Best Bones For Teeth Cleaning

[Lexi-Taj]

Hi all,

I'm looking for recommendations on the best bones to buy for cleaning teeth. Specifically what should I ask my butcher for?

I have heard knuckle bones are great, is this correct? Do I just ask for a knuckle bone or is their a specific type that is better eg lamb knuckle bone.

I want to do the right thing by my hounds, and have noticed my older boy is getting a little bit of brown build up on his teeth. Any help would be great!

[sheena]

I would say the best bones for cleaning teeth are those that have meat & sinew on them as the sinew acts like a dental floss. I use turkey necks daily for my two dogs & they have beautiful teeth even the girl who is 6 years old & never had her teeth professionally cleaned in her life, but has always had turkey necks daily :)

[Lexi-Taj]

I would say the best bones for cleaning teeth are those that have meat & sinew on them as the sinew acts like a dental floss. I use turkey necks daily for my two dogs & they have beautiful teeth even the girl who is 6 years old & never had her teeth professionally cleaned in her life, but has always had turkey necks daily :)

I'll add turkey necks to my list. Mine get chicken necks and blocks of frozen roo meat currently but I'll give turkey necks a go also.

For some reason my big boy has tartar (the brown spots) on his fangs (I'm sure that has a technical name) and front teeth, almost as though he needs to do more ripping/pulling with his teeth, or something I'm not sure. Its not a lot of brown just sort of starting but I want to get rid of it and ensure his health. Our younger dog has beautiful sparkling white teeth, but our older boy (5) is the problem :)

[luvsdogs]

That sounds exactly what my little JS has. I also did a thread on the same subject.

Raw Vs Kibble! in this forum. What breed is your older dog? I'd suggest whole lamb necks rather than knuckle bones from beef cattle. A yahoo raw feeding forum says that large chunks of meat larger than the dog's head so they have to chew it & not scoff it down. I think most dogs chew bones on the side of their mouths, I know mine do.

[Lexi-Taj]

That sounds exactly what my little JS has. I also did a thread on the same subject.

Raw Vs Kibble! in this forum. What breed is your older dog? I'd suggest whole lamb necks rather than knuckle bones from beef cattle. A yahoo raw feeding forum says that large chunks of meat larger than the dog's head so they have to chew it & not scoff it down. I think most dogs chew bones on the side of their mouths, I know mine do.

My oldest boy is a lab kelpie cross, our littlest is a lab (possibly jack Russell cross). I' don't know why this is happening but need to do something! Mine chew with the sides mouth also, I need to get them (well at least our older boy) to start ripping! I have a question though if food is supposed to be about head size how does this fit in with their daily feeding? I have to feed our big fella now about 1.5% of body weight, he's put in a little weight since we got out puppy as they like to 'share' food, and needs to loose a few kg's :) does this meaty bone count as part of his daily feed or as an extra?

[luvsdogs]

No it's included. Most dogs on a raw only diet will only eat what they need & leave the rest in which case you can wrap the remainder up & put in fridge for the next day's meal. They also suggest 2-3% of adult body weight per day but as you're reducing his cals 1.5% would be ok. There are lots of videos on youtube of dogs & puppies eating raw meaty bones. Things like whole chickens for large dogs & 1/2 to a 1/4 for the little dogs.

I once had a lamb leg that was left in the freezer too long so gave it to my 5.5kg Japanese Spitz. He spent a good 30 mins eating it until I took it away, he doesn't seem to self-regulate his meals & will eat all I give him. A lot on the forum feed pork shoulder/necks but I'm not sure I like that, but they assure it's a perfect food for dogs.

If giving lamb bones make sure to cut off most of the visible fat as lambs a fatty meat .

[Lexi-Taj]

No it's included. Most dogs on a raw only diet will only eat what they need & leave the rest in which case you can wrap the remainder up & put in fridge for the next day's meal. They also suggest 2-3% of adult body weight per day but as you're reducing his cals 1.5% would be ok. There are lots of videos on youtube of dogs & puppies eating raw meaty bones. Things like whole chickens for large dogs & 1/2 to a 1/4 for the little dogs.

I once had a lamb leg that was left in the freezer too long so gave it to my 5.5kg Japanese Spitz. He spent a good 30 mins eating it until I took it away, he doesn't seem to self-regulate his meals & will eat all I give him. A lot on the forum feed pork shoulder/necks but I'm not sure I like that, but they assure it's a perfect food for dogs.

If giving lamb bones make sure to cut off most of the visible fat as lambs a fatty meat .

Ha has this is what I thought :) but for some reason I had a picture in my head of Taj (older boy) eating a head sized bit of meat then lining up for more :)

Thanks for the tip about the lamb, I'll trim it before we feed them :) I do hope this helps our boy. I hope you have success with this issue also it's an odd one but one hat seems to be reasonably common

[luvsdogs]

I think my JS's main problem is that he has an overshot jaw. As I said in the other thread my granddaughter's little Chihuahua has a very basic kibble & doggy treats diet & her teeth are shiny & white.