My 4 pound yorkie had dental done every year starting at age one. I had two other yorkies also, and my tiny one needed it done twice a year. The cleanings really helped keep their teeth in decent shape, and it also made a big difference in their overall health. The yorkie I had before them had a lot of problems with her teeth, and she had dentals, but not as often.

Ashley is the only one that I have left, and she is almost 17. We've had to have some teeth pulled, because she can no longer have her teeth cleaned as often. She has a heart condition, so we only put her under anesthesia when it is absolutely necessary. We've done it 3 times in the past 7 years when she has had infections.

My vet mixes conventional and holistic medicine, and people travel distances to see him. He is absolutely amazing! I always follow his advice on things, but I haven't been able to bring myself to do what he suggested with the teeth. He told me to give her raw chicken wings to chew on. He said if they were raw, she wouldn't be able to chew the bones (they wouldn't be brittle, which would cause problems) and chewing on the muscle in the chicken wings would polish up her teeth. He told me I would never have a problem with her teeth if I did that. I'm sure he's right about this, but it's too scary for me. Leba III, a spray, is also supposed to help prevent gum disease. I hope Timmy feels better soon. You both have been through an ordeal, and you are so lucky to have each other!

i thought raw diets would be best for teeth until the pet store lady who had a golden (big dog) and she fed raw the entire life and he chews on bone marrow bones and at 4 he had 27 teeth removed like my demi and she brushed his teeth so after that i felt better as i beat myself up as demi is on newman's own organic which is high in grains so thought this might be the cause but after i spoke with this person i felt much better.

also my friend only feeds raw chicken necks, raw diet, chicken feet, you name it and bone marrow bones and at 2 her maltese had bad teeth and needed a dental so i am not so sure i buy into the bone stuff anymore as i have seen it in a big dog and a small dog both only on raw as my friend will not feed dog food at all only raw and her maltese are super healthy except her girl malt that has teeth probs and they are both 3lbs

ya i knew small dogs had bad teeth, but my pom doesnt have problems, and i hope she never does..i give her bones and things too,and brush her teeth the best i can...and of course have them cleaned. But with timmys dig prob we havent been giving him any bones b/c we didnt know how he would react and when we first got him we gave him a small bone and he devoured it, thus causing the worry that it could be lodged somewhere. If i do give them bones ill give them bigger ones from now on b/c i kno he is really hard on them really fast. I did buy some green bones that they are supposed to eat for teeth and my mom gives them to her scottie and his teeth are blindingly white..of course he is pure black lol so that may have to do with it..but once i know timmys meds are done and he seems fine i may start giving him and spice one of those to split once in a while.

gotta love small dogs...they REALLY are babies~!:animal36

Green things as in Greenies???? I would avoid them totally! those things some time ago were causing obstructions in dogs.....the company now says they changed the formula, but I simply do not trust them.

Green things as in Greenies???? I would avoid them totally! those things some time ago were causing obstructions in dogs.....the company now says they changed the formula, but I simply do not trust them.

Also.....to really

Green things as in Greenies???? I would avoid them totally! those things some time ago were causing obstructions in dogs.....the company now says they changed the formula, but I simply do not trust them.

Also.....to really evaluate the teeth, you have to look WAY back in their mouths. Many people make the mistake of only looking at the front teeth.

be careful with greenies as they did change their formula but with him being in a puppy mill and devouring food and bones i would be very careful with him - when mine chewed on pizzles their teeth were great but i had to stop that after the pancreatitis i was too nervous as they felt real greasy but always did them supervised as they could choke on the little nubs

I am pretty sure he was referring to the muscle in chicken wings being good for keeping the teeth polished and them free from gum disease. He wasn't talking about feeding her any other kind of chicken or other raw foods.

they arent greenies brand..they are freshies supreme green dental bones from biglots..i dunno if they are the same or not. i havent given them any yet

ok not sure if my friend has used chicken wings so i will ask her - is this dr Martin Goldstein you are seeing?

http://www.drmarty.com/

ok good i get concerned with chews as choking is of concern so always do supervised - the vets have cet chews they have chlorhexedine in them - i have not used them but chlorhexedine is very good for killing bacteria in mouth - my own dental hygeniest told me it is the best and a non-anesthetic teeth cleaner for dogs told me about it and why i started using it with my dogs - it can yellow the teeth but it comes off when they get professionally cleaned but it keeps down the bacteria

I take Ashley to see Dr. Jay Wen at Hampton Veterinary Hospital in Speonk. It is on eastern Long Island near Westhampton. I have been going there several times a year since before he bought the practice approximately 14 years ago. I meet and talk to many people when I go there. I always hear stories from people who have been referred to him after they've been told there is no hope for their dogs, and Dr. Wen has been able to help their dogs. I met people with a Bernese Mountain Dog two weeks ago, who had been told by their doctor that he could not survive the bone cancer he had. With Dr. Wen's help and the herbs he prescribed, they told me the dog is fine now. He looked so healthy to me, and I asked them if he was a puppy. That's when they told me their story. I've heard stories like this all the time. He does acupuncture also. Dr. Wen uses conventional medicine too. His herbal remedies have helped Ashley a lot, but she is so difficult to pill, so it is a challenge. I have complete faith in him, and he has been so caring and honest over the years. I never feel he is just in practice for the money, because he is always so fair and wonderful. These are links to an article about him and a short video from MSNBC Today Show.

The 'Miracle' Vet - allDAY - msnbc.com
Healthcare for furry friends - MSNBC Video

Dr. Marty sounds great, too. I am so grateful to Dr. Wen for everything he has done to help me and my three babies. Ashley is my only one left now, but he was wonderful with my two other little girls too. Luckily, I only have to travel 20 miles to see him, since I meet many people traveling to see him from great distances. I always love going there, because I see so many other people who love animals like I do. My little Kiwi had to go there every six weeks for a cortisone shot. She ran into his office with the biggest smile on her face because she knew he helped her. She had bad allergies. We did the allergy testing, and Dr. Wen taught me how to give her the shots. I don't think the testing ran even $200.00 and the serums didn't cost much. I didn't care about the cost anyway; I just wanted to do something that would safely help her. The shots didn't help her enough. We also used herbs, which worked great, but Kiwi was such a master at hiding them in her mouth and disposing tof hem when we weren't looking. He didn't want her on daily steroids, so we did the cortisone shot every six weeks. It didn't completely solve the problem, but it helped her a lot and we had no other choice. When she took her two herbs twice a day, that worked best, but I was finding them all over the house and was worried that she needed something more if she wasn't always taking them.
Because of all the times I went with Kiwi and the fact that we take Ashley there at least every 2 months for a checkup (Dr. Wen keeps telling us we can wait longer between visits, but we want to make sure we are doing everything we can to prevent things with her because of her age), I meet a lot of people. I've never felt this way about any of my own doctors, but I really trust Dr. Wen completely.

that is great i will check out the links

what were the herbs as i did herbs with dd at first when she was 9 months but it did not help her allergies :( she has horrible allergies and has for 5 1/2 years and it has been a nightmare so she is on temarilp every other day - a low dose but right now she has a staph infection - she did great for years and this past year has been tough as i stopped the raw coconut oil and probiotics like an idiot and now it has been tough balancing her again :(