Comments on Dog Teeth Cleaning: DIY At Home

Aloha's Will...Well unfortunately after 25 years of feeding raw bones to all my different kinds of Doggies...it finally happened...My male Doberman, Doug, got a large piece of jagged bone stuck in the worst place possible in his intestines! It took Dennis Brown-our vet, myself and my oldest son George four hours of Emergency surgery and an excruciating four days of recovery to get him to Live again...and of course a $2000.00 bill...so well, all I can say at this time is I will not be giving them any more bones and am looking at other ways to keep their teeth clean...it's just a risk I am not willing to take anymore...but I know where you are coming from and was all for bones for many years...until I just about lost one of my precious Dobermans...not sure what the solutions is at this point...but just thought I should make the point of running the risk...J

Dr. Falconer,
Thanks for the great information. I have two very small chihuahuas, one barely 2 lbs. and the other about 3 lbs., and they have very small mouths. We've recently started feeding them a raw food diet, but have not given them any bones as of yet. I would like to start, but I'm not sure what size/type of bone would be good for them and work with their small size. Do you have any recommendations?
Thanks again for a great article!
Shannon

Hi
I'm a natural rearing breeder of Border Terrers sice 2000. I by grass fed beef from a local farmer just for my dogs. I make sure there's about 1-2 inches if meat on the bones. I feed chicken (free range) leg quarters, pork breast ribs ( if I can find naturally raised pigs). Venison meaty bones and or bison. It gets very cold here in Winnipeg (Canada) in the winter so during this time they get more ground meaty bones, but all summer long it's easy bones daily.

Dear Dr. Falconer, I am new to your site. My Jack Russell terrier, Patrick, was diagnosed with IMHA a few weeks ago. He is doing much better now. He always has loved raw marrow bones. I noticed in this article you said "dense bones are alright for healthy dogs". Should I refrain from giving these to Patrick now? Also, the prednisone he is taking will compromise his immune system, right? Would he be at more risk for harm from raw bones just now? Your advice would be so appreciated, and I'm very glad to have found your site.

Thank you! My cats are two years old and have always been raw fed (not free choice fed, never kibble). I have tried whole chicken wings so far. I will try them at room temperature. Should I break them apart for them, perhaps? Maybe they'd do better with necks? And I agree on the "hunger motivator;" great point! :)

Do you have any suggestions for types of bones for my raw-fed cats? I have had a hard time getting my cats to "enjoy" them. They basically stare at them blankly. Thank you!

I think it is inmportant to mention that by "raw bones" it means uncooked parts of bones surrounded inside meat and not "bare naked" bones~ Unless you're referring to "recreational" bones, but those of non-ungulates? Even so, I never purchase "dog" bones or "soup" bones. I feed my < 20Lb crew of cats and dogs parts like chicken (any and all parts), pork ribs (even the cats- but just "singletons" for them), turkey necks, and then I give either deer ribs or beef ribs (depending if hubby has any deer) in a small rack for each of them to gnaw and nibble on and rip and tear the meat off. I find these, although they aren't eating the bones, give good cleaning of the front teeth by the pulling of the meat off the bones. I have heard some say even just the gnawing on these dense bones can be detrimental to the jaw and teeth......what do you say?