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Originally Posted by QuickSilver  I guess I could try pre-made raw first... I have a feeling that if I started prey-model, Thor would simply refuse to eat ever again if I had to stop it. I do like the idea of Thor chewing on bones. I've mentioned before that he doesn't like to chew all that much, and his teeth are horrible. The only thing I've ever really gotten him to chew on is a flossy, and that's if I boil it soft first.
So on one hand, I like kibble because it's the only food Thor really crunches on, and I hold out hope that the "scraping teeth" argument for kibble is true. His poops are also very good on his current kibble.
FYI, this is the one thing I know about yorkie poop - it shouldn't be SUPER hard. According to Victoria Stilwell, a proper poop is formed, but will leave a residue on the ground. The dog should not have to struggle to expell it.
OTOH, Thor definitely only eats kibble as a last resort. I'm not sure if he counts as a picky eater or not... he loves pretty much everything but fruit, vegetables, and healthy kibble. He loves the local corner store, and cannot get enough of their treats. I thought they must be cookies or something, but it's just store brand dog food.
He is skinny, but not so skinny as to be unhealthy. He's "lean".
I did give him some homemade raw once (they were handing out samples), and he wolfed that down, so maybe... but again, I train him a lot, and I want him to think the treats are high value, which is easier when he is not crazy about his food.
But what the heck, I might as well try raw for a bit.  It's another way to spoil him, and if it helped his teeth, that would be amazing. |
yes, milu and davinci both like raw when i first fed it to them, but they get sick of it after about a week... i think raw is better for their teeth than kibble, because i used to take my friends dog to the groomers when i take milu. her dog eats kibble only and is the same age as milu (one month younger) and the groomer always tells me that milu's teeth are cleaner and her anal gland is not as bad as my friends dogs. but even though milu's teeth are better, it's still not perfect. i just recently started brushing milu's teeth. her teeth in the front are pretty white, but when i got to her back teeth, i can see stuff that's built up back there. so we definitely need to brush.
i agree with crystal, it doesn't matter what diet you feed your dog, you have to brush their teeth. (maybe she didnt say you HAVE TO, but i think everyone HAS to brush their yorkie's teeth!!!)
so if that's your only reasoning for feeding him raw, i wouldn't necessarily say feeding raw is going to give him perfect teeth, but i think it will probably improve the condition of his teeth. if your concern is thor's teeth, i would recommend brushing and dental products. i have been using petzlife gel on milu's teeth and some special chews thats suppose to help clean teeth. there are other products i am interest in as well.
for thor, since he doesn't like to chew hard stuff besides kibble, have you ever tried the really hard cheese sticks? i think they are called himalayan chews. i think thor might like that.