Oral Hygiene - Help!

[ally173]

do the teeth need to be brushed daily? i am a bit lazy and i brush my dog's teeth once or twice weekly; i also use the bluto's brush; however when brushing her teeth she bleeds somtimes from the back teeth; i am assuming that's a sign of dental disease? is there a way to reverse it or is it time for dental cleaning. she's on the honest kitchen food.

[yorkiemom08]

Originally Posted by Karrie

Good luck with the vet visit!

I just want to add our experience on the tarter issue - we have none! And we don't brush! We just had her annual check up last month and the vet was amazed.

My Bailey is 2.5 years old; she had a few baby teeth extracted when she was spayed at 7 mos. I feed Bailey a homemade raw diet with lien hamburger, eggs, rice, cottage cheese, etc. I contribute her no-tarter and no-bad breath to her diet.

This diet was created by my mom who has extensive knowledge in dog nutrition. True Story: once, my mom took in a rescue who had heartworm and needed a dental really bad. They couldn't do the dental due to the heartworm treatment. However, after several weeks on this diet, his mouth healed and it was determined that a dental was no longer necessary! Even mom was amazed with the quick results from this raw recipe.

If you're interested in the recipe, I'd be glad to post it or pm you. Its all human grade ingredients you can purchase from the grocery store (with the exception of a few supplements - i.e bone meal and potassium) I don't want to portray this a the "miracle food" - but as far as teeth are concerned, we swear by it!!

That's great!!! I'd love to have the recipe too please

[JPop & Taz 2]

Originally Posted by yorkiemom08

That's great!!! I'd love to have the recipe too please

Ohhh, could I have it too please? I'm really dreading dentals for my 6 babies and will do anything to prevent it. I hate to admit it, but, I've very lax on brushing their teeth. It's like fighting a bear!

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by ally173

do the teeth need to be brushed daily? i am a bit lazy and i brush my dog's teeth once or twice weekly; i also use the bluto's brush; however when brushing her teeth she bleeds somtimes from the back teeth; i am assuming that's a sign of dental disease? is there a way to reverse it or is it time for dental cleaning. she's on the honest kitchen food.

Preferrably daily, but 3-4 times a week minimum.
Sometimes their gums can get irritated if you don't brush often.
It can happen to people when they don't normally floss and then start and it doesn't always mean periodontal disease.

[ally173]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

Preferrably daily, but 3-4 times a week minimum.
Sometimes their gums can get irritated if you don't brush often.
It can happen to people when they don't normally floss and then start and it doesn't always mean periodontal disease.

thanks; i am using an enzyme toothpaste that smells like poultry but it stinks and i really dont want to use it anymore; so i am brushing with the biotene maintenance gell for now; however i need to get a toothpaste soon; which one do you recommend.

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by ally173

thanks; i am using an enzyme toothpaste that smells like poultry but it stinks and i really dont want to use it anymore; so i am brushing with the biotene maintenance gell for now; however i need to get a toothpaste soon; which one do you recommend.

We use CET Vanilla-Mint. It smells like rootbeer floats.

[GucciBear]

I feel so much better after hearing that we're not the only ones with a toothbrush hating puppy. Gucci is about a year and a half and I try to brush about 3 times a week with a mint flavored doggie toothpaste. It's amazing how strong those little guys are! When we were in for his last check up, I was told that he still has 2 of his puppy canines and they think they should be extracted. I'm like a lot of you and do not like the idea of sedating him, but I guess there's no way around it. I've been dragging my feet, but don't want to wait too much longer. They'll clean his teeth at the same time. How often do you all have their teeth cleaned?

[Karrie]

Here it is!

1/2 lb lean hamburger (**)
1/4 lb ground turkey
2 cans sardines (*)
1 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup veg. of choice (I use chopped spinach)
2 large eggs lightly cooked
3/4 tablespoon powdered bone meal
1/2 teaspoon potassium
1 tablespoon safflower of Sunflower oil

(**) you can substitute lean hamburger with venison or ground turkey (in fact, rotation is preferred)
(*) I found the sardines tooooo smelly (lol) so I have permission to replace the sardines with 4 oz. of another ground meat, or 1/2 cup cottage cheese - so long as I squeeze fish oil caplets over her food 2-3 times a week. (its a wonderful trade off!!!)

For the eggs, I'll break them over the hot rice and let it sit for a few minutes, hence lightly cooked.

Occasionally add 1 oz. liver to the batch.

