Clean teeth

[katej215]

Hey guys
I've noticed recently that Hattie has stains on the outer facing edges of her bottom canines? (those big pointy teeth anyway)..she's fed raw..so was wondering if anyone could recommend anything, a particular cut of meat or something that would help clean them? The rest of her teeth look lovely and clean.

[Swanny1790]

Raw bones (never give cooked bones to your dogs) that will take hours to chew up are probably your best bet.

[Maxy24]

Since not much chewing is done with the canines that may be difficult. Some dogs may scrape them when eating very large bones with minimal meat (recreational bones like knuckle bones) to try and grab the small amount of tissue off the bones. So you could give that a try. Just monitor to be sure she doesn't try biting down on them, you don't want broken teeth.

You could also try brushing with enzymatic toothpaste or petzlife gel. The canines are easier to get than molars, so you may have success even if she's not a fan of brushing.

[geenamiller89]

Yes, raw meaty bones are good to help clean the teeth. Take time to check their teeth regularly because the stain will slowly accumulate when they are not chewing much or constantly eating wet foods.

[Nettle]

As Maxy says, the canines are not much involved in chewing. Their job is to penetrate the skin and flesh of prey, which is what would clean them if you had a dog catching its own dinner rather than living with you as a pet. The best mimicry for this is to feed a solid lump of meat/very meaty bone from time to time, and if you feed it half frozen, its tooth-cleaning effects will be even better.

Otherwise, you may just have to rub the tartar off the canines. No shame in that. A dab of aloe vera gel rubbed into the tartar can be helpful, but it takes a couple of weeks sometimes before you see the result.