Raw bones act as a toothbrush!
 

I just wanted to start a thread to share my experience with raw bones fed to my dogs. A while ago I went against the advice of my veterinarian and decided to try a raw diet for my dogs. They've been eating Natures Variety raw medallions. Usually I'll get the lamb or the duck. They've been doing great on a raw diet. Anyways, since switching to a raw diet, the ladies at the pet store were telling me about and really pushing for me to try raw bones because they say it acts like a toothbrush and keeps their teeth super clean. Since I've been struggling with brushing their teeth, I figured I'd give the raw bones a try.

Needless to say, the raw bones are amazing! Their teeth have been great. The plaque and tartar buildup just scrapes right off as they chew on the raw bones. I've gotten compliments on their teeth from my veterinarian and the groomer as well who they used to see was just completely amazed. Yorkies are known for having teeth problems and having issues with clean teeth because they have so many teeth in their tiny mouths.

I use mostly boar rib bones. They seem a perfect size and hardness to them so that they can scrape and chew their teeth on it but not so hard that it may hurt their teeth. Some other types of raw bones I've been experimenting with as well. And I always supervise them with a raw bone.

So I just wanted to share cause maybe it might be something to look into for your dogs. I know it's super difficult to brush their teeth but the raw bones seem to be a great alternative to using a toothbrush. And honestly I think it works way better than a toothbrush.

Awesome - glad you're loving this!

I feed raw as well (premade or raw mix) and I also do RMBs (raw meaty bones) - mostly use Bison Rib bones - my kiddos love them!

Where do you get the bones from and what kind? I'm looking for an alternative to bullysticKS and himalayan chews.Thanks!

I buy the bones from the pet store I shop at - The Bone and Biscuit. I mostly use boar rib bones, but I've been trying out other ones lately as well. I'll attach a picture to show you what they are and what they look like.

I start with chicken wings, go on to the legs when they are big enough to work it, and I consider beef rib bones to be a pacifier (albeit messy).
They sleep so well after working those big bones. I swear I haven't had a chewer since I started feeding raw. :)

Bones
 

Ok, I realize this might not be true! :) I have been thinking of it while puppy proofing the house this weekend.

I have started to put my shoes away, and not let cords dangle, I have started moving plants up out of reach, and a million other things for safety. So maybe all the past years as an aware adult I have just started to puppyproof better!

Though I do still swear by raw feeding on the bone as the best thing to wear them out, it does at least help.

I am so happy your baby loves the bones.
i am such a chicken to give her any real bones. I am so afraid one little piece could escape to her intestines and rupture them. I give her toys to chew on and for her teeth to help with the tartar I bought those
OraVet Dental Hygiene Chews

I bought the little ones and cut them into and give her 1/2 twice a day.

I've never seen the meaty bones at our petsmart. My Bentley is 14 pounds and a very very agressive chewer. I was giving bully sticks and he goes through them in 5 minutes and I heard they were not digestible. Will those bones hold up to my monster?

Ann- Where do you get those bison rib bones? I grew up with bison- being from alaska with a hunter dad, we would all enter the raffle and seem to get picked every other year. I gave some to Chewie- boiled- and she adored it. I'm certain she'll love these as much as the lamb ears. I've been at the natural pet food stores, Bark Avenue, and those CRAZY expensive ones that charged us 45 bucks for a bully stick. Hubby wasn't paying attention and bought it. I get her ears from a free range farm in New Zealand from Amazon, but a quick search turned up nothing on the their site.

Thanks!!!

You should not give a dog cooked bones they splinter and can cause very bad issues.

Aren't bones. :) I would never give any of my dogs a bone- even when I had big ones. I just don't trust them.

Lamb ears. I'm sorry, I thought I said that they were. Chewie loooooooovvvveeeesss lamb ears. And, I mean, flat out adores them.

I edited to add: I assumed the bison rib bones were rawhide. I see what you're saying.

Raw bones are okay? I thought bones were dangerous for dogs and had never even looked in to it. I love that they clean their teeth

I feed raw here too. Even weening my 5 week old puppies onto it. I also get raw bones but she has an overbite and only 5 1/2 lb so can't really chew much bone up. If your worried about feeding bones try starting with baas tubes (lambs trachea) it's all cartilage and highly digestible.

I'm looking into getting my two some raw bones to chew on too. Do you have any troubles taking away the last bit of the bone from them when it becomes a choking hazard? And also, have you noticed that their teeth are still all pearly white? If so, do you still bring them in for dental cleaning?

Thanks for the photo - think I will look into the boar rib bones. I want to make sure it's a good size and won't chip/break their teeth!

