Raw bones act as a toothbrush!

[airplane]

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.

[Wylie's Mom]

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!

[sharonmcclease]

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

[airplane]

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.

[Pup2016]

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.

[Pup2016]

Originally Posted by Pup2016

I swear I haven't had a chewer since I started feeding raw.

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.

[anneclaire]

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.

[sharonmcclease]

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?

[JennaPenny]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

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!

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!!!

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by JennaPenny

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.

[JennaPenny]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

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.

[caribear]

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

[Haley-Mack]

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.

[canana]

Originally Posted by airplane

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.

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!

[airplane]

Originally Posted by canana

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.