Little dogs and dental care

[Sweet72947]

I am wondering something. How many people on here with little dogs feed raw, and does it help their teeth? Benji is on raw, and he STILL gets mad tartar buildup on his molars. He hardly gets fed any people food treats because he's very picky about what he will eat. I have been thinking of brushing his teeth again, at least once a week or giving him some sort of denta bone now and then or something.

Daisy's teeth, however, are great! What is it with little dog's teeth? (for those who don't know, Daisy is a black lab and Benji is a schnauzer mix).

[babymomma]

I dunno what it is about their teeth! I think brushing is the best option.. But you should try for 3 times a week.

Does he get RMBs that he has to work hard on chewing?

[Sweet72947]

He is fed mainly chicken legs, wings, thighs, giblets, some beef hearts, and occasionally pork bones. He is very picky about the food he eats.

[PoodleMommy]

Brushing only works if it is done AT LEAST every third day but really it would be better if you could do it every week.

I said in another thread but I brush mine every day and put petzlife gel on every third day and they have NO tartar buildup.

[Fran101]

Romeo is on premade raw, Primal, it comes in little nuggets. SoOo since it doesn't have quite the dental cleaning power, so I also give him a couple of raw bones a week and I brush his teeth every 3 days (petzlife)

so far, his teeth are perfect.
but ya, small dogs are more prone to dental issues/tartar for some reason.

[FoxyWench]

if his teeth are kinda nasty a good dental cleaning to get rid of the build up, will work perfect. ive found bones are perfect for KEEPING teeth chealn, but once they get nasty it wont "cure" it

[Dekka]

Depends on a few factors. My experience has been that raw works better than brushing ever other day. (raw with good chewing bones like turkey necks and chicken frames) That said Dekka's teeth don't look great..

BUT her great grandfather was known for horrid teeth. He had nasty teeth. Also Dekka only really chews on one side (and its better). Snip's teeth are good though, as are Kaiden's so I do suspect a genetic component. Every one has shiny whites.

[Grab]

I think it's all the teeth crammed into wee mouths. My little dogs are an even split. Ginger I adopted at 10 years..her former owner fed her scraps and grocery store food. Her teeth are completely stained. Even after a dental they permanently stay that color. She had a dental after I adopted her and she'll need one again next year. I do give her raw meats as treats, but while she can chew on bones, she cannot have anything she can bite into or get pieces off of due to having megaesophagus as well as a fragile jaw (she broke her jaw in an injury a year and a half ago and due to her age it won't be as sturdy as the rest of her jaw) So I give her frozen meats and she also likes to chew on bones she can't nibble..lamb ribs are a favorite.

Julian had quite a lot of plaque, but lots of raw bones as well as bully sticks have cleared everything up aside from a tiny spot on each upper canine, which we are working on. The rest of his teeth (even those in back) are white and tartar free. He's a yorkie, 8 years old and has never had a dental.

Grimm is only a year, so he still has very nice white teeth

[Southpaw]

Lucy's teeth are yuck city. I've been thinking about getting the Petzlife gel. Bully sticks don't help and I'd love to see if RMBs would help, but my mom would have a heart attack if I gave those to the dogs.

It's just interesting that she's only 3 years old and she's had bad teeth for quite a while, and Molly's teeth were never brushed a single day in her life and the vet always commented on how good they looked; it wasn't until she was around 10 years old that she started getting some build-up and even then I think they still looked better than Lucy's.

[Alexandros Tony]

I would choose the breed that suites your lifestyle best and then train for agility. Any dog can do agility, but remember the dog will be a pet first, so be sure you understand what you are getting yourself into first.