Your dog's teeth

[PWCorgi]

1. How old is your dog?
-5

2. How big (lbs) is your dog?
-29 pounds

3. Has he/she ever had a dental by a vet?
-Nope, but he needs one and will be getting one as soon as I have $750 to get one of his premolar #4's pulled *grumbles*

4. Is there any plaque on their teeth? Any staining?
-There is staining, and there was plaque, but the plaque seems to have vanished over the past month or so since I have had him on a raw diet again.

5. How do you clean your dog's teeth and how often?
-Well I WAS giving him rec. bones, until he broke one of his teeth on one (again, *grumbles* he will not be getting any weight bearing bones again, EVAR!), and now he just eats raw and occasionally chews on the nylabone he has.

 

[JustaLilBitaLuck]

Jack is four years old, and about 22 lbs. He's never had a dental to my knowledge (I got him as an adult through a rescue). He has minimal plaque, and a bit of staining on certain teeth. His teeth are significantly better now then they were when I got him. Brushing is an absolute nightmare with him (we're working on it, but it's a slow process). I give him raw recreational bones a couple times a week, along with bully sticks, tracheas, and other chewies. He also gets Teddy's Pride Probiotics in his food, which supposedly help with plaque and tarter. Now that the weather's nicer, I'm going to start giving him RMBs a couple times a week, now that it's nice enough that he can eat them outside.

Missy is four years old and about 75 lbs. She has also never had a dental to my knowledge. Her teeth are pretty much white, except for a bit of staining around the gumline. She also refuses to have her teeth brushed, so we keep them clean mostly with bully sticks, and raw recreational bones. She also gets the Teddy's Pride powder. I'm going to try larger RMBs with her as well, but I'm a little more cautious, as she's a huge gulper, and I don't want her to choke on anything.

 

[Doberluv]

1. How old is your dog?
I have two dogs. Chulita is just short of 11 and Jose` just turned 9

2. How big (lbs) is your dog?

Chuli is about 5 or 6 lbs, Jose` is about 10

3. Has he/she ever had a dental by a vet? If yes, how many?

Yes. Chuli 3 times, (I think...maybe 4) Jose` twice


4. Is there any plaque on their teeth? Any staining?

Not at present. They both just had dentals.

5. How do you clean your dog's teeth and how often?
I shoot for brushing them at least every other night. It doesn't always go that way. They hate it. I just got some little finger brushes...those soft ones that you slip over your finger. We'll see if they like those better. Chihuahuas are very prone to lousy teeth. I asked the vet if there was some way to clean them without knocking them out, but she said to really get in there, between the teeth and gums, they really need to be out, which is understandable. So, I figure some breeds (particularly toys) and/or individuals in particular are just going need a real teeth cleaning periodically. It's better than letting that bacteria work it's way into the blood stream, which can cause much worse problems than the anesthesia.

 

[Toller_08]

My dogs are 2, 3 and 4 years old and weigh 29lbs (Dance), 58lbs (Keira) and 80lbs (Ripley). All of them sometimes develop a small bit of plaque and Keira and Dance both have a bit of staining, but nothing to speak of really. They chew bones and I also scrape them with a dental tooth scaler a couple times a month to get rid of any plaque build up (or gunk from whatever they might've eaten in the yard -- Keira inparticular has a dirt and twig fetish!). Dance slab fractured a tooth the other week chewing a nylabone, so I pulled the slab out and now we're watching the rest of the tooth to see if it's going to do anything bad. If it does, she'll need to get it pulled at the vet. But that's the only tooth issue I've had with any of these three.

None of my current dogs or any large dogs we've had in the past ever went for a dental cleaning at the vet. I remember my Dachshunds' teeth getting filthy really quickly, though. Jesse never went for a dental, and we were able to control the buildup to a reasonable amount by scaling them ourselves, but Tia had to get hers done at the vet a few times. She also ended up getting a handful of teeth pulled when she was around 7yrs old. Most of the other little dogs I know have pretty icky teeth too unfortunately.

 

[monkeys23]

1. How old is your dog?
- Lily is 4, Scout is 2.5

2. How big (lbs) is your dog?
- 50 & 60lbs respectively

3. Has he/she ever had a dental by a vet? If yes, how many?
- No.

4. Is there any plaque on their teeth? Any staining?
- Lily, just some slight plaque around her canines.
- Scout had lots of tartar that is slowly going away since she's been on raw. And her breath doesn't smell anymore!

