Feeding bones for dental health

[BBP]

I have never fed bones to my dog, he has a kibble based diet rather than raw. He also isn’t a great chewer, never has been even when he was a puppy, which felt like a good thing back then as I never had tiny teeth holes in anything! I also never knew that dogs needed their teeth cleaned. Call me an idiot, but my last collie had beautiful teeth right up til she died at 16. But she liked to chew and she liked to play tug with various things. Current collie does neither and I’ve started to worry about his dental health in future. I’m starting to teach him about tooth brushing, but he has become pretty anxious lately so I’m taking it slow. I’d like to find things to give him to encourage him to chew and saw the raw marrow bone suggestion on another thread.

Is there anything to think about when feeding these? How big or strong the bone is for the size of dog? Everything says they can splinter, both cooked and raw, so how do I know which to choose?

Sorry for the idiot questions!

 

[Bellasophia]

If you have a non chewing dog,like mine,I suggest trying a wet flannel,or cotton pad..with dog toothpaste,rubbed onto the teeth( especially molars)
My dogs like this..I used dental pet toothpaste for dogs,and they seem to like the attention.
Within a week,the tartar is soft enough t9 flick free with a finger nail.

i don’t give bones as they have been known to break teeth.
I tried raw chicken wings but both my dogs gulped them down..

 

[CorvusCorax]

You are not an idiot, some dogs do need their teeth brushed, some don't. Dental health is multifactoral and genetics plays a big part. I've never brushed a dog's teeth in my puff!

I would not feed a weight bearing bone for dental health to be honest, you're safer starting off with raw chicken wings/legs and working your way up, if you're worried you can bash them with a tenderiser or hold one end of them while the dog chews.
I would never feed cooked bones, they are too brittle/splinter.

My own dogs are power chewers and would break their teeth on a marrow bone. They get the XXL Kongs and have gone through quite a few. Some Bionic toys, and another brand, the name of which evades me. But nothing is 'indestructable'.
They have always had the opportunity to chew on things and obviously get to use their mouths a lot because of the sport we do, either retrieves or sleeve work. They have always, always had shiny white sharp teeth.
Similarly, I have seen dogs that have plaque build up, have had teeth broken, worn down to stubs, had to have implants etc (!) and the only difference is genetics/lines, these dogs are often much younger and would have had as much work/less than/more careful work than my own.

 

[skinnydipper]

I have never fed bones to my dog, he has a kibble based diet rather than raw. He also isn’t a great chewer, never has been even when he was a puppy, which felt like a good thing back then as I never had tiny teeth holes in anything! I also never knew that dogs needed their teeth cleaned. Call me an idiot, but my last collie had beautiful teeth right up til she died at 16. But she liked to chew and she liked to play tug with various things. Current collie does neither and I’ve started to worry about his dental health in future. I’m starting to teach him about tooth brushing, but he has become pretty anxious lately so I’m taking it slow. I’d like to find things to give him to encourage him to chew and saw the raw marrow bone suggestion on another thread.

Is there anything to think about when feeding these? How big or strong the bone is for the size of dog? Everything says they can splinter, both cooked and raw, so how do I know which to choose?

Sorry for the idiot questions!

Google "slab fractures dogs", it will help you decide on appropriate chews

 

[BBP]

Thanks very much for the feedback, most helpful! ? to slab fractures. I broke my own tooth clean off a while back, it isn’t much fun. He wouldn’t be a candidate to start on a big bone then as he isn’t conditioned to it. Despite all my efforts he still isn’t keen on engaging with toys other than a mad few minutes a day (it boggles my mind after a toy obsessed version previously, it’s more like he does it out of politeness ?), so that isn’t going to do it. I guess I may have to persevere with teaching him to accept teeth brushing. The damp flannel seems a good idea. I also have started using the plaque off powder, as I’m starting to see a bit of a yellowish buildup starting. Not bad, but I want to be on top of it.

 

[Quoth]

I'm another one who's never brushed a dog's teeth, never had any dental issues.

My rules for for bones are always use raw, avoid anything that's cut along its length, ensure that the bone is larger than the dogs muzzle so that it can't swallow it and if it's soft enough to push a knife into it point first, it's soft enough to eat. And most importantly keep and eye on them while they've got it. Personally I favour lamb, though it's only given as a treat rather than a regular part of their diet.

Probably a daft question, but if you're not comfortable with bones are rawhide chews, pigs ears and the like not an option?

 

[BBP]

I'm another one who's never brushed a dog's teeth, never had any dental issues.

My rules for for bones are always use raw, avoid anything that's cut along its length, ensure that the bone is larger than the dogs muzzle so that it can't swallow it and if it's soft enough to push a knife into it point first, it's soft enough to eat. And most importantly keep and eye on them while they've got it. Personally I favour lamb, though it's only given as a treat rather than a regular part of their diet.

Probably a daft question, but if you're not comfortable with bones are rawhide chews, pigs ears and the like not an option?

I had thought that rawhide was bad digestibility wise, so have avoided those. He does have a few yaker type chews but probably only picks them up a couple of times a week and not for long. I guess I could add in pigs ears type things, I wasn’t sure what was good and what wasn’t. When you read up, everything either splinters, clogs up or causes choke hazards!

 

[Quoth]

Well as you say nothing is without risk. Given the sheer tonnage of rawhide consumed by pet dogs day to day I'd say it's probably fairly safe. Sensitivity tends to vary with individual dogs and the real issues occur when dogs start breaking off large chunks and trying to swallow them whole, which also can be an issue with raw bones. I know some people who only give their dogs antlers, which are extremely hard in comparison to bones, and insist that anyone doing anything else is abusing their pets.

As a general point whilst people can get hung up on very specific points of dog welfare, ultimately looking after the health of your dog is a holistic affair. If your dog has a healthy lifestyle overall I doubt the occasional rawhide chew is going to have any serious implications. In many cases it's more a matter of what your dog gets on with and you are comfortable with rather than any hard and fast rules.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Not my cup of tea but one of mine came with a liking for the pressed rawhide bones from Pets At Home. Never done him any harm and he gets them very occasionally as a treat despite a very heated debate in a McDonald's somewhere in Europe with a Professional Dog Trainer ?

 

[[139672]]

Natures Menu sell a pack of lamb ribs and I also by packs of venison ribs, don’t know which company supplies those. My toy poodle loves the.

 

[SusieT]

only feed large weight bearing bones, nothing small , nothing rib or twig like.