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Originally Posted by 107barney  The best thing you can do for teeth is brush them regularly. My dog is 10 and has NEVER needed a cleaning and his teeth look as white as a puppy's. I've fed soft home cooked food their entire lives. Kibble will not remove or prevent buildup on the teeth - you need to brush and do dental care. |
Just read an article the other day saying hard kibble does nothing for keeping a dog's teeth clean. Old wives tale....
I feed kibble because I feel it has more nutrients in it than canned. I mix 3 cups of kibble with 1 small can and fill with boiling water till it covers the kibble. In about 15 minutes it expands the kibble and I put it in their dishes for further cooling, but I do feed it warm. I refrigerate the rest, and add more boiling water when I dish it out, to warm it up before feeding. I feel they benefit from the extra water too.
My old dog has a few missing teeth, and has difficulty eating... sometimes.
Also for my oldster, I've been experimenting with different food bowls for him, he has trouble getting the food out out the bowl. I found that a stainless steel kitty bowl with greater sloping to the sides of the bowl helps him with getting the food into his mouth, as opposed to most dog bowls that are straight sided. I also bought him a kitty feeder, the slightly elevated ones at WalMart ($6) so he doesn't have to get his head all the way to the floor to eat.
I also leave a bowl of dry kibble out if they get hungry before meal time. and the past few mornings I have witnessed my oldster chowing down on the dry! He'll also clean everyone's bowl if there are any left overs... including the cat food, dry or wet. I don't think he would reliably eat dry food all the time though, hence why I feed what I do.
And if he's bluffing, I do know he likes the special bowl and the extra attention, so for me that is reason enough to continue, bc to me he's worth it.
As for cats, mine get dry and canned... I read where cats are strictly meat eaters, and even though the dry foods are formulated to be nutritionally correct, I feel strongly that for them to be really happy, they need to eat meat at least occassionally. My last kitty was raised on dry, until his ancient years I added canned to be sure he was eating enough. Especially with my Bengal, he just loves meat. Fresh, frozen, cooked, or raw, he doesn't really care which, he loves it all. (No I don't feed him frozen meat, he has been known to steal it though). They do eat dry as a staple, but I do feed them at least one can daily.