Doggie dental

**Vai**

Just readin another thread there and didnt wanna take it off topic but what do you think of Dentastix and other such products? Do they actually work or is it a waste of money?

Plaque-off was mentioned in the other thread, anyone have experience with this or any other products?

Edit:
Just realised I named this thread almost exactly the same as the one I was reading previously, weird.

Cherry Blossom

No better cure for plague than a nice raw meaty bone

Edit:

Ahem . . . to answer the question I was actually asked

No I think dentastix are actually more of a cause of the problem than a cure.

DBB

I've ehard some say the Dentastix are fab, others say they're no good. Personally, I'm sceptical.
I think the trick is to get the dog chewing enough to salivate, the saliva helps cleanse the mouth and teeth, as well as the physical rubbing to clean the teeth.
Raw carrots work here. Both dogs are aged 11+ and their teeth are in much better nick than you'd expect from dogs of their age.:)

**Vai**

Yeah I feed mine carrots but the older one still has a bit of plaque. Its not too bad but Im looking to prevent worse plaque.

I also give them Dentastix so Im interested to hear /see opinions on them.

star-pants

We found Dentastix didn't help with the plaque at all.
We used Plaque Off too and well it didn't get any worse with it.

I was told (by a groomer) that Dentastix whilst good for the gums aren't good for the teeth in relation to plaque. I guess they're quite sticky and they have glycerin so you wonder how good they really are.

lorebringer

We give our guys raw hide sticks and such to chew on. I have asked more than one vet about Dentastix and all have said they are not worth the packing they come in (and I agree, plus they gave one of my dogs pretty severe diarrhoea... not to mention the farts that they all had, would clear a room :eek:). Hard food (as in kibble) is good for gums and teeth (rubbing action) and the odd bit of something to chew is also a plus. On asking about teeth cleaning, most vets I have asked agree that it is mostly down to feeding, age and genetics - some dogs just have better teeth than others!

I have never used Plaque Off, so can't help there, but would be interested to know what people who have used it/use it think too.

star-pants

+1 on the likes of dentastix type chews giving the runs and so forth.
We use rawhide chews too. We stopped using the 'plaque off' because it didn't seem to be making much of a difference.

DBB

Another good chewy treat, especially for smaller dogs, is dried tripe sticks. They are low fat, they don't seem to have the same dangers as pig's ears and noses, and rawhides, for getting slippy when chewed and slithering down the dog's throat, and most dogs seem to really like them.
Other natural products like cow's ear and bull's pizzle (:o) are great, the beef products probably best of all as they're much lower-fat than the pork products.
Lorebringer, I hope this doesn't turn your stomach but I stopped buying rawhide stuff some time ago, when I realised that it's almost impossible to get a reliable source on what it is... it seems that it may be a by-product from the many dogs and cats that are killed for fur in Asia. They're not going to advertise that, are they? I don't know if I ever saw a label on rawhide that settled my conscience about where it had come from, let alone what species it's made from:(
Perhaps someone else here knows of ethically sourced rawhide?

Zapperzy

DBB wrote: »

Another good chewy treat, especially for smaller dogs, is dried tripe sticks. They are low fat, they don't seem to have the same dangers as pig's ears and noses, and rawhides, for getting slippy when chewed and slithering down the dog's throat, and most dogs seem to really like them.
Other natural products like cow's ear and bull's pizzle (:o) are great, the beef products probably best of all as they're much lower-fat than the pork products.
Lorebringer, I hope this doesn't turn your stomach but I stopped buying rawhide stuff some time ago, when I realised that it's almost impossible to get a reliable source on what it is... it seems that it may be a by-product from the many dogs and cats that are killed for fur in Asia. They're not going to advertise that, are they? I don't know if I ever saw a label on rawhide that settled my conscience about where it had come from, let alone what species it's made from:(
Perhaps someone else here knows of ethically sourced rawhide?

I never really gave much thought to what rawhide actually is, just presumed it was dried pig skin or something like that. :eek:

My terrier gets raw chicken wings, raw carrots, and dried tripe. His teeth aren't perfect but there not bad either. I gave up on dentastix, he didn't like chewing them, can't imagine how they do any good, the way I see it raw carrots and raw chicken wings are much cheaper and healthier.

