lovemyrottie Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 hi everyone, i'm new to this forum so i'm still getting used to using it! my question for everyone is though, how do you guys keep your dog's teeth clean? i know that brushing your dog's teeth with a doggy toothbrush and a doggy toothpaste everyday is the best solution but my puppy absolutely hates this so i'm trying to find out if there's any other ways to keep their teeth clean through foods etc. i feed my rottie pup artemis fresh mix medium & large breed puppy dry food (only super premium dry dog food in australia that doesn't contain corn, wheat, soy, and beet pulp) along with a chicken neck daily, one of those dentastix nightly, carrots and apples! but is there anything else that i could add to his diet to maintain his dental health? but then you look back years ago, wolves (being a dog's closest relative) wouldn't have had their teeth brushed daily, wouldn't have had dental check ups at the vet every 6 months, wouldn't have eaten store-bought dog food, they would have ate only raw meat and they sure as hell use to die with clean teeth! so basically, humans have pretty much created all this unecessary hype about dog's teeth which i find quite interesting, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Hi, and welcome. Lots of raw meaty bones!! How old is your pup? chicken carcasses , turkey wings, turkey necks, lamb ribs, roo tails .... all those yummy non-weight bearing bones! Size is important - larger meaty bones make a meal the dog needs to work at .. gives them a good meal, entertainment, endorphins and clean teeth! Bones with meat on are desired, and then the dog spends many minutes gnawing with the sides of those molars.. thus scrubbing his teeth! Simple crunching does not do it - that "lie down-sideways hard work gnawing" is what does a good job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 A lot of people here will advocate raw meaty bones, which is fine, depending on the type of dog you have. I personally think bones are a great natural way to keep a dogs teeth clean. However, after recently having a bad experience with a bone, I can no longer safely give them to my dog. As you mentioned, daily tooth brushing is the gold standard but it is unrealistic for some people. There are basically 2 methods for teeth cleaning: mechanical and chemical. Mechanical is anything that involves chewing and physically removing plaque (so brusshing and surgical removal). Some dental foods like T/D have huge pieces of kibble that force a dog to chew. Instead of bones, I now give my dog rawhide chews, kongs and pigs ears (always supervised). Chemical controls include some diets/treats that have polyphosphates in the which binds calcium- this helps prevent plaque formation. You can also apparently get dog mouthwashes etc. I don't know if your rottie pup is a good chewer but I wouldn't recommend chicken necks in a large breed dog, i've seen many times where they have been swallowed whole and ended up causing a bloackage or vomited up whole. You could try adding in some more bones- but please be aware of the risks. My dog was always supervised eating her bones, she actually did chew them well, but she still got once stuck and penetrating her intestine and nearly died. I think it was extrmeley unlucky, but this is the reason why some vets will hesitate to recommend bones. Hard bones can also cause dogs to crack their teeth. You also have to be careful with rawhide and pigs ears as some dog can choke on them if they try to at them too quickly. So really, brushing their teeth is the safest option and probably the best to prevent any dental issues. While it is true that dogs in the wild and working dogs receive no dental care- many of them die quite young around 5/6 or once their working life is over. Many breeds have deviated from the original wolf structure, especially with regard to dentition, so I think it is not fair to compare them to wolves. I think it is a combination of human creating and breeding dogs to be companions and therefore not need to have perfect teeth as well as people becoming more aware of dental health etc. I don't think a 6 month dental check up is necessary for a young dog, it is easier if you just check their mouth every few months and make sure there is no tartar build up, then have them checked at your yearly/3 yearly or whatever you do for general health checks,titre tests or vaccinations. I think we need to keep in mind that just because a dog is eating well, doesn't mean it isn't uncomfortable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boronia Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 You may also find these two topics interesting http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/226622-petzlife/ http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/224556-plaque-remover/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyrottie Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 cheers guys! got some great info there i'm getting a little skeptical of this whole he might choke on a chicken neck thing cause he does eat it very quickly but then everyone on the rottweiler forum feeds their rotties that and nobody's had a problem just yet so maybe i'll supervise him everytime he's eating one unless i buy some larger raw meats but i don't know which, maybe turkey necks instead cause they're quite larger. which brand of rawhides are the ones that are actually good for their teeth? i rarely feed mine pig ears anymore cause it seems like it's the only treat that makes him growl at me which i'll not approve of and i don't know whether the pig ears here are imported from china or not but i surely wouldn't want to buy made in china ones! i'll look into the mouthwash but i've never seen it in the shops here so not sure if we even have them i'll also have a browse through the links above! my caliber's 7 months this month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 It is not so much the choking risk of chicken necks, but the fact that some dogs gullp them down and don't chew them at all. I think for a large dog like a Rottie, they are too small to be of any benefit cleaning the teeth especially if he's just gulping them down and you risk causing an obstuction somewhere if they aren't chewed properly. Turkey necks are good, as are roo tails. Pigs ears are very fatty so probably a prized treat. Any rawhide will make them chew- which is good for the teeth. Personally I use the unbleached ones (yellowy colour). Deer antlers are also great, if your dog likes them. I am still trying to get my dog interested in them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyrottie Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 you're right! i'll get him into the turkey necks instead, would one a day be okay? and how often do you give your dog/dogs rawhide? i have no idea what deers antlers are! i'll google it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyrottie Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 (edited) deers antlers look huge! where are they available to buy? Edited October 5, 2011 by lovemyrottie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 One a day turkey necks sounds good- lucky boy! I wouldn't feed rawhide if I was able to feed bones. But I plan to give them to my dog 3-4 times a week now. I believe a member on DOL sells deer antlers- they come in different sizes. http://www.whelpingsupplies.com.au/index.php?