Teeth

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Yesterday AnnaBelle had to have her teeth cleaned.  AnnaBelle is 6 years old and Lucy is 11.  Lucy has beautiful teeth and has never had to have them cleaned.  We tried brushing AnnaBelles when she was little but it just became a huge fight and because Lucy was always fine I never really though too much about it (bad Momma).  I have always given them hard food and crunchy treats thinking this would help with cleaning the teeth.  So, imagine my surprise when I went to pick her up and she had 2 cracked teeth that had to be pulled.  I was totally shocked.  I have never worried too much about Antlers or Nyla Bones.  Neither of them are huge chewers so they don't really spend hours chewing on them.  They each got a BeneBone for their birthday and they were tossed aside in less than 15 mins.  So, I guess the question is, what's the difference in the teeth.  Wondering why AnnaBelle had so much tartar and Lucy basically has none.  Obviously the bones have now all been put up, but I wonder, is it really the bones or is all of this just a difference in genetic make up and one has good teeth and the other doesn't.  Just all things that have been going through my head since my shock when picking her up.

I asked the Tech at the Vet what I can do to help her teeth and she mentioned that there are Enzematic Chews that are made to help remove the plaque.  Anyone familiar with these or have any suggestions?

[DonMarie and Picco]

Picco just recently had his first cleaning at 7-1/2 yrs old.  I've had 2 past dogs that never needed it, never saw and build up around gums.  I've been trying to brush his teeth for the past couple years but I'm not very good at it and when I do I don't feel that I can do a good job.  So now I'm trying the Whimzees (which I'm surprised he LOVES!).  I like the ingredients.  I have a friend who's dog would get sick from some tooth cleaning chews that had all those nasty chemicals in them.  I don't like hard chew sticks - (1) because when they get to a certain size, Picco gives up and just swallows it, (2) I worry about cracking a tooth, and (3) pieces that get left behind and stick to the carpet.

I hope the Whimzees help out along with brushing once in a while.

[Stacy]

I was surprised to hear that whimzees are supposed to help with teeth. My girls make such short work of them, do they even have time to do anything? I let them get one when we go to the store. They usually pick out the alligator. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Stacy, my boys eat them in minutes, even Ned, but I'm giving them a try - they can't hurt.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I buy the ones that look like toothbrushes. Jasper carries them around and moves them from place to place before actually eating them, and then he takes his time, so they do last a little while. But he's a hoarder in general, lol.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

How expensive are they where you are? $3 each for large ones on Amazon.ca, pretty expensive for regular use.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The pet supply store here sells them in bulk, all the different sizes and kinds, priced per piece. I think the size I buy Jasper is 89 cents. I should price them on Chewy, they're probably less expensive when you buy them by the bag.

[Stacy]

The pet store here keeps theirs at nose level so the girls pick themselves whatever size they want that day and I buy it whether I want to or not!

[Connie]

I used to get them with my dog food delivery from Petflow (similar to Chewy, auto delivery). I dont remember them being too expensive in bags.... We discontinued our auto ship after 7 years of great service when we lost one of our whippets, then added the doodle... he eats like a pig and we haven't figured his needs and how to match it up with our senior whippet. I'm tracking that now. It's so stinking expensive in pet shops, feed stores and boutique shops. Wow I miss my auto delivery.

[DonMarie and Picco]

I've just been buying med size sticks. A little less than $10 for 14. I've been thinking that the hedgehogs might be better at cleaning.

[DonMarie and Picco]

Oops, that's 12 pack not 14.  

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Link to Whimzees on Amazon.  This is the cheapest deal in medium size.  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PRPG6VU/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?...  If you know you are going to use them for sure, this is a good deal.  If you only want to try them. you can make smaller orders. 

[DonMarie and Picco]

I looked at it but you have to pay shipping so the 12 pack is about the same price and cheaper with subscribe. I'm still in trial mode, monitoring stools (sensitive gut dog), but haven't seen any adverse reactions.