Virbac's CET Enzymatic Oral Hygiene Chews for Dogs??

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I'm big into Lucy's oral health (she loves her evening toothbrushing session), and while shopping for her favorite CET toothpaste online, I came across CET Enzymatic Dog Chews. They get rave reviews from other shoppers, but it concerns me they're made from beef hide. Any thoughts? Here's the Virbac web page describing the chews:

http://www.virbacvet.com/Products/DentalHealth/Chews/C.E.T.Enzymati...

[F, Calla & Luca]

It would be interesting to see where thy are actually made.

[Gena, Wookie and baby boy coming]

hhmm..  tried these for Wookie about 6 months ago.  I bought the large size and I found that they break off into large chunks and could easily become a choking hazaard for the dogs.    I was trying to get away from the bully stick...(didnt love the idea, or the odor, even the odorless ones have an odor) .He did enjoy them, however, I did not feel comfortable with them. They became a bit slimy also, which I didn't care for.   Good luck.   I am now giving them antlers and they love them and get the same benefit of the chew! 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I wouldn't give these. They contain animal digest along with a few other things that aren't so great:

http://www.virbacvet.com/Libraries/PDFs/CET_Chews_Dogs_20MAR09.sflb...

The source of the ingredients is also a good question.

I would stick to brushing and healthier chews. If you're brushing daily, you probably don't need to worry. There are also other dental chews on the market that don't contain imported ingredients, like Zuke's Z-bones and Fido Naturals.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

I see the MSDS on the C.E.T Chews says there is poultry digest in the products. I have heart conflicting reports about this ingredient. For instance:

It’s partially digested food and bird poo and that comes from the slaughtered bird’s intestines. When they kill the bird, they pull out all the organs. They take the intestines and squeeze out all the g***. Then they sell the g*** to lots of pet food companies as a cheap filler and “palatability enhancer”. If the food’s so bad that this will make it taste better I’m leaving it on the shelf. It’s totally disgusting and not necessary. Also not suitable for human consumption. They’re calling it meat and fat because it does come from an animal, it’s just not much of either.

OR

Poultry digest - A palatability enhancer made by reducing (cooking down) meat and fat into concentrated liquid or dry product. Poultry digest can be made from any fowl (turkey, geese, buzzards, etc.) This is an inconsistent ingredient which can contain unpredictable birds unsuitable for human consumption.

I think I would be concerned about this as well as the rawhide aspect. I don't give Tara rawhide because of the potential choking and blockage issues that I have been told of regarding it.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There's no question that any type of "digest" listed in the ingredients of a product is a bad thing. It's included in the Dog Food project's "Ingredients to Avoid" section:

Digest

May also appear as dried, or spray dried. Sometimes the type and part of animals used      is specified, such as in "Chicken Digest", "Lamb Digest" or "Poultry Liver Digest"     AAFCO: Material which results from chemical and/or enzymatic hydrolysis of clean and      undecomposed animal tissue. The animal tissues used shall be exclusive of hair, horns, teeth,      hooves and feathers, except in such trace amounts as might occur unavoidably in good factory      practice and shall be suitable for animal feed. .     A cooked-down broth made from specified, or worse, unspecified parts of specified or      unspecified animals (depending on the type of digest used). If the source is unspecified      (e.g. "Animal" or "Poultry", the animals used can be obtained from any source, so there is no      control over quality or contamination. Any kind of animal can be included: "4-D animals"      (dead, diseased, disabled, or dying prior to slaughter), goats, pigs, horses, rats, misc.      roadkill, animals euthanized at shelters, restaurant and supermarket refuse and so on.     http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Feeling nauseated now...:(

[F, Calla & Luca]

Ugh, this is really disgusting Not for my pooches.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Yuck!

[Jeanne, Tura and Dolly]

I was pleased to see Karen chime in here regarding the ingredients.  After Tura's dental surgeries, the vet dentist said no chews, bully sticks, antlers,  bones whatsoever.  But he did recommend these.  The vets don't seem to check ingredients as thoroughly as DK!!  They do get slimey which is icky.  I stopped getting them because they were so expensive but I'm glad to know they have ingredients I don't want to be giving my dog. Thanks Karen.

[F, Calla & Luca]

They use dirt cheap, well dirt is better, ingredients and charge a lot. Clever.What were Tura's dental issues.

[Jeanne, Tura and Dolly]

Tura was born with malocclusion of the lower canines, they were impaling the roof of her mouth. She had a number of dental procedures to straighten her adult teeth as soon as they came in and now she is fine. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

That's good news.