_a=viewCat&catId=40 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyrottie Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 what are the deers antlers good for? teeth aswell or? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suziwong66 Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 It is not so much the choking risk of chicken necks, but the fact that some dogs gullp them down and don't chew them at all. I think for a large dog like a Rottie, they are too small to be of any benefit cleaning the teeth especially if he's just gulping them down and you risk causing an obstuction somewhere if they aren't chewed properly. Turkey necks are good, as are roo tails. Pigs ears are very fatty so probably a prized treat. Any rawhide will make them chew- which is good for the teeth. Personally I use the unbleached ones (yellowy colour). Deer antlers are also great, if your dog likes them. I am still trying to get my dog interested in them. we freeze 3-4 chicken necks in one lump and they work well to a) slow Wilbur down & stop gulping (lab puppy) and b) to help clean teeth as he has to chew them to defrost them as he eats them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suziwong66 Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 deers antlers look huge! where are they available to buy? we used rainbow deer farm sadly, Wilbur has no interest in them whatsoever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 (edited) boiler chickens, big maryland, rabbits, lamb flaps etc something that cant just be hoofed down. My rottie had all this and a great kibble, he head pearly white teeth his entire life. Edited October 5, 2011 by Nekhbet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mason_Gibbs Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 If u give a turkey neck daily be sure to reduce his other daily rations as he will end up putting on weight. Aussielover is Mindy allergic to beef? Can she have the rawhide and not flare?? To be honest i have not tried with Mason but i know Gibbs would love one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-Q Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Our lot eat raw nearly every day, they usually have some sort of RMB 5 days a week, maybe one day of kibble and one day of leftover/cooked mince mix. My boy Buster still shocks the vets everytime they check his teeth, they look at his teeth then go back to their computer to check his age because they are surprised they look so good for an 8 year old dog. Ours get chicken frames, chicken necks (Quinn doesn't get these because she's a guts) turkey necks, chicken thighs, chicken wings, lamb and beef offcuts, lamb flaps, livers and heart. Pretty much anything that I find that looks interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 If u give a turkey neck daily be sure to reduce his other daily rations as he will end up putting on weight. Aussielover is Mindy allergic to beef? Can she have the rawhide and not flare?? To be honest i have not tried with Mason but i know Gibbs would love one. She is not allergic to beef and now I'm beginning to doubt if she is allergic to chicken as well. How quickly does Mason "break out" in symptoms afetr eating a food he's allergic to? Mindy was given chicken while in hospital and they said she wasn't itchy at all, she hasn't been itchy at all lately despite being fed on chicken only and then i/d when she first came home. She tested with a positive reaction to chicken when we did the food trial a few months ago but perhaps that just coincided with a breakout of her dust/pollen/grass allergies. I also thought she was allergic to beef, but now I'm fairly certain she is not. I am going to visit the derm soon again so we may need to redo the food trial to double check Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mason_Gibbs Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 It just depends, for him he can have some chicken and not have an issue, but he cant eat it all the time. Beef is different he will start scratching and biting at himself a few hrs after eating any beef. Wheat is his worst, he flares real bad on that. I think i myself may need to retest chicken with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9katz Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 hi everyone, i'm new to this forum so i'm still getting used to using it! my question for everyone is though, how do you guys keep your dog's teeth clean? i know that brushing your dog's teeth with a doggy toothbrush and a doggy toothpaste everyday is the best solution but my puppy absolutely hates this so i'm trying to find out if there's any other ways to keep their teeth clean through foods etc. i feed my rottie pup artemis fresh mix medium & large breed puppy dry food (only super premium dry dog food in australia that doesn't contain corn, wheat, soy, and beet pulp) along with a chicken neck daily, one of those dentastix nightly, carrots and apples! but is there anything else that i could add to his diet to maintain his dental health? but then you look back years ago, wolves (being a dog's closest relative) wouldn't have had their teeth brushed daily, wouldn't have had dental check ups at the vet every 6 months, wouldn't have eaten store-bought dog food, they would have ate only raw meat and they sure as hell use to die with clean teeth! so basically, humans have pretty much created all this unecessary hype about dog's teeth which i find quite interesting, lol. I have 2 German Sheps, a 10 1/2 year old female with pearly white teeth, and a 7 year old boy who was showing some plaque on his teeth. Both eat dry food as their main diet with little extras thrown in.(nothing that would clean teeth!) Chicken necks are useless with them, swallowed almost whole and the female is allergic to chicken anyway so no good. Bones upset the boy so that's no good. I bought a Nylabone Dura Chew Monster and within 1 week my boys teeth were magnificent! He loves it and its safe. I wouldnt feed Pigs Ears or Rawhide chews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyrottie Posted October 6, 2011 Author Share Posted October 6, 2011 thanks everyone! i bought him turkey necks today but they were so huge that i had to cut them in half and they're still quite huge, lol. but i'll only be feeding it to him weekly as i think something so large everyday probably isn't the best thing cause then i'd have to majorly lower his dry food, i also ordered some of that plaqueoff powder so it should be all sweet :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 why are you cutting them? They are meant to be huge and the dog is meant to be sitting there gnawing away at them. Raw meaty bones are not made to be swallowed they are made to be chewed and ripped for the dogs teeth and jaw muscles. As long as it's meat on edible bone he will be fine to have them as part of his diet. I've never fed any of my dogs 100% dry food day in day out. They are perfectly fine to be fed every day, remember you have a very large dog. And much healthier then buying chemical junk to keep his teeth clean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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