Can we talk about chews/bones again...

[Moo]

I want to get a jump on dental hygeine (I keep saying that. But I mean it... I think.)

I am very concerned about one of my little heavy chewers working too hard and fracturing a tooth on a raw (or otherwise real) bone. I know Debbie had a problem with that.

Kirby can knock out most edible chews like tendons, salmon rolls, and bully sticks in about 5 minutes. Holly typically licks those things then rolls them on the carpet to be all sticky and hairy all at once. Kirby is in love with greenies, but that's another <3 minute job.

What else is there to try? (Watch my shoot all the suggestions down one by one .) Should I just go back to freezing broccoli stumps?

[alimel]

Freezing brocoli stumps? I would like to hear more about this...it is good for teeth and gums?

The only thing I give them now are dental chews from the vet.

[Cearbhaill]

If you use the right portion of the bone you won't have any issues IMO. Don't use the middle part of the femur sold as "marrow bones"- use the big knuckle end and have them sawn in half. It is mostly connective tissue and softer bone, plus copious quantities of marrow that actually do the cleaning. I and a googillion other folks have done this for eons swithout problems.

Anytime anyone suggests anything there will always be one or two people who relate tales of horror- cars kill thousands daily but you still use one. Nothing on this earth is 100% "safe" and IMO the benefits of raw bones both as regards mouth health and general nutrition far, far, far outweigh any risks.
There is nothing anywhere nearly as effective.

[Trace]

Cow hooves - mine LOVE them and they last for ages.

They do stink a bit though - but it keeps them busy.

[KatzNK9]

Bully sticks?

[Moo]

Originally Posted by Cearbhaill

Nothing on this earth is 100% "safe" and IMO the benefits of raw bones both as regards mouth health and general nutrition far, far, far outweigh any risks.
There is nothing anywhere nearly as effective.

Don't know how I feel about about that. I've kept Kirby away from raw bones/food for a lot of reasons, some breed-specific, some Kirby-specific. As an example, Cotons were raised on an almost 0% meat diet when they were first domesticated, and my dog gets violently ill when fed raw eggs.

Then add Debbie (as in Tiny Dogs) had to get 12 teeth extracted from her dog at once, most were broken as a result of chewing raw bones. I would rather have routine scrapings done on my dogs than have an incident like that. I have dogs with jaws of steel, who are 8 lbs and 15 lbs respecitively. Same dogs who play fight and make each other bleed without noticing.

[weezyNollie]

Watch out for cow hooves -- they break teeth too.

I wish I knew a secret too Moo.. Louise has now broken two teeth. Not sure what on.. but I used to have cow hooves, marrow bones, and the like around the house.

What about the HUGE bully sticks?

[weezyNollie]

Just wanted to ask --

Anyone know if raw hides are really that bad? I know they aren't recommended while unsupervised, but what about for the teeth breaking part?

[Moo]

Originally Posted by alimel

Freezing brocoli stumps? I would like to hear more about this...it is good for teeth and gums?

I was freezing vegetables for a while and giving them to Kirby whole. He would actually chew them, and it took him longer than 30 seconds to deal with it. I stopped because my parents were complaining about the freezer space that I was taking up. I can't say for sure how much it helped with his teeth, but I do know that it didn't leave squishy stuff on the ground or on my dog, was relatively clean, and was inexpensive.

[Dauxside]

I like the dried pizzle to give them a long chew, of course our dogs' bites are different then Kirby and Holly (strength) ... and there in lies the rub (btw Wu is prone to have to roll, bury and otherwise filth up her chews the same as Holly .)

Are you wanting anything raw? If you don't mind, oxtail gives them a great chew, and the bone is so small that it shouldn't pose a problem. Other than that I'd go for smaller bones in the ankle, rib etc for them to have a chew.

Dried liver/heart/kidney/intestine, etc. are all tough and hard(er) to chew so those too might be an option.

As far as rawhide, there's not enough money in the world to convince me to ever let the dogs eat rawhide. Have seen too many plugged bowels (one is too many) when at the clinic. Just don't like/trust the stuff.

I don't like the hooves for splintering (and the stink) or the pigs ears, too high in fat.