Justaswithhumans,dogscansufferfromoralproblemslike:
Reducingbadbreathindogs.Itisnotuncommonforadog’sbreathtobeslightlyunpleasant.Thisisoftentheresultofbacteriabuild-upinthemouthandcanbeasignthatyourdogneedsbetterdentalorgumcare.However,it’snotabadideatocheckwithyourvettomakesurebadbreathisnotasignofanunderlyingmedicalproblem.
Inadditiontoprofessionalcleaningandregulartoothbrushing,certaindogtreatsarealsoformulatedtohelpimprovebreath.Hardchewtoysmayalsohelp.Seewhatyourvetrecommends.
Awidevarietyofdogdentaltreatsanddietsmakeclaimsofreducingplaqueandtartarorimprovingbreath.SomehavevoluntarilybeentestedandreceivedtheVOHCsealofapproval.Mostareavailableinstores,butsomeyoucanonlypurchasethroughveterinarians.Herearethemaintypes:
Dogchewtoys.Althoughnotedible,chewtoyssuchasKongtoys,PlaqueAttackers,orGumabonesmaybeagoodchoice,especiallyfordogsthatchewthroughedibletreatstooquickly.
Notalldentaldogtreatsarecreatedequal.Somearemoreeffectiveorsafethanothers.Hereareafewthingstokeepinmindasyou’rechoosingadentaltreatforyourdog:
Maketherightmatch.Matchthetreatortoytoyourdog’ssize,preferences,orpersonality.Forexample,aggressivechewersmayneedaproductthatisfirmer.
Limitedibletreats.Dependingonthetypeofedibletreat,itmaygodowntoofasttobeofmuchbenefittoyourdog’steeth.Andthesetreatscanquicklyaddlotsofcalories.Thegeneralruleisthesmallerthedog,thefewerthetreats.Askyourvetifyouhavequestionsaboutthis.
Avoidhardbonesandpigs’ears.Ifyourdoghasdiseasedteeth,theyarelikelytobreakthemonhardchews,hardplasticbones,sterilizedbeefbones,orcowhooves.Donotgiveyourdogfreshboneswithmeatandcartilagebecauseoftheriskofbacterialcontaminationoringestionofsharpbonefragmentsbyaggressivechewers.
Althoughpigs’earsareoftenafavoriteofdogs,studieshavenotshownthemtoofferanydentalbenefits.Theyarealsosometimescontaminatedwithbacteria.
Becarefulwithcompressedchews.Edibletreatssuchasrawhidechewscanhelpwithdentalhealth.Butsomedogs,especiallyaggressivechewers,consumethemtooquicklyormayswallowpieceswhole.Thiscancausechokingorblockages.Theseproductsmayalsobecontaminatedorcausestomachirritation.Watchyourdogwhiletheyareconsumingtheseproducts.Ifyourdogswallowsalargechunk,contactyourvet.Andwatchforsignsofintestinalupset.Besuretolimithowmuchyourdog-especiallyasmallerdog-consumesatonetime.
VeterinaryOralHealthCouncil:''PeriodontalDisease(GumDisease)istheMostCommonDiseaseOccurringinPetDogsandCats''and''ProductsCurrentlyAwardedtheVOHCSeal.''
UCDavisSchoolofVeterinaryMedicine:''DentalHomeCareInstructionsforPets.''
ASPCA:''BadBreath''and''PositionStatementonDogChews/Treats.''
Hennet,P.etal.''Effectofpelletfoodsizeandpolyphosphatesinpreventingcalculusaccumulationindogs.''JVetDent.Dec.24,2007.