Numpty question re. Claws and Teeth

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Faro

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Ronnie is about 17 months old and we've had him a year next month (re-homed him at 6 months old).

In all of that time we have never needed to clip his nails. I'm not vastly experienced with dogs, although I have many, many years experience with other "clawed" animals and in all honesty, I don't believe Ronnie's claws need trimming.

Is this normal? Do dogs, in the right circumstances "self-trim"?

Ronnie is a very fit dog, with loads of off-lead exercise on the farm where I keep my horses - could it be that we've just got the balance right with his lifestyle?

Also re. teeth - his teeth look fine and white at the moment, but of course he is still only young. We've not done anything with/to his teeth. Is there anything I SHOULD be doing regarding the future state of his teeth?
 
I've never clipped a dog's nails apart from one in old age (never again :p), all mine have been kept on concrete and had lots of road work which keeps them down.
Likewise I have never brushed a dog's teeth or given any dental treatment - I feed bones and/or raw and have never had a day's trouble with their teeth.
 
Re nails - many factors - conformation and type of exercise will often dictate whether a dog needs his nails trimmed. If a dog, like CC suggests, is exercised on roads/concrete, they often will file down naturally, whereas grass exercised dogs will not get that so may require a trim now and again. Conformation and movement come in to play when you see a dog that breaks over crooked (nails on outside might not need trimmed, but inner toes do) or a dog that pulls with front legs might need it on front feet and a dog that really pushes off from behind might not on back feet.

I also used to groom a wee poodle that was bred in France - not only was his tail docked far too short (like a boxer) but he must had his nails pared beyond belief as a pup because his nails never ever needed trimmed as they were barely stubs coming out of his toes - and that was all his life that I groomed him regardless of his exercise regime.

As for teeth - again mouth confo will play a part. I often find that dogs with narrow mouths don't seem to chew effectively and still need some help at back teeth. Meanwhile, my BT who has never been fed raw, has never really had that much by the way of oral care other than dental chews (but god, not Pedigree dentastix - they're vile) and at 10 years old, he's now JUST starting to get a plaque build up.
 
Thanks CC and PNP.

So, I take it that there aren't really any recommendations for dogs to see a canine dentist/have their teeth checked every year (or whatever time period), like there are for horses?
 
No not really - a vet doing his/her 6month or annual checkup would look at the teeth usually too.
 
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Agree with what's been said and PLEASE don't feed dentastix, they're very fattening! Hard bones or raw hide chews generally helps deal with plaque.
 
Out of all the dogs I have had over the years I have never brushed their teeth. Just one had problems, a Lancashire Heeler who had a terrible mouth and did have to have dentals 2 or 3 times and quite a few teeth removed. With nails I think it depends very much on the dogs conformation, as well as how its kept. I have had some that have never needed their nails clipping and others who need the occasional trim. Evie does quite a bit of road work and spends part of each day in a concrete run but does need her nails trimming as she has quite long toes.
 
I have never brushed my dogs teeth, however we always advise to do so. Start off by getting your dog used to being touched daily, run your fingers over them etc. Then you can start to add a bit of doggy toothpaste. Most come in a meat flavour (do not use human toothepaste, flouride is toxic and is difficult to wash out a dogs mouth) and work using enzymes, so even if you don't get a good brushing action then the toothpaste will still be doing something! From then on you can move to a finger brush and then a toothbrush. The timescale depends on how long your dog takes to get used to it (normally a couple of days for each stage). And always start from the side of the mouth, dogs don't like it when you go in at the front first!

As I said, I have never brushed mine though! However there is nothing better than prevention to avoid any costly dental bills further down the line. You can also feed large dry kibble (such as Hills T-D) the thought is that in the action of crunching can help to break off small bits of plaque.

Some breeds are more pre-disposed to dental problems.

With claws, most dogs will self trim when on concrete surfaces, my dog is 10 years old and has never needed his claws cut. Just keep an eye they don't get too long/sharp/start to curl over. Also keep an eye on the dew claws (the ones higher up the leg) as they don't come into contact with any surface and can get sharp and curl.
 
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have never cleaned my dogs teeth and they stay white because they have bones to chew.....they get walked together and my collie cross has never had to have her claws clipped but i have to clip my lurchers claws about once a month. my theory is that the lurcher is very light on her feet and therefore doesnt wear the nails down naturally....
 
It's also the shape of the foot and how the dog uses it - a hare foot, like you'd find on a lurcher, will often not roll their toes over enough to "wear them down".
 
Dentastix are bogging! (No PMs please :p) they give my older dog the runs and even the large ones, both dogs just went chomp, chomp, gone so I can't see what they would actually do for teeth (they were given to us).

Stagbars seem like a better alternative.

As mentioned, the nails can be to do with foot conformation. I see a lot of JRTs with really long nails and long, flat feet.
 
CaveCanem said:
Dentastix are bogging! (No PMs please :p) they give my older dog the runs and even the large ones, both dogs just went chomp, chomp, gone so I can't see what they would actually do for teeth (they were given to us).

Stagbars seem like a better alternative.
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Mine spends quite a while with his, and no adverse effects unlike bones. Need to give him those in stages I think.
 
Thanks for comments everyone. I've never bought Dentastix.

CC - I'm glad you mentioned Stag Bars, because I was going to ask if they could potentially be good for teeth. Ronnie LOVES Stag Bars and fortunately (for the bank balance) with him each one lasts ages, he will gnaw at them contentedly for hours and hours on end!
 
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