ogs217

Do you brush? If so, how often and with which brush & paste? I saw a product called biotene, which is to be added to drinking water. That sounds really tempting - just add to water! I also heard some people just scrape the dogs' teeth with a dental pick / scraper. Thoughts? My pup is almost 6 months and I should probably start a teeth cleaning routine now that he has all his adult teeth.

DogsR4Life

Bully sticks, brush with water, or cheese cloth, and high quality food. He is 4.5 years of age and this is what his teeth look like:

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Jonesy'sMom

Bones, Organs, Raw meaty bones (necks), Himi chews... I don't do anything

I did brush Jonesy's teeth once in a blue moon, I don't anymore, and he had them cleaned once when he got neutered.... That was nearly 3 years ago... His teeth are cleaner than most dogs around.

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~Summer~
Summer's Lost Ark Raider AX AXJ NF CGC(ASCA) RS-E JS-E GS-O
Jynx

When individuals bring nothing but drama to the table... Know it's time to let them eat alone. - Unknown

Rambo_007

All our dogs get their teeth cleaned at the vet once a year. We can keep an eye on gum disease, cavities, worn teeth as they age, clean below the gum line, etc . In addition they get brushed (finger brush with enzymatic toothpaste) as often as possible (every day is best it takes 24-48 hours for plaque to harden into tartar). I also give Glenhaven chews from the vet (enzyme infused chews), Nylabones, and antlers.
I don't agree with scraping teeth at home unless the dog lets you used a polisher also. When you scrape you damage the enamel and need to polish the defects away. I haven't seen any drastic improvement by our clients using the water additives.


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sky14

riko gets lots and lots of dental bones for him to chew on
his adult teeth are in now and white as can be

so were goan keeep up with the bones and starting him on raw!!!

monicaei

Himi chew = Himalayan chew? I love those. Got a good supplier? I have only found them on bestbullysticks, and they are so pricey for how long they last.

Edit... To the question about teeth, I find antlers are a great teeth cleaning chew as well

Rosemary

Lucky has had his brushed ocassionally, but not often. At 12, he's just started showing signs of really needing a cleaning in the last year or so (It's on my list of things to do as soon as I get the money). That said, my vet says that he's got some of the best teeth for a dog that age that he's seen.

Ilka, at almost 3, already looks like she could use a cleaning.

Leo gets hers brushed before every training session, but that's mainly because she has a nasty habit.....

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Jonesy'sMom

Yep, and I just buy them from the local pet supply store near me, and depending on the month I stock up because I get a discount on certain things certain months lol... I typically pay 12-15$ for the extra large ones and they last Jones 2-3wks

Jones has an antler, but he got bored with it... and rarely chews on it....

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~Summer~
Summer's Lost Ark Raider AX AXJ NF CGC(ASCA) RS-E JS-E GS-O
Jynx

When individuals bring nothing but drama to the table... Know it's time to let them eat alone. - Unknown

monicaei

Leo obliterates one in about 2 days (til it gets small enough to choke on and I take it away). I really love those things though, it's hours of complete contentment.

We always have 5 or 6 antlers in rotation, they have favorites and then get bored. The himi though... If it's in the toy box it's a goner.

EmilyB

My dogs have amazing teeth now, and the vet comments on them every time he sees them.

They eat a half raw (premade) diet, and get lots of chews. Pressed rawhide, bullies, greenies, etc. I do not feed RMB's anymore as that ended up with 10 cracked molars between 3 dogs.

Scraping is best left to the experts, but my groomer does check for tarter and will clean the gum line if there is anything stuck there.

Kibble can cause big tarter problems if they are not chewing enough to clean their teeth afterward.

Sam1491

Smoked bones, never brushed a tooth and she's still got the same pearly whites as when they first came in. She gets elk, beef, buffalo femurs/knuckles/saddle bones and etc as well as nylabones. We ran out briefly and ick the gunk that built up right away...
They especially work for my moms collie who notoriously gets big gunky chunks of food stuck in her molars after a meal so now she gets a post meal bone

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stryker2

Elk Antlers, Raw cow spare rib bones, bully sticks, Organic Ocean Kelp,

Hank

Raw bones, bully sticks, antlers

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BenVera

Check out petexpertise.com to see what they're charging for antlers and Himalayan chews. I buy our bully sticks in bulk from them and I think their prices are the best I've found.

I don't brush either. Both dogs get bully sticks and dental chews everyday, plus raw meaty bones (although not daily) and their teeth look great. Tessa will get a cleaning during her next annual exam.

When we started fostering our boxer, it looked like he barely had any teeth in his lower mandible and he could barely get through a Greenie without his gums bleeding. I didn't know that their breed has a tendency toward overgrowing gums when not given enough to chew. He definitely doesn't have that problem now. Nor does he have any tarter or plaque.

One thing ya gotta love about clean teeth is no dog breath!

