raw beef bones. My girl is a vet in a VCA small animal emergency clinic and I'm really sick of hearing about dogs coming in with blockages from bones, especially when we have something planned and she ends up having to spend the night in surgery. I had no idea how much crap dogs swallow.
You can use the edge of a dime to get the tarter off if you can reach it and the dog will let you.
Rob
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Teeth
May 4, 2010 17:01:31 GMT -5
Post by monterradales on May 4, 2010 17:01:31 GMT -5
Please, if you're going to give them bones, give them raw beef bones. My girl is a vet in a VCA small animal emergency clinic and I'm really sick of hearing about dogs coming in with blockages from bones, especially when we have something planned and she ends up having to spend the night in surgery. I had no idea how much crap dogs swallow. You can use the edge of a dime to get the tarter off if you can reach it and the dog will let you. Rob Good point Rob.........I guess I didn't specify, but I've been feeding my dogs raw meat and bones for so long, as have so many others that I know (with no problems!), that I just assumed everyone would know that I'm talking about RAW bones.
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Teeth
May 5, 2010 9:18:51 GMT -5
Post by theresa on May 5, 2010 9:18:51 GMT -5
Ditto on the neck bones - if you are lucky enough to find them! I have a hard time getting those from a quality source.
I think its key to feed raw meat with the bone - I prefer the raw beef ribs because there is a nice ratio on the ones I get, plus the shape allows the dog to chew using whichever teeth they like so they can use their molars on them. Before I really had experience I fed raw knuckle bones - IMHO these are the ones to avoid, and should only be offered as a supervised treat for a limited time. My experience with the knuckle bones - raw or cooked - is that an aggressive chewer will gnaw that bone down until its gone - that will cause an impaction for sure as there is no meat to help things move along. Another draw back is that knuckle bones seem to really wear the front teeth down without really getting to the molars.
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