I find that with certain bones, the ones that they can chew down to where a little bit is left and it is a choking hazard, yes I find it really hard to get it from them. So what I do is just hold one end of the bone covered with a paper towel and let them chew on the other end while I hold it. I usually do that while we're watching one of our favourite shows or something like that. Once it gets down to a small size, I just throw it out.

Other types of bones are so hard I find that it never becomes a choking hazard because it's so hard that it can't wear down or wear away. I'm always careful with those types of bones because I don't want them to hurt their teeth by chewing down really hard on a bone that doesn't have any give in it. With the super hard bones, I feel ok giving them it as long as the bone has a lot of curves and angles on it so that they can't get that hard direct pressure on their teeth when they clamp down on it. But my preference is definitely for a bone that is hard but has some give to it and can wear away as they chew on it.

The teeth on Théo are very nice and white with very little plaque buildup. He has turned 2 and just a month ago he was at the clinic for a checkup and the vet said he doesn't need a teeth cleaning. So I'm pretty happy about that. He's 2 and he's never had a dental and still doesn't need one. In the future I'm sure he'll need a dental and he will get it when there's noticeable plaque and tarter buildup. Once a significant amount of tarter is on the teeth, it doesn't really come off unless you use some sort of scaling tool. (Some people do that at home even though they don't have training to use dentistry tools and their dog isn't under anaesthetia. I would never recommend doing that). I view the raw bones as just kinda as a toothbrush that will help delay and reduce the number of dental cleanings needed. But if they need a professional dental cleaning, I take my kiddos to the clinic.

Maezie has had to have a dental even though she gets raw bones. She had a couple teeth in the back of her mouth come in sideways, and the way they were in her mouth it was basically like a pit for plaque. So those teeth had to be removed. She also had to have all her bottom incisor teeth removed. Those incisors were very nice and white looking teeth with basically no plaque buildup on them, but x rays showed that there was considerable bone loss under the gumline. Apparently that's quite rare for a young dog, but it was what it was. Now whenever I show her teeth it looks like an overbite even though she doesn't have that. Her breath was really bad so I knew she had to get a dental. Plus I could see how bad it was at the back of her mouth.

What I'm doing now is I find that every 2 or 3 days I give them each a raw bone. And I gotta be careful with Maezie's moustache of hair. It can easily get caught up in her mouth and she will chew it off or make it so bad that it needs to be cut. So I'm always making sure her moustache is either wrapped or banded (with the bands and hair pulled back so it's not near her mouth). I do believe the raw bones help with keeping their teeth clean.

Raw bones are so so so good for dogs. It helps with their dental hygiene, bone structure and even supplements their protein supply. I always show this link to people who think raw bones are bad for dogs The Importance of Raw Bones for Dogs and Cats

You also have to keep in mind the negatives as well like the germs and such.

So, do they both get to chew on the raw bones at the same time, as in, you have both hands tied while you're watching TV? :D Or do you hold one and then give the other the harder bone type? Since we're talking about raw bones, what's your arrangement for their chewing in terms of cleanliness? I'm just afraid my two would definitely make a mess...

Which type of bone are you finding that's hard enough with a bit of give? So far, I've only been giving mine the antler chews. I find they love grinding it down to get at the bone marrow. But I'm not sure it's doing much in terms of cleaning their teeth.

That's great to hear that Theo's teeth look great even at 2! Too bad about Maezie's teeth though. That must have sucked to have all that teeth work done. Scottie (3+ yrs) and Casie (1.5+ years) have both had their teeth cleaned once. Lately, I've gotten really bad with not brushing their teeth regularly. I'm really interested in getting them raw bones to chew on to delay the teeth cleaning as well.

Thanks for this picture...gives me an idea of what the rib bones look like, it's a good size!

I'm so scared of giving them bones, I know the benefits but I have one that gulps & another that's a very strong chewer...so might start the girls w/ it 1st. Have a big bag of raw chicken feet sitting in the freezer, just have to muster up the strength to give it to them...but it has chicken toe nails! :eek: LOL

Alntlers are very hard and can break teeth. My vet dentist said those are a complete no no.

I just wanted to add that with some brushing and raw bones and everything do nothing for their teeth due to bad genetics. You also have to make sure your vet still evaluates their teeth because brushing and raw bones don't get under the gum line.