Would be interested in hearing more experiences with plaque off. Can it be disolved in wet food or does it have to be sprinkled on top of food? I need to do something about my cat's teeth. She had a dental in April and her teeth are nearly as bad again. I brush them but it can be hard getting a brush into her back teeth. And there's no way she'l chew on raw bones.

mymo

"I brush them but it can be hard getting a brush into her back teeth" :eek::eek::eek:

May I just say you are very brave, I would never even try brushing either of my cats teeth, I like my fingers too much.

I give the dogs meaty bones, lamb ribs are a favourite of theirs, the cats love chicken wings. I'm lucky my butcher loves dogs and gives mine a treat most weeks.
Have you tried giving the cat a piece of stewing steak? I give a large chunk each to my cats whenever I get some, my 11 year old cat has lovely (but sharp)teeth.

Dentastix are crap in my opinion, and my dog gets upset tum from rawhide or most other chews.

tk123

Dentastix give my guy the runs and stinky farts. I do give him the royal canin version - they call them oral bars. His teeth are very clean but it could be from his dry food - tbh he has an routine of getting the bar at lunchtime during the week so I give them to him and they do foam up so they something but not sure if it's a fluke! His teeth are normally spotless but a couple of months ago he had some plaque so I started brushing his teeth and it sorted it in a few days so I've kept the brushing up. I give him rawhide 'dental' strips after I brush as a treat and they're meant to have enzymes on them to make saliva as he chews and clean the teeth. i'm wary of giving him a bone and he's a strong chewer and also every now and again he'll swallow a chunk of the rawhide that's too big and cough it back up. I'd be worried he'd swallow a chunk of bone and hurt himself.

The are the strips - http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_treats_chews/dental_care/bayopet/128813

Whispered

I don't bother with dentastix and the likes, they're gone within mins if Phoe gets his paws on them and Harley turns his nose up at them. Similar with pigs ears, we occasionally get them but the cost is silly considering one of them wont eat them and the other eats them too quickly for them to have any benefit.

We give meaty raw bones. They last ages, keep the boys quiet for a while, are free or cheap and in my opinion much better for them. Although I do know people who would never give raw bones, where as I'd never give cooked, so it's a matter of researching and knowing what's best for your dogs.

Raw carrots go down a treat too.

Zapperzy

mymo wrote: »

"I brush them but it can be hard getting a brush into her back teeth" :eek::eek::eek:

May I just say you are very brave, I would never even try brushing either of my cats teeth, I like my fingers too much.

Were both as stubborn as each other so we both are persistant, me in getting it done and her in making it as difficult as possible! I sit her on her favorite chair and she's too stubborn to get off it even when I'm poking a toothbrush in her mouth! I also think she actually likes the feeling of the bristles on her mouth, if you dart the toothbrush around the place she catches it and has a good chew on it.

**Vai**

tk123 wrote: »

The are the strips - http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_treats_chews/dental_care/bayopet/128813

These look better than Dentastix actually, no additives unlike most other dental chews. Must try them, cheers tk123!

tk123

**Vai** wrote: »

tk123 wrote: »

The are the strips - http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_treats_chews/dental_care/bayopet/128813

These look better than Dentastix actually, no additives unlike most other dental chews. Must try them, cheers tk123!

I counted them - there's 11 in the pack. Also I found it a bit confusing cos there's 2 types and thought one was for cleaning and one was for fresh breath but they're the same - just different flavors.

Sigma Force

I used to use rawhide years ago and found it brilliant for keeping a dog busy and for their teeth but after hearing some horror stories of them causing intestinal blockages I stopped using them.
I've tried plaque off before didn't find it made any difference, there's Logic paste which I think helped but it was so expensive.

Getting a soft toothbrush and some doggy safe toothpaste is probably the best way to go but also as said bones like marrow bones. I can't use marrow bones they cause colitis in my dogs but I do use the cleaned filled ones you can get from the pet shops, the rooks and jackdaws end up eating out the middle and the dogs chew away on the bone part they don't tend to chip too easy. I've found it helps but I should be cleaning their teeth as well esp. middle girl she's only had a dental cleaning and a tooth out a few months ago.

I find the dry dog food (although people say it's better for teeth) doesn't help their teeth, it sticks to the teeth but other than that it's a good food.

My parents dog gets more bones than my lot, her tummy is able for regular raw bones from the butcher and her teeth are immaculate.
Saying that my collie is 12 years old and her teeth are in much better shape than my 7 year old mix breed, they have exactly the same diet and the middle girl chews on the white bones more. Some of the dental problems are just down to pot luck some dogs have better teeth than others.