[HuggaPug]

Hi all
I am not ready to go completely raw yet but am looking for a once a week treat to give my kids for teeth cleaning. I have a 12 year old pug and a 7 year old maltese that have quite a bit of tartar on their teeth. I also have a 5 month old Standard Poo that would love it too. I gave them turkey necks tonight after reading thru old posts that looked like what might be best? The pug totally ate hers the fastest, then the Poo finished his, but the funniest was the 6 lb maltese. She didn't finish hers but did chew and gnaw for probably an hour or more then decided she was done with it. I put it in the freezer for next week. Any other suggestions for the bones that clean the best?

[briteday]

Necks are good. And chicken wings could be the right size for the smaller dogs, chicken thigh quarter for the standard poodle. Lastly, I give all of my dogs (small, but this can work for the poodle too) a long beef rib back bone, the kind you bbq in slabs...cut the ribs apart and give each dog a rib. They will gnaw the meat off and then they can have the bone for recreational chewing for a few days. It takes my little ones about 1-2 hours to clean off the ribs.

[Boleyn]

Ditto on the beef ribs. My Pugs, including a 12 y/o, love working on the ribs.

[poodleholic]

Bison or Beef knuckle bones are favorites with my dogs, and with me, because there's much less likilihood of breaking a tooth (marrow bones), or getting caught and choking. I don't give chicken wings after one of the dogs damned near choked to death, and took 10 years off my life. Really scared me.

[Spicy1_VV]

I was wondering the same. Mine are on a raw diet but some teeth are spectacular and some have build up. It worries me (because of the link to causing other health problems like in humans). Anymore suggestions?

[Willowy]

Shug had crummy teeth, so we gave her some beef ribs.....shiny clean now! She won't eat chicken, but she's all over the ribs. The other dogs also like the ribs, but for some reason Penny's teeth aren't as shiny clean as the others'. Maybe she chews different or something.

[TeddieXRuxpin]

Necks and winds are WAY to small for Teddie. One bite and it'll be gone, that doesn't do much for cleaning teeth.

Since I've found out he's allergic to chicken I have been buying turkey thighs. They are big enough for him to chew and chew and chew on while he's cleaning his teeth. Ted's 15lbs and anything smaller than a turkey thigh is to small.

It does a pretty darn good job on his teeth. They aren't that bad in the first place, but when he does have some obvious tartar on them a once week cleaning with a thigh and vwala they're pearly white.

[Wynpyp]

I would like to give Bayne a bone about once a week but I'm not sure which kind, he's a 60lb GSDx. Are beef ribs too small for him?

[Kathyy]

My 33 and 40 pound dogs adore single ribs. You could serve up several ribs uncut at a time. That might work. There is a little bone at the top I must cut off of each rib or the dogs will swallow it. Any time you give a chew you need to watch the dog carefully. If they start cracking it instead of chewing or take it completely in the month it is time to trade them the bone for a little goodie.

I gave Maxwell the shoulder blade from a pork roast thinking he would clean it. Nope, he ate the whole thing. If you happen to pick a shoulder roast up and bone it, leave meat on it and offer it up. I did take the little top of the arm bone away, that was sort of small. His poop was very dry as he ate all that bone but he was fine.

[Spicy1_VV]

That is one thing mine do like to pick clean are pork bones and then chew on them. If they are getting enough bone in their diet then the poop should be firm and can be dry like.