Cleaning teeth

[oriondw]

As everyone else said raw bones

 

[necterine0]

Ok the advice in here on raw bones is very good. But one more question.
Assuming you take one out of the freezer and give to the dog. How long will it remain good before you should throw it out. Will it spoil over night? Should you refrigerate it over night,and give back to them the next day?

 

[DanL]

Ours never last that long- stuff like chicken legs are gone in minutes. Aside from when we used to give them the smoked beef leg bones (which we never do anymore after learning the difference between a cooked and raw bone, and the difference between a weight bearing bone and a non weight bearing bone) the longest I had one last was a big pork shoulder, it took my GSD about an hour to go thru that one. Sometimes the short ribs will last too but I take them away if hey get too small so they don't try swallowing too big a chunk. I think a dog has a pretty tough stomach, and if a bone has some meat on it and it sits out all night, they can still eat it. I'd leave it outside though!

 

[Saje]

necks, backs and poultry parts don't last more than ... 5 seconds around here. The knuckle bones are outside toys and they clean them out and forget about them. I haven't had any for awhile though.

 

[necterine0]

Ok thanks i will have my daughter pick up some bones from the butcher. Thanks for the info.

 

[Denaluvscorgis]

Thanks DanL....Chloe and Jack will love that. I was always told not to give dogs chicken bones as they can choke on them. Is that just an old wives tale? Also, do you freeze the bones first?

 

[Saje]

I think you need to be a bit more careful if your dogs are gulpers and don't chew their food at all. Mine all chew and I'm not woried about them choking on their bones. I don't feed them all together so they aren't in competition.

I freeze all the meat first. Just to be safe. Especially salmon - which I freeze for a week.

 

[DanL]

Thanks DanL....Chloe and Jack will love that. I was always told not to give dogs chicken bones as they can choke on them. Is that just an old wives tale? Also, do you freeze the bones first?

It's the cooked chicken bones you shouldn't feed them. Really, cooked bones of any kind.

I don't freeze them 1st. Since we feed an all raw diet, bones are part of their meal. I take 5-7lbs of meat at a time out of the freezer, so on the 1st day it might be mostly frozen, by the 2nd or 3rd day it's thawed. So it's really up to you- watch the dogs, if they are gulping, freezing might help, but I really don't see how the actual bone is going to change in consistency much between frozen and thawed, it's more of how the meat part is handled by the dog. If you aren't giving them a whole turkey leg or a chicken leg quarter meat and all you don't have to be concerned with that as much.

 

[Kaabi]

Yeah, it is very expensive to clean their teeth. I only do it once a year, I feel like I should do it more.

 

[Denaluvscorgis]

DanL...what breed of dogs do you have?

 

[gaddylovesdogs]

Raw bones. I give them once a week or so. They chew on them for a couple of hours, make their teeth look a ton better than if they didn't have them. I throw them out after a day or two, because they dry up and can splinter.

 

[necterine0]

In the food forum there is a sticky that was posted about freezing before ever giving it to your dog.

This is the link....
http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2558

Then there are many other links in there to follow concerning the neosporosis canineum parasite.

I think i shall be freezing first to be on the safe side....

 

[gaddylovesdogs]

I always give them frozen. I take them out of the freezer and hand them to the dogs.

 

[Denaluvscorgis]

They probably really enjoy them frozen...I think that's what I'll try.

 

[Mordy]

Then what bones would you recommend for my Golden ? I've either given shank or knuckle bones. I've always stayed away from rib bones as they aren't chewed... just cracked and swallowed. The larger bones are what clean his teeth.

the knuckles are fine, in fact, they are great, since they are soft enough to be chewed up. what is unsafe is the middle part, the "tube" or "body" that connects the two knuckles.

to illustrate:

 

[Denaluvscorgis]

Mordy, why is the "body" of the bone unsafe? Do you just take the bone away when they get to that part?

 

[Mordy]

Mordy...what type of bones would you recommend for my Corgi & Dachshund?

pretty much anything a bigger dog would also get. knuckle bones, chicken and turkey wings and backs, chicken leg quarters, slabs of rib (not just one measly rib ), beef and pork neck.

"too big" is rarely ever an issue. the bigger the pieces, the better they will clean the teeth, since the dog has to work more on them. the only difference with really small breeds is thatthey often have dental issues to begin with, so you have to be careful.

 

[necterine0]

the only difference with really small breeds is thatthey often have dental issues to begin with, so you have to be careful.

.What issues? Do you mean like breaking their teeth??

 

[Mordy]

Mordy, why is the "body" of the bone unsafe? Do you just take the bone away when they get to that part?

it's the hardest, densest part of the bone, since it is weight bearing. of smaller animals such as lambs or calves (who are small and still young) it's not as much of a problem since the bones are still undeveloped and soft, but leg bones of older cattle, moose, older deer etc. are so hard they can break teeth.

when i have a whole bone like that, i take it away once the knuckles are chewed off, but more often i just get the sawed off knuckle parts by themselves.

 

[Mordy]

.What issues? Do you mean like breaking their teeth??

not only that, but with many small breeds it's simply due to the small size of their jaws. the teeth grow in crowded or crooked for example, which causes problems.