5. How do you clean your dog's teeth and how often?
- They eat prey(franken prey) model raw. The RMB's do a good job.

At both their individual checkup our vet was literally gushing effusively about how amazing their teeth look.
And here I was worried about the tartar... What the hell kind of teeth do they normally see on dogs?

 

[RD]

1. How old is your dog? 4

2. How big (lbs) is your dog? 35lbs

3. Has he/she ever had a dental by a vet? Never.

4. Is there any plaque on their teeth? Any staining? No plaque/tartar and no major discoloration. They aren't as freakishly sparkling white as they were when she was 1-2 years old.

5. How do you clean your dog's teeth and how often? Every day - I feed raw.

 

[ihartgonzo]

1. How old is your dog? 10 years

2. How big (lbs) is your dog? 40 lbs

3. Has he/she ever had a dental by a vet? NOPE
If yes, how many?

4. Is there any plaque on their teeth? Any staining? A smidgeon... but his teeth are excellent for his age. His Vet cannot justify doing a dental.

5. How do you clean your dog's teeth and how often? I feed plenty of raw meaty bones... but no indigestible or weight bearing bones! chicken backs, turkey necks and wings, whole game hens and ducks, pork necks and feet, lamb ribs, etc. No beef bones whatsoever. Keeping teeth clean is not worth risking an impaction, blockage or tooth fracture. But I have fed thousands of digestible bones and never had an issue at all.

Pictures for proof!

Fozzie's teeth are shockingly white! But he's only 5... his teeth look like puppy teeth they're so white.

 

[Dekka]

I have some questions regarding your dog(s) teeth!
I will use Dekka and Kaiden, they have the 'worst' teeth.

1. How old is your dog?
Dekka 6
Kaiden 7

2. How big (lbs) is your dog?
Dekka - 12 pounds
Kaiden 15

3. Has he/she ever had a dental by a vet?
If yes, how many?
Never

4. Is there any plaque on their teeth? Any staining?
Some, mostly just near the gums. Dekka has a tooth she cracked its a bit stained by the crack, but nothing serious

5. How do you clean your dog's teeth and how often?
I don't, they eat raw meaty bones and get lots of rib bones, cervical vertebrae. I have never found that bully sticks make much difference. You need things that scrape and floss, so it needs to be harder than soft tissues (bully sticks, raw hide, ears etc) but softer than antlers.

 

[Michiyo-Fir]

Funny enough raw never made any difference to us. I guess maybe it's because her plaque is not bad at all, there's barely any there as long as I keep on top of it.

When she was fed raw, her teeth are about the same as they are now.

I don't like giving her raw bones because she makes a huge mess. She gets it in her fringes, chest plume and both front paws covered with meat juices and blood, it's so disgusting.

 

[Dekka]

Have you tried raw bones that are almost all bone? Like ribs that have had all the meat taken off? Mutton ribs work well, small enough to be eaten, tough enough to require effort.

 

[Michiyo-Fir]

I have actually. She won't chew the ones with mostly bone. With RMBs, she'll chew off all the meat and the soft cartilage but won't actually chew the bone if it's a big bone. If it's small like a drumstick bone, she'll eat the bone but then she gets all the blood from it absolutely everywhere. On the sides of her crate, and half her body.

Nia isn't much of a chewer at all (on things I give her). Even if I give her a treat that is big and hard like some sort of dog biscuit she won't eat it whereas if you break it up into fine pieces she will eat it. She's just like that lol. She's destroyed a ton of stuff though >.> like headphones, cables, the wall, toothbrushes, pens and the list goes on and on.

I've tried mutton bones with Truffles since the bones are quite big and I couldn't stand the mutton smell on the dogs' coat so she only gets them right before a bath.

However, for sanitary reasons, we don't feed raw in my house anymore because I have 3 little cousins from 6-11 and they kiss/bite/lick/smoosh the dogs all the time and we can't have them touching raw meat juices on the coat.

 

[ihartgonzo]

You could try hand-feeding the raw bones until she gets the hang of chewing them. She must be playing with them to get it ALL over herself. Feeding frozen instead of thawed bones will help with that too.

