Re: Dental Bones Problem

[starkisser24]

so I was looking into buying my 8 month old toy chiuahuah some bones for dental purposes! he loves to chew!!! I do have small rawhides for him and he loves them along with his Nylon bone, however, would these be ok for cleaning his teeth or should I look into dental bones? I noticed on alot of them to they say they are not for dogs under 10 lbs and under 6 months of age! Well he's 8 months old but only 8 lbs, would those be bad for him??? I was looking at the Iams dental bones and also greenies.

I saw a story on this board about someone with the same kind of dog and he died from having cancer in his mouth! I certainly don't want that to happen to my little guy!

He eats dry food but with water, only way he will eat it! but he loves his bones!

any advice is appreicated!

[tigerlily46514]

wow, good question!! I don't know, and i especially don't know about what small dogs are allowed to have, but, i have been taught by people here that nylabones are okay, but rawhides are undigestible and should not be given,

bummer!!!!! Apparently, they could possibley clog up a dog's colon. They say, the rawhides REhydrate and swell a lil bit to be moist again, while inside your dog, and could cause problems by blocking the colon up.

but i have been told Bullysticks are good. I can't find actual bullysticks in pet aisle at grocery(but, honestly, most anything in a grocery store for dogs is total crapola anyway) but i can find them at any pet shop/pet supply shop.

All the pet shops carry Bullysticks. Ask the clerk, cuz there are only like 100 lookalikes, ha ha!!
They are shockingly costly, like $3 for 1 medium size one, which, for your very small dog, would be months supply, ha ha!!

Snooks told me, she orders her Bullysticks online, says is cheaper that way, and she freezes them.
I only let Buddy have a bullystick about once every 2 or 3 weeks. I always give him a teaspoon of punkin the next day, to help make sure he doesn't get any blockage in his colon from it. Punkin, is mild laxative for dogs, the kind that is unspiced, in a can, in the pie-making aisle at the grocery store. It "kicks in" about 5 hours after Buddy eats it, so i never give punkin at bedtime!!

My Buddy cleans his teeth by gnawing on toys. He didn't understand about it was okay and fun to gnaw on toys, at first, but we rubbed cheese or peanut butter on them to get him started/interested. Ha, NOW he is a toy NUT!!! He gnaws them often, and that cleans his teeth. LIke flossing almost!! Really, IF you took a piece of furry fabric, or rubbery toy, and rub your teeth, over and over---- yes, that does clean teeth!!!

He doesn't shred his toys, we tell him to stop if he does......Now, he only shreds his toys if he is very annoyed about something, which isn't too often. Maybe, you can help your chewing dog develop a love of chewing around on toys???
Buddy needs fresh supply of new toys eveyr now and then. We rotate his toys around, half hidden away for a few weeks, then swap them out. Abotu every 3 weeks he gets something brand new to him, WHAT A THRILL that new toy is to Buddy!!!
If we dont' do this, Buddy will get bored and quit playing with same old toys. We get his toys at Goodwill (only 25 cents each!!) or at the Dollar store.
HOpe someone who knows about small dogs and bullysticks will be by to help you know if you can give these to very very small dogs!!??

[starkisser24]

Big thanks for the rawhide warning!!!! He only chews on it before bedtime and well the nylon bone is with him all day and he loves that thing! so i'll look into bullysticks! i'll call the vet and ask them what they recommend!

as far as toys go, well, hubbie won't let me buy anymore! so i try to give him different ones everyday from his basket, he really doesn't have many (according to me,lol) but the other half thinks so! so i'll just retire one here and there and he'll have to deal with it!

I know this small dog thing is confusing and well, this is my first dog! so dont' want any harmful mistakes! he poops like a race horse, so he is getting cleaned out! lol! we have been going thru a pumpkin shortage here so will have to wait till the shelves get restocked! stinks because I LOVE pumpkin!!!!

either way Thanks for the advice!!!!!

[charmedwolf]

Definitely a no Greenies or Iams bones. I've see so many dogs get sick off of these. Like Tightlily said go for bully sticks. They are awesome!! Granted, my mastiffs polish them off in seconds, they still clean teeth great and they keep my boxers entertained for a while. My aunts Lhaso takes days to eat them.

Another thing I'd recommend besides the bully sticks is beef ribs that you can buy in grocery stores for humans. I just give them to the dogs raw and they usually last a while longer than the bully sticks. But if you give them ribs make sure they are raw and not cooked as some bones can splinter when cooked.

[starkisser24]

Thanks!!!! I got the bullysticks and he LOVES them! one should take him a LONG time! lol!