What are some good things to give your doodles to clean their teeth???

[Kendra K. Rhoton]

I was looking at Remington's teeth last night and... YUCK!  We brush them often, but still it is getting a build up on them.  I want to stay away from greenies and dental sticks just because of the bad things I have heard about them.  Does anyone have good things they give their doodles to get those teeth pearly white again???

[Camilla and Darwin]

We sometimes give Darwin raw beef bones from the butcher. The fairly big ones that still have some meat on them. We give it to him in his crate on the plastic tray. Then we can disinfect after he's done. After he has chewed it for a few hours, we throw it away. I suppose you could sterilize it and keep it though...

They really help his teeth. It has been a while since we have done this and I can already see gunk on them. It also makes his breath better, a lot better.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

With the really big beef bones, you can microwave them for a couple of minutes to sterilize and they are still safe...don't soften at all. I've mentioned before, I used to give my smaller dogs marrow bones that had cooked in a stew or soup pot for hours, and they were still hard as rocks. They really aren't edible, but great for scraping those teeth.

[Vicky & Cassidy]

"With the really big beef bones, you can microwave them for a couple of minutes to sterilize and they are still safe..."

I would question micro-waving bones, as I think that would change the molecular structure of the bone, besides, I don't think it's necessary.

Just stay away from what used to be called 'soup bones' or 'knuckle bones' that everyone gave their dogs. They can break their teeth on them!

Also, any bone can continue to dry out and become increasingly brittle over the course of a few days, so let the Doodles have their fun and then toss it!

[Adina P]

Microwaving doesn't change the molecular structure of anything. It makes water and fat vibrate at a very rapid pace and thus creating heat...but that's about all the damage it does unless one leaves the microwave on too long and melts/burns the items.

[Vicky & Cassidy]

"...unless one leaves the microwave on too long and melts/burns the items." And, of course, none of us have ever done that!

Thank-you, Adina!

[Adina P]

Oh MY have I!!! When I was 11 or 12 y.o. I put a day old donut in the microwave to warm it up. Well...the microwave we had was not the kind where you push numbers to create a total time for heating...it was the dial. The dial that you turn to the right time. My habit was to just turn it far and wait a few seconds. Well...I apparently got distracted in those few seconds meanwhile the microwave kept heating since I'd turned the dial pretty far. Soon there was smoke. We called the fire department because by then I'd LOONG forgotten about this donut. When the fireman opened our microwave...well...I was mortified.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I once caught the Intensive Care Unit on Fire because I microwaved a washcloth. Fire Trucks, evacuation, the whole big scene. Ugh.

The next day new policies were written, signs hung. It was called the Joanne Law. :( But we got heating blanket machines after that...but I was still on the doodle butt list with the nurses.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I'd wonder about that. Heat can change the molecular structure of things. How this would affect bone and whether this would make the bones any safer or less safe I don't know.
http://www.sumanasinc.com/webcontent/animations/content/proteinstru...

[Adina P]

Yes, heat can do this. But microwaves don't make any special molecular changes that other types of heat can't that I'm aware of. A couple of minutes though...won't cook a bone through and through because it certainly doesn't cook much through and through. This is my guess based on how long it typically takes to cook meat or uncooked food in the microwave (vs. just heating up).

[F, Calla & Luca]

I don't think denaturing of proteins is a problem. It's whether the heat is sufficient to make the bones brittle, I agree that a short time is unlikely to really change anything but it is also unlikely to sterilize the bones.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Do you think that microwaving them long enough for the marrow to cook through would sterilize them?
If you boiled them, how long do you think it would take to sterilize?

[F, Calla & Luca]

I'd give them at least 10 minutes at a full boil. That's my usual rule of thumb for sterilizing things but not at all science based (except for what's in my head--LOL)