As far as germs, I just leave my dogs outside and supervise for about an hour after eating. You could use wipes to clean her off afterwards. One good RMB a week should help. Knuckle bones work sooo well, but supervise!

 

[*blackrose]

1. How old is your dog?
Chloe is 4.
Rose is 12.

2. How big (lbs) is your dog?
Chloe is 45 pounds.
Rose is 60 pounds.

3. Has he/she ever had a dental by a vet? If yes, how many?
Chloe: Nope, but she needs one.
Rose: Nope. Her teeth are what I call "old dog teeth" (really worn down), but they aren't too bad off.

4. Is there any plaque on their teeth? Any staining?
Chloe's teeth are gross and have been since she was a puppy. I really need to get a dental done on her, but that is $$$$ I don't have. Her breath reeks, too. Her front canines are pretty clean, but her back teeth have tarter all over them.

Rose has tarter build up, but nothing horrible.

5. How do you clean your dog's teeth and how often?
I don't clean them. Rose gnaws on bones (raw or otherwise) every so often now a days (did so more frequently as a younger dog). Chloe doesn't get bones because she guards them and she has a sensitive stomach. I attempted once upon a time to brush Chloe's teeth, but after experiencing how much she hated it I deemed it not worth the trouble to get her used to it. I also had some spray/oral gel stuff for her, but she despised it and acted like I had beat her whenever I would put it in her mouth before bed, so we stopped that, too.

 

[sassafras]

Pip is 6, and he's never had his teeth done. They have a few speckles of tartar here and there but are for the most part very clean and his gums look great.

Maisy is 3, and the same goes for her.

Squash doesn't even have all his adult teeth in yet, so he doesn't count.


Pip and Maisy are good chewers, though. By that I mean, they will actually gnaw on chewing material for a good long time and it does some good for them instead of NOM NOM SWALLOW the way some dogs "chew".

One of my previous dogs was a greyhound and her teeth were always horrible. She pretty much needed yearly cleanings no matter what I did or didn't do. My other previous dogs, once every 3-4 years maybe? I don't recall specifically, they weren't yearly but it wasn't like only once or twice in their lives, either.

 

[Saeleofu]

Gavroche:

1. How old is your dog?

3 1/2

2. How big (lbs) is your dog?

53 lbs

3. Has he/she ever had a dental by a vet?
If yes, how many?

Nope

4. Is there any plaque on their teeth? Any staining?

Not really...minimal staining (just a little yellowy compared to a pup's)

5. How do you clean your dog's teeth and how often?

I brush when I remember to, but that's not very often I also use Petzlife on occasion, and I scale the teeth when there's noticeable buildup.



Logan:

1. How old is your dog?

2

2. How big (lbs) is your dog?

70ish

3. Has he/she ever had a dental by a vet?
If yes, how many?

Nope

4. Is there any plaque on their teeth? Any staining?

Some buildup in the cracks of the molars, but not staining to speak of except for the caudal aspect of the top incisors...gray/black staining from I don't know what. I'll have to see if it can be scraped off when I get home.

5. How do you clean your dog's teeth and how often?

Brushing when I remember, Petzlife, scaling

 

[SpringerLover]

1. How old is your dog?
Buzz- 12 years 11 months
Bailey-11 years 2 months

2. How big (lbs) is your dog?
Buzz-52 pounds
Bailey-40 pounds

3. Has he/she ever had a dental by a vet?
If yes, how many?
Buzz-none... he had a tooth extracted two? years ago because it broke off at the gum line but no dental.
Bailey-two... first was just a cleaning, second was because we removed a PM4... she broke it and pulp was exposed. She really should have another. (She chipped a piece of her remaining PM4 sometime this week and I want to cry. Vet said we really should sedate and smooth it out. Eugh.)

These two dogs have convinced me that it's got to be genetic. Buzz has beautiful teeth. Bailey has... nasty teeth.

4. Is there any plaque on their teeth? Any staining?
Bailey has plaque and calculus but no gingivitis thanks to brushing and bones. Fairly significant staining too.

Buzz has minimal plaque, no calculus and no gingivitis. I brush his teeth for the hey of it.

5. How do you clean your dog's teeth and how often?
I try to brush once a day... sometimes I get twice a day. Sometimes I get every couple days. They get "safe" bones to chew a couple times a week.