Alternatives to Brushing dogs teeth...?

[semo]

Basically I am curious if there are any healthy alternatives to brushing a dogs teeth every week or whatnot. Such as bones or some kind of chews?!

The main reason I ask is my mother has 2 dogs both yorkshire terriers, one is 11 and the other is about 5-6..they both had a massive amount of their teeth pulled , and i think part of it is that she didnt take care of their teeth well.

I would like to prevent the loss of teeth if at all possible.

Am I stuck brushing the dogs teeth with dog toothpaiste or are there alternatives?


Thanks

[pennsooner]

IMO, there is no substitue for brushing. But cheweing bones helps. Use some sort of pleasanlty (to a dog) flavored toothpaste.

[FearlessKnight]

Brushing is good, but you can also use a number of things thatr reduce tarter build-up and plaque and prevent it.....Greenies are very good for your dogs and they do both. You can also consider Dentu-Chews...they are great...we use them often! I have never bushed my dogs teeth and one of them is 4yrs old and doesn't have a spot one on any of his teeth!...Just to let you know too, that if you stick to dry food only.....you will be doing your puppy a great favor! Wet food is not good on their teeth, and dogs that eat too much of it, without proper dental care are prone to deadly diseases!

[B]

I don't brush my dogs teeth. My dogs eat natural raw cow bones and chew toys all day long. Their teeth are shiny bright white. Dogs lacking natural cleaning like chew toys and stuff need their teeth brushed. My dogs are active enough and chew enough that they polish their own teeth.

Regards,

B

[Hoyden]

I've brushed Petey's teeth at least twice weekly, if not more since he was 5-1/2 weeks old. At 8-1/2 years old, his teeth looked like hell, so I had an appointment scheduled with the vet to knock him out and do a dental cleaning.

We had followed SisMorphine's lead and started giving Petey raw marrow bones two or three times a week.

The appointment got postponed twice by the vet for Emergency surgeries, so when I finally brought him in to the vet, he sent us home saying that the dental wasn't necessary.

Now his teeth and breath are much better.

[Hoyden]

Brushing is good, but you can also use a number of things thatr reduce tarter build-up and plaque and prevent it.....Greenies are very good for your dogs and they do both. You can also consider Dentu-Chews...they are great...we use them often! I have never bushed my dogs teeth and one of them is 4yrs old and doesn't have a spot one on any of his teeth!...Just to let you know too, that if you stick to dry food only.....you will be doing your puppy a great favor! Wet food is not good on their teeth, and dogs that eat too much of it, without proper dental care are prone to deadly diseases!
I would urge you to use caution when letting your dog chew on Greenies. Unless you're watching to make sure they chew them up really good, I would avoid them.

There have been too many cases of greenies getting lodged internally. A friend almost lost her dog to Greenies because the dog swallowed a small piece, smaller than a dime.

Natural raw bones are much better, in my opinion.

[SouthernDixie]

My mom gives frozen chicken bones... I'm leery of doing so, therefore I don't do it. But it supposedly cleans dog teeth, per her and her stinky show cocker friends. (I really like cockers, can ya tell? LOL)

If they're wrong, please let me know. I'd love to tell her otherwise.

[newbieturtlepits]

My mom gives frozen chicken bones... I'm leery of doing so, therefore I don't do it. But it supposedly cleans dog teeth, per her and her stinky show cocker friends. (I really like cockers, can ya tell? LOL)

If they're wrong, please let me know. I'd love to tell her otherwise. dont give chicken bones they go down as shards and tear up your dogs innards you can bake bones your self from an organic recipe and make them big enuff that your dog have a long time chewing it.. seen the recipe on the net but dry foods also have some with dental care in it ,, read the labels ..... my dogs come running when the water is running and the tooth brush is ready they like it ,, even the cat likes the electric one ... strange but , its an ok strange ,,, good luck hope all the advise here helped you ,, except the chicken one dont do that

[TEXAS PIT DOGS]

now i have heard that if you buy one of those denta bones with the raised nubs on em,and put a little dog tooth paste on it that it does pretty much the same as brushing.now i have never tried it because i am in the same boat as B i give raw bones.but i have seen some dogs teeth that have chewed the denta bones with it and they are white as can be.