DogsR4Life

Microwave the little nub that's left behind. It's expands into a large puffy cookie. That way your not throwing away $5 worth of the trea

Also, with the antlers, you can soak them in low sodium beef or chicken broth to make them more appealing again.

Source: reps of the company I spoke to.

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dobebug

Dobes as a breed don't have a lot of dental problems (they make up for it in other problems) so I don't generally brush my dogs teeth--if I do I don't use any of the flavored toothpastes but just use water.

I do occasionall scrape upper canines and upper last premolars and then brush--those teeth are the only ones that seem to collect tarter.

The dogs have bones--a huge collection, a variety of chews by nyla bone and kongs.

I don't give rawhide, pigs ears, stuffed bones etc to anyone--the ones that didn't give the dogs diarrhea tended to smell bad as soon as the dogs chewed on them--if it smells bad I don't want my dogs chewing them.

There are breeds (as someone else discovered--like the boxer) who are just notorious for bad teeth. Australian Shepherds (and a lot of the herding breeds, now that I think about it) have a lot of tooth problems, gum problems and just general mouth problems. We see more of them in for cleaning and extractions than I could believe. My Aussie got his teeth brushed daily from the time when he had all of his adult teeth in. It made a huge amount of difference for him--the vets who saw him always remarked on what good teeth he had--he never had a dental and was nearly 13 when he died. The worst he had was wear--but in 13 years even that was pretty minor.

None of my Dobes have ever had a dental. One had an incisior pulled when he was neutered because he'd sheared the face of it (not on a bone but playing face fighting with one of the other dogs and must of clipped it just right)--we left it until he finished his championship and then pulled it. Our dental tech polished his teeth (he was about three) but said it only took seconds because he really didn't need it.

Tollers-n-Dobes

Mine get bully sticks, antlers, turkey necks, and different raw bones (usually knuckles). They also have a couple of nylabones laying around that they don't chew too much anymore because they have other things they prefer.

They're also all fed a raw diet and while their teeth never were bad, they seem better now just by not eating kibble eventhough they eat ground raw mostly.

If I do see any build up I scrape it off with a dental scaler. I hardly ever do that, though. Maybe once every few months if I feel like it.

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Sue Strohecker

I have a dental scraper/scaler I have used for years. Never had a vet clean them, they were always good. Start early, don't be too aggressive, the more you do it, the less plague to remove. Between times are bones I bought somewhere, can't find them anymore. They have these in the house, doesn't ruin the carpet and they don't split or break off. Have bought bones from the butcher, but they get bored with them.

Adara

raw feeding and good genetics I think. I feed 75-80% raw with big meaty bones (except for Flirt who gets ground now). When I increase kibble to 50% Havoc gets yellow on his canines. It comes right off as soon as I give more bone meals. He is one though I have to keep an eye on. The others all have fantastic teeth. Flirt gets beef rib bones a few times a year.

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Colleen
Flirt, ADAMAS All the Girls Do It, OA, NAJ, CL2-F, CL2-H
Gabby, Ch Gold Run's Token of Rumor, JH, NA, OAJ, NF, NJP, CL2,CL3-H, CL3-F Vizsla
Havoc, GCh HRQ Guess Who's In Trouble, JH, OA, OAJ, CL2-H, CL2-S, CL2-F Vizsla
Envy, Kizmar's Bailey HotShot of Adara, Vizsla

Sizzledog

Raw diet.... keeps everything perfect.

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Sage

I brush my Dobe's teeth after each meal. He is fed in the morning and evening. I floss between teeth that have a tight bite. In addition, I remove strands of hair that slip under the gum line. I did the same for my other Dobes. As a result, they have a full set of teeth their entire lives with no tartar buildup. By following this routine I have avoided putting them under anesthesia for professional cleanings as my vet says professional cleanings aren't necessary due to the great condition of their gums and teeth. I have my Dobe hold a solid rubber ball that is slightly smaller than a tennis ball. This keeps his mouth open so I can thoroughly brush each tooth surface. I move the ball as necessary to get to each tooth.

BenVera

Wow, you're so diligent. I imagine their teeth are in better condition than mine! I'm curious, how long does the process take for one dog's mouth? Also, what do you feed them? Raw, wet or kibble?

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avianantics

Raw diet and a whole raw Turkey neck once a week, as well as raw recreational bones. Everybody here has sparkly white toofers.

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Sage

It takes about 2 or 3 minutes after each meal. I use a regular sized soft bristle tooth brush, Petrodex toothpaste and pre-strung dental floss. I used to only brush after each meal, but saw occasional bleeding between teeth that had a tight bite. That's when I decided to use dental floss. Since using floss I never get any bleeding at all. The 10 1/2 year old dog I put down 1 1/2 years ago had his complete set of teeth and no tartar on them. He only had one professional cleaning in his life and that cleaning was not necessary.

Personally I don't like to use Nylabones or regular bones because of the risk of injury (cracked, worn, broken teeth). I feed my dog kibble.