Lower front teeth wear - 11 months old!!

[Jenshigles]

My dog has some wear on his front teeth. We do give him bones (the stuffed femur bones) and a Galileo nylabone. I took away the bones as soon as I noticed this. He is an AVID chewer so he still has the Galileo bone which he loves. Could this be the cause of the problem?

Should I ask the vet to look? I definitely don't want him to wear out his teeth ESPECIALLY so young.

Thanks for your advice!

[emmabeth]

Im not sure its the Nylabone causing the issue unless it has some osrt of abrasive added, either intentionally to clean teeth... or unintentionally due to it picking up grit/sand etc on the ground.

One of the top causes of excessive wear on dogs teeth... is tennisballs - because when a damp tennisball picks up some grit or sand, its like the dog chewing on sandpaper! I am wondering if something he plays with could be doin this, anything with a fabric sort of coating that picks up any grit or sand could do it, as could the nylabone.

[Nettle]

Picking up sticks and stones wears teeth badly, as the lower jaw scoots along the ground as they pick up. I am wondering what a stuffed femur bone is. Raw bones covered in meat will not wear teeth, but bones with no covering may. I'm not sure how big your dog is, but a rack of well-covered ribs makes good chewing. Antler is softer on the teeth as well - and don't forget those big chompy vegetables like cabbages, and big cardboard boxes (no staples).

[Jenshigles]

I appreciate the ideas!

I read that about tennisballs long ago so he has never had one. The bones weren't raw but the baked ones that are all white and pretty hard.

He is only outside when we are with him and so doesn't get rocks and such to play with.

One thought I just had... He gets an occasional ice cube. He loves them and he doesn't chomp them down but rolls around and throws them etc. He eventually chews on them and such. Could this be a culprit?

[Nettle]

Ice cubes are fine. It'll be the hard bare bones causing the problem. That's why doggy-aware people preach the gospel of no cooked bones ever. Unfortunately pet shops continue to sell them.

[Jenshigles]

Yeah... Vet said they should be fine. :-/
I took them away immediately after seeing the wear.

I'm glad to have an answer.

I am frustrated by conflicting info. Some people say certain things are fine and others don't. I hate to find out the hard way.

[Nettle]

Sadly, that's how most of us find things out and why we come on here and share what we know.

[Jenshigles]

So get this!!!

I was being overly cautious...

I took Panzer to the vet for some weird skin thing. Turns out I was being overly cautious there too! Mild allergic reaction to soap and I was putting it down his spine when bathing, she gave me a tip to lather up on my hand THEN on the dog... doh! Nothing major. Was good to go in though.

ANYWAYS... vet looked at his lower teeth and she said they are perfectly normal. And if there is mild chipping it will heal itself because it's not really deep.

Bones have been retired (thrown in the trash) regardless... and I'll be checking out deer antlers!