I have to separate them when giving raw bones otherwise a fight will happen. So one will be either in their crate, my deck or my backyard or just some place where they're in my vision, and then I'll give the bone to my other dog. If I'm giving the harder type of bone, it has to be in the backyard cause they'll be chewing on it for a long time. In regard to cleanliness, I just wipe their mouths and throw the end piece in the garbage and that's it. I don't let them have a bone on the floor or the couch or anywhere like that. The softer bones I hold for them in the air in front of my lap or wherever, and they just chew it. The soft bones don't take too long to wear down. And with the harder bones they're always in the backyard so its fine.




I've never given antler chews before. Boar rib bones I use a lot. They're what I call soft raw bones. Hard enough but has some give and wears away as they chew on it. What I really like about boar rib bones is that the end piece that they're chewing on, as I hold it I can kinda point it on different sides of their mouth so they chew on all sides of their mouth. Otherwise I do notice that they tend to favour one side of their mouth to chew on. Also, as the end piece of the bone wears away as they chew it, it becomes almost like a bunch of bristles on the end of it. Little tiny shreds of the bone kinda stick out a little bit as a rough surface. I hope that makes sense. But, yeah, boar rib bones is what I like for smaller sized dogs such as yorkies. My kiddos love it! And I'm sure Scottie and Casie would too.





I partly agree with this statement. I think genetics is huge. I recall one time my dentist was telling me about a lady who had teeth that were so soft and susceptible to breaking and wearing away (and had been that way her whole life), and as me and him discussed it, we both figured that it wasn't so much environmental but that it was probably due to genetics, or that genetics played a huge role in that. She was genetically destined to have really soft teeth that broke and wore away easily.


I think to say brushing and raw bones does nothing for their teeth due to bad genetics, I don't know if I agree with that. Lots of factors can contribute to teeth becoming dirty - how cramped in the mouth the teeth are, the positioning of the teeth, the quality of the teeth themselves, etc. etc. - but brushing and raw bones should help somewhat. In some cases it may always be an uphill battle, but to just say that genetically my dog has bad teeth so I'm not going to make an effort to help keep them clean, that seems silly to me. We're just talking about brushing the teeth to keep them clean. I've never heard before that teeth can be completely resistant to the benefits of brushing. I'd bet that even with the worst teeth that are really genetically susceptible to getting dirty and full of plaque, that brushing and raw bones would help a little bit and delay and reduce the number of dental cleanings the dog needs in its lifetime compared to if you did nothing at all. I could be wrong but that's what I'd bet.

I am going to be honest...I didn't read this entire thread. I am already sure there are two schools of thought voiced just in viewing a few posts. I just had surgery, so I am limited to how long I can sit and post.

I am not a fan of raw feeding nor of bones for dogs....BUT I recognize many are and at the end of the day, we must all do what we feel is in our pet's best interest.

I will go out on a limb here though and say that IF anyone believes what their dogs chew and how often they brush their teeth is going to totally prevent providing them with appropriate dental care, they are dead wrong. It is a fact that the periodontal issues dogs have are under the gum line...where no one can see them without x rays being done. A lot of vets do dentals without doing xrays and that often leaves disease in a dog that can then go to the major organs. Anyway...enough of my yapping. I am posting this link with the hopes that people will look at it and read it! It is great information about dental disease and prevention for dogs. Our breed sadly is very prone to this .. and much of it is genetic but we can slow down the nasty repercussions of periodontal disease.....

I admit that it took me a very long time to really understand this. I too thought that giving dogs kibble was superior to canned food....giving them chews was great .. etc.
I have had more dogs in the past sick because of some of these ideas and learned from it.

My hopes are that some of you will find this website very informational! LOL someone MIGHT have already posted it...as I said I am skimming here...and need to get off the pc!

https://www.avdc.org/

No I didn't say if they have bad genetics to just not do anything. But in order for brushing to be effective you have to do it daily otherwise the plaque turns to tarter and cannot be brushed off.

:thumbup:

Great post!

Totally agree that although chews and brushing can help with dental mgmt - neither can solve the problem of keeping teeth clean and healthy.

As you mentioned, some problems are under the gum line. And in addition, a person could brush every day and give chews every day - but genetics plays SUCH a huge role in dental health - it can't be overstated.

My Lucy has cancer & is on chemo, and could be for the rest of her days. She now can't have a dental done at the vet. I'm going to look for the boar rib bones... thanks for the post.

Bless your heart. Thanks so much for this information. My Yorkies teeth are browning and he won't let met brush. I will try the raw bones.

Sounds like he needs a dental

Yorkie long hair and raw bones
 

Do all of you completely wash your yorkies face after eating raw bones? Aren’t they really messy? My 6 month old is not real fond of getting her face washed and dried and combed. I can’t imagine when her hair grows out to full length.
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