[catcher T]

my dentist gave me some old scalers for my dogs teeth,,my dogs lay there and take it,,if I gotta do it so do they

[asaj]

Never cook the bones! When they are cooked the calcium in the bones is getting hard and can splinter. Any change in your dogs diet have to be done gradually. If you dog is on kibble, and have been for a while, if you all of sudden start giving it chicken bones, you are in for trouble. All my dogs are on raw diet including chicken bones. My oldest, Brany is 7 1/2 , I have never brushed his teeth, and they are sparking white, and no doggie breath!

[Luke.UK]

I honestly have never brushed a dogs teeth in my life,bones and chews are the answer.
what did poeple do before dog toothpaste was brought out/for sale?
dogs didnt walk around with teeth droping out all over.

Give a dog a bone!


as for the post about chicken bones,NEVER give a dog chicken bones,they can crack up and really choke your dog and cut its throat and mouth!!!!NEVER..
:cool:

[misterdogman]

You can give a dog any bones as long as they are RAW...never cook them... they splinter that way... but when they are raw they dont splinter they get chewed up...just be careful watch them eat and dont give too much in one day so they have time to digest it in moderation...just dont cook them and it dont matter what animal gave them up for the dog to eat...bird, pig, cow, goat whatever is available is fine as long as its raw...
You think back in the wild a dog was like oh thats a chicken we can eat that...BS they ate it...feathers and all probaly...God made it that way

[ghost 1]

a grill,,,,lollllll

[Riptora]

brusing is great and I've done it. Chewing helps tremendously, good diet will keep the teeth strong and healthy. Just like humans who require extreme ammounts of calcium daily, if you get enough calcium, your teeth are MUCH better, less likely to weaken and decay. I also very much like some of the dental cleaners that are added to the animal's drinking water. I've used these and so long as you are careful with ingredients, they can be great products. Nothing beats brushing though. I think diet is more important that greenies or water additives.

[bahamutt99]

I don't brush. I've got a scaler that I use when there is buildup, which isn't even that often. My APBT is going on 3 and has never needed hers scaled. Our Dogo is 7 and had his done once.

[cheekymunkee]

Raw chicken bones are fine for dogs to eat, NEVER, EVER give them cooked though, baked, boiled, fried....do not do it, THOSE are the ones that splinter & can cause major problems for your dogs.

I don't brush my dogs teeth, they eat a RAW diet & the bones they eat keep their teeth white & healthy.

[newbieturtlepits]

my dentist gave me some old scalers for my dogs teeth,,my dogs lay there and take it,,if I gotta do it so do they

im experienced dental assistant ,, and for the most part unless your already knowlegable at this , it is not recommended for *anyone*!! to take scaler to human or animal ,, a slip can cause much gum damage ,, on a healthy person or animal it will heal up but not grow back ... but on a animal or human that is compromised by health or age.. can cause infection and yes even death ,, i cannot say this strong enough... the mouth and the germs that live in it can also cause a heart attack or stroke... look it up for yourself if you dont believe me .. if an animal or humane has any heart issues at all it requires ten days of antibiotics prior to any procedure that may cause bleeding of the gums.. can you seriously say to people take a scaler to the mouth of your dog not knowing if the dog has a compromised condition ,, think not .... thanx

[Riptora]

im experienced dental assistant ,, and for the most part unless your already knowlegable at this , it is not recommended for *anyone*!! to take scaler to human or animal ,, a slip can cause much gum damage ,, on a healthy person or animal it will heal up but not grow back ... but on a animal or human that is compromised by health or age.. can cause infection and yes even death ,, i cannot say this strong enough... the mouth and the germs that live in it can also cause a heart attack or stroke... look it up for yourself if you dont believe me .. if an animal or humane has any heart issues at all it requires ten days of antibiotics prior to any procedure that may cause bleeding of the gums.. can you seriously say to people take a scaler to the mouth of your dog not knowing if the dog has a compromised condition ,, think not .... thanx
I agree. I have also assisted in my fair share of dental procedures on animals and a good vet sends them home with antibiotics because there's suddenly a large ammount of bacteria floating around the body, in the gums, in the digestive system etc. I don't recommend it either unless you have experience and even then... animals are sedated for this, so like Newbieturtlepits said, one slip...