Mix all together and your done! For storage, there are lots of options. For me, I bought 10 oz. gladware containers (6 for $1 in the discount aisle) and fill them about 3/4's full and freeze. One container will last for three days - per dog (I have a singleton). I hardly ever have to replace the containers - they last forever.

Serve one large tablespoon per meal - twice a day.

Typically, I will make up 4 batches at one time and freeze.

For the supplements (bone meal and potassium) - I get them online through iHerb.com. You'll need "potassium chloride powder - sodium free salt substitute" and "100% pure bone meal powder". I found safflower oil at wal-mart.

I also get childrens multivitamins with no artificial sweetners (cut into 1/4's) and give to her every other day.

Bailey absolutely loves this and I know its good for her - so I serve it with confidence. Its really no trouble at all when you double or quadruple up on the batches and freeze!! Our babies are soooo worth the extra effort.

Good luck!!

[JPop & Taz 2]

Karrie, do you serve this along with their kibble, or in place of? Thanks so much for the recipe! Can't wait to try it.

[inluvwithfluff]

Thank you for the recipe! I definitely want to try this out soon, and I'll most likely be using the cottage cheese instead of the smelly sardines

[inluvwithfluff]

Originally Posted by GucciBear

I feel so much better after hearing that we're not the only ones with a toothbrush hating puppy. Gucci is about a year and a half and I try to brush about 3 times a week with a mint flavored doggie toothpaste. It's amazing how strong those little guys are! When we were in for his last check up, I was told that he still has 2 of his puppy canines and they think they should be extracted. I'm like a lot of you and do not like the idea of sedating him, but I guess there's no way around it. I've been dragging my feet, but don't want to wait too much longer. They'll clean his teeth at the same time. How often do you all have their teeth cleaned?

Have you tried a toothpaste that's meat/poultry flavored? Biscuit hates the toothbrush but sometimes surrenders for a little bit because he likes the flavor... then he bolts

I don't know about the number of cleanings. This will be his first cleaning and I hope I don't have to put him through it again. One of my main goals from now on will be to prevent the need for dental cleanings in the future.

Having said that, I hope Gucci has an easygoing, trouble-free tooth extraction and cleaning

[Karrie]

Originally Posted by JPop & Taz 2

Karrie, do you serve this along with their kibble, or in place of? Thanks so much for the recipe! Can't wait to try it.

Nope, no kibble.

At first, I told mom that I wasn't interested in making her food - I thought it would be too much trouble. But then Bailey went through a finicky stage - and wouldn't eat anything (dry or canned); also I had purchased some chicken jerky that was subsequently pulled off the shelves just a few days later - "Smokehouse" brand in 2007.

Between the dog food scare and her not-eating - I finally gave this a try. It was the BEST thing I ever did!!!

Good luck!

[Karrie]

Originally Posted by inluvwithfluff

Thank you for the recipe! I definitely want to try this out soon, and I'll most likely be using the cottage cheese instead of the smelly sardines

Oh, yeah...I had to draw the line with the lil fishes! LOL

[RachelandSadie]

Originally Posted by Karrie

Nope, no kibble.

At first, I told mom that I wasn't interested in making her food - I thought it would be too much trouble. But then Bailey went through a finicky stage - and wouldn't eat anything (dry or canned); also I had purchased some chicken jerky that was subsequently pulled off the shelves just a few days later - "Smokehouse" brand in 2007.

Between the dog food scare and her not-eating - I finally gave this a try. It was the BEST thing I ever did!!!

Good luck!

I'm Karrie's niece Rachel. When i first saw Karrie's Bailey, i knew i had to have a yorkie someday. i'd dreamed about it forever and finally got mine. i always heard Karrie and my dad talk about this raw diet and thought it was too much trouble and there was no way i'd ever feed my dog human food...then i researched and realized that the recipe was super easy to make, (just made my second batch without Karrie's help!!) and that it stores and it's not like you cook every night, and then i also understood WHY we do this, it's better for teeth, gums, breath, coat, skin, tummies, and overall health...so i started her off on it from day 1 and she ate the raw and never would touch the breeder's kibble that he left with us...so raw it was!!

thanks Karrie for showing me how to make it and for teaching me about it

[JPop & Taz 2]

Thank you so much for the recipe! As soon as I get the supplements, I'm going to give it a try. Think I get those at GNC or would I have to order over the internet? Either way, I'm gonna get them!