Agreed with tooth brushing, especially on smaller dogs. Many toy and small breeds don’t possess a strong root structure so chewing alone usually doesn’t do it for them! Mine (big and small) get their teeth brushed with coconut oil because they like it so well. The little guys get their teeth done 5-6 days a week and the big guys 1-2 times a week. Like Pitlove, my big guys have human toothbrushes and my little dogs have brushes meant for young toddlers. (Small dogs are currently using a Super Mario Brothers brush, their last one was a Hello Kitty brush that lit up, LOL). It’s become second nature. It’s not a chore anymore. It’s just something we do now, and it takes minutes a day (for several dogs) and the benefits are so well worth it. I’ve used finger toothbrushes before but I didn’t feel they did as good of a job as a regular brush.
Even having done so since babyhood one of our smaller dogs is losing his small front teeth. He has a poor bite and a poor root structure, and while the rest of his teeth appear clean and strong, those little front ones are loosening up. He’s a middle aged dog.
Anon raises an excellent point about keeping an emergency vet number on your fridge. Or even program it into your cell. In all my years of pet ownership I’ve only had to use the emergency hospital a few times but each time I needed it I was glad it was readily available and I didn’t have to waste time locating the number, especially while in a bit of a panicked state. Better safe than sorry!
I do give recreational raw chew bones, provided they are BIG and the dog in question cannot get his jaws around the bone part to bite down (no femurs in this house.) Some of our dogs are such aggressive chewers that I am hesitant to offer these, so they get stuffed (black) Kongs full of goodies. The dogs that settle down and chew at a slower pace are OK, but I never ever leave them unsupervised in case someone manages to break off a piece that could be swallowed or manages to chew off enough strappy stuff that they could chew the bone part enough to break teeth. I don’t care for smoked bones or any bones that come from the pet store, JMO. It really depends on your comfort level, your dogs chewing style, and your ability to keep an eye on them while they chew. Many people swear bully sticks are good for teeth, so that might be something to look into as well!
