Soft or Hard food? Which is best?

[Vikkie&Casper]

First of all I must apologise if this question is has already come up- or is a "no-brainer"- I am new to this site- I have been reading on here for quite a while and finally (tonight) decided to become a member!

I have a Rescue Yorkie dog called Casper (from South Yorkshire, England- I'm very proud and he's so adorable )

No one knows his age- the late previous owner's daughter took him to the RSPCA and said he was 2- I took him to the Vets and they said he was more like double figures !! I was in shock- this was all to do with the state of his teeth- they were terrible and most of them have been removed- god knows what his owner was feeding him on!

Anyway, since the bad teeth have been removed, his appetite has been brilliant! I've managed to get him eating Nature Diet- free of all additives and all that jazz. However, whenever we treat him with an actual piece of freshly cooked meat- or anything other than his dog food, his won't eat the next day- he has such a sensitive digestive system and seems to have a funny stomach far too often and the odd case of diarrhea-

I've now started to try and get him to eat a dry food I know he also loves by Eukanuba but rebranded by Pets at Home to try and save whatever teeth he has left with wheat, gluten free etc

One minute I hear soft food is better, the next, dry food is better because its easier on their digestive system and helps clean their teeth (I've had Casper for 4 months and he doesn't like messing around his teeth)

Sorry for such a long post-

What's your thoughts? Is soft or hard food better?

Kind Regards,
Vikkiekaye x

[Smudgers_mum]

Sorry I'm not really sure about the answer. But I just wanted to say hello and welcome to yorkie talk It's great that you have a rescue yorkie, I would love to help a rescue dog if I had a bigger house, the time, etc etc

I hope someone can answer your question Casper looks really cute. I'm from Manchester and I have Smudger who is 7 months old

[yorkieK9trainer]

Here's the scoop.
Regardless of what you feed and how you feed it, the bottom line is that you MUST help your Yorkie maintain proper dental hygiene. You need to help promote healthy teeth w/ a proper diet and nice and tight gums free of debris-which means you should also brush his teeth for him if he isn't a chewer on his own (and it sounds like he isn't). Otherwise, he'll most likely wind up loosing the rest of what he has. If his teeth are THAT sensitive, you should ask your vet about using a soft bristle baby's tooth brush w/ a doggie toothpaste that rivals our "Sensodyne" brand. I'm sure one exists and if he doesn't have the answer for you, call a specialist for a referral-that costs you nothing more than time. Be sure to be gentle w/ the brushing, but get it done, no matter how much of a fuss he makes-it's best for him.
Also, there are oral rinses that you can add to his water if you're leery about brushing and all this does is help maintain the bacteria level in his mouth at somewhat of an acceptable level.
...His water dish, does he have a sensitivity to hot/cold water? If so, I'd find out what temperatures he can tolerate and try to water him accordingly. Many of our older dogs have always preffered room temperature over cold. Also, moistening dry dog food is what I've always done for our older dogs until they get to that truely "senior" stage and then I begin cooking for them. Your kid is no where near that point, so I'd hold off on that if you want as it is time consuming.

[Jaspermom]

I actually feed mine a mixture of both. They eat better than if they get just dry food. Both foods are great nutritionally and my girls have good coats and great health. I also use a product called Dentatreat sprinkled on top of their food. http://shop.robbinspetcare.com/cats/dental.html It is a natural enzyme product that keeps the tooth tarter down so that they don't have a whole lot of tooth problems.

Welcome to YT!

[yorkieK9trainer]

WELCOME TO YORKIE TALK!
It's always nice to meet someone new that has a big heart-Thank You for rescuing a Yorkie!!!
I hope you enjoy your stay-I think you will!

[Vikkie&Casper]

Hi again!

I must say thanks to yorkieK9trainer for the teeth held and of course the lovely welcome.

What I find a challenge, is taking in this new dog in who has been living under completely different rules. And he clearly hasn't been introduced to teeth cleaning from being a puppy otherwise I think he would be used to it mouth being touched by now. I must admit, when he had a lot of his teeth removed recently, I thought he allow me to look inside his mouth, but he still growls.

So anyway, today I've bought a doogy toothbrush and toothpaste and I'm going to give it a go (wearing oven gloves lol) so if he tries to bite me with what teeth he has left, he can't pierce my skin! He seems to learnt an understanding of trust with me which is great

Righto, I'm off to attempt my first dog teeth cleaning

Vikkie x

[Lexi Rae]

good luck and welcome... would love to see pictures

[yorkieK9trainer]

Be sure to attempt it where in a place where he can't back up!
Maybe the corner of the couch or up against a wall if he's the kind of resistor that you say he is! Remember to just keep doing it, he doesn't have to like it, he simply has to tolerate this neccessary task! (it'd be nice if he liked it, but we can't always have everything we want!) I'm just glad he found a good home!

[Vikkie&Casper]

Hmmmmm- He's a wriggler alright! As soon as the toothbrush touched his fangs, he freaked out. After 5-10 mins of attempting to do this on my own, I got my partner to hold him still while I stroked tried to brush- he stopped struggling and realised he wasn't going to win lol But I only managed his two front teeth at the top- so I'll have another pop at it tomorrow and gently ease this into his routine- desensitive those gums!!!!!

I think next time I'll opt for gravy flavoured toothpaste- I bought him the upgraded Bob Martins and it doesn't smell of anything-

Vix xxx

[livingdustmops]

Don't forget that with all the teeth problems he has had his gums/teeth have been hurting him for a long time.