Little dogs and their teeth

[Nici]

Hello!

I have read that certain dog breeds are more prone to gum disease and early tooth decay, notably the smaller breeds.
My Pomeranian is now 6 years old and I try to keep his teeth clean so that we needn't to go to the vet.
Does anybody know why small dogs are more likely to have dental problems?

Also, what do you do to keep your dogs' teeth clean?
For example my aunt is a border collie person and her dogs get uncooked bones (not chicken, that's brittle!). Their teeth are all white, even though the eldest is 9 years old.

 

[CorvusCorax]

It's just a genetics thing. Certain breeds and lines are more prone to it.

My dog is seven and has had a lot of wear and tear on his teeth and they are still in great nick and very clean.
He has had raw bones all his life but not so many in the last few years and I've never brushed a dog's teeth, ever.
Some dogs younger than him have had their teeth worn to stubs, which I don't like to see.

In a breed where, for example, possessive traits like biting, gripping, pulling, holding etc is not important, I could see why poor dentition or missing teeth would be overlooked in favour of other traits (speed, herding, cuteness, whatever) and so as breeding lines go on, the problem perpetuates.

As someone once said, you overlook one missing tooth, the next generation it could be too, then later, three.
It's why missing dentition is a big no no in some breeds and why dogs known to produce it are avoided for breeding.

 

[splashgirl45]

. i have a little terrier who is only 15 months but i feed dry food and he has a dentastix chew after his meal every day, also since i have had him i have been buying antlers and my collie cross is almost 12 and her teeth have improved since chewing on antlers., i also feed dried pigs ears about once a week... there seems to be loads of meat pouches etc specially for little dogs so i wonder if these little dogs dont get bones ,antlers etc...

 

[Clodagh]

Raw bones have always been my choice of teeth cleaner, but tbh after the last three lots (one a month) someone has always thrown up or pooed everywhere so no more. Older lab is 10 and her teeth are gleaming white.
My lurcher had awful teeth and according to a friernd it is because 'long dogs' have small lips so tight to their teeth the saliva does not wash them off as well.
I think chewing on a good hard object and not slush in his food bowl should help as much as possible.

 

[Abi90]

Carrots are supposed to be good for keeping teeth clean, and much less sugar than a dentastix

 

[{97702}]

My experiences have led me to think - rightly or wrongly - that it is genetic? I have 2 greyhounds and 1 greyhound cross all aged 11-12 years old (roughly!) - one has 2 teeth left, the other two have ‘normal teeth’ for their age which have resulted in 1 clean and a couple of minor extractions. I give up with greyhounds to be honest, there seems to be no logic to what they are fed etc in terms of how their teeth are

 

[Bosworth]

im with Levrier on this, my bedlington and my whippet are both on raw food, plenty of bones. My whippets teeth are white totally clean. My bedlington however has plaque. He has had one dental, and thats despite me cleaning them with a brush. Its genetic. my vet thinks its related to the type of saliva the dog produces. The vet didnt think my dogs teeth were that bad. I did. But as he was going under a GA to neuter him, i asked for him to have his teeth scaled at the same time.

 

[splashgirl45]

Carrots are supposed to be good for keeping teeth clean, and much less sugar than a dentastix

carrots still have quite a bit of sugar and arent as hard.... he gets half of a dentastix for small dogs so only about 2 inches long....i am very careful with his diet and he is not fat....

 

[splashgirl45]

My experiences have led me to think - rightly or wrongly - that it is genetic? I have 2 greyhounds and 1 greyhound cross all aged 11-12 years old (roughly!) - one has 2 teeth left, the other two have ‘normal teeth’ for their age which have resulted in 1 clean and a couple of minor extractions. I give up with greyhounds to be honest, there seems to be no logic to what they are fed etc in terms of how their teeth are

i believe your greyhounds are all rescues so were their teeth bad when you got them? my friend has an ex racer and his teeth are great but the rescue centre said that ex racers usually have bad teeth and he was unusual....my lurcher always had white teeth and my collie cross, though younger didnt have such clean teeth. lurcher chewed her food, collie cross swallowed it in a millisecond!!!!! i think that made a difference...

 

[AmyMay]

I have a Bichon. So far, excellent teath. She's on dry food, has are bones and also an antler to chew on.

 

[{97702}]

i believe your greyhounds are all rescues so were their teeth bad when you got them? my friend has an ex racer and his teeth are great but the rescue centre said that ex racers usually have bad teeth and he was unusual....my lurcher always had white teeth and my collie cross, though younger didnt have such clean teeth. lurcher chewed her food, collie cross swallowed it in a millisecond!!!!! i think that made a difference...

I have had 2 ex-racers who had been in training who have both had appalling teeth (one of them is the one with only 2 teeth left now, the other was Islay who had no teeth at all by the time I lost her last year). The other greyhound I have who will be 12 in January has got good teeth and has never been in training - she was dumped in Ireland as she didn't grow big enough to race, and was a starvation case on the streets when she was rescued. My greyhound cross also has good teeth and has never been in training.

So yes, training is also a major contributory factor to poor teeth in greyhounds! Goodness knows what they feed them...

 

[Nici]

I have a Bichon. So far, excellent teath. She's on dry food, has are bones and also an antler to chew on.

Amymay, your Bichon looks very cute!

 

[Nici]

It's just a genetics thing. Certain breeds and lines are more prone to it.

My dog is seven and has had a lot of wear and tear on his teeth and they are still in great nick and very clean.
He has had raw bones all his life but not so many in the last few years and I've never brushed a dog's teeth, ever.
Some dogs younger than him have had their teeth worn to stubs, which I don't like to see.

In a breed where, for example, possessive traits like biting, gripping, pulling, holding etc is not important, I could see why poor dentition or missing teeth would be overlooked in favour of other traits (speed, herding, cuteness, whatever) and so as breeding lines go on, the problem perpetuates.

As someone once said, you overlook one missing tooth, the next generation it could be too, then later, three.
It's why missing dentition is a big no no in some breeds and why dogs known to produce it are avoided for breeding.

That really makes sense, thank you! Yes, I don't think dental health was a big factor when they started breeding Poms.

 

[Nici]

Thank you very much for your explanations and tips!
I will start my Pom on antler chews and see if he likes them.
He also quite likes carrots and his breath is nice and fresh after he eats one, but the plaque remains.

 

[DiNozzo]

My yorkies were both on dry food; one we've had since a puppy (and he's 11 now) has gleaming white teeth, and the other was a sort of rescue, who was PTS last year and was a rescue at 4 had his teeth cleaned twice. Once when we got him, and then again at around 10 (he was thirteen when died).

First dog chews everything thats his, bones, toys, tennis balls, chews, antlers. He's quite destructive with his toys so we always get the stuff for big dogs which seems to provide his teeth enough of a work out!

Dog two used to steal plastic bottles and stuff like that which appeared to do his teeth okay, they were never great but he didn't ever really learn how to play