Good Fuel and Oral Health

I have two GSPs. They are on a high protein and fat diet due to the amount of hunting (and play) we engage in. The food works really well for them for this purpose. The problem is the kibbles are smaller
and they seem to have more of an issue with tartar build up. I brush their teeth every day and give them raw hides to chew once a week to try and alleviate the problem. Sometimes I think its a bit of a losing battle. The vet has recommended those vet dental diets but when I bring up the fact that those diet are insufficient protein and fat wise, the vet agrees.

My question is, does anyone have any experience/recommendations with a good food for their hunting buddy, that also has also been good for their friend's oral health?

some dogs (like some people) build up more tartar. I scale my dogs' teeth every 6-12 month.
I used to use a flat screwdriver, but upgraded to a scaler from Amazon.
I do it few minutes at a time, over the course of days, if not weeks. This way I can take my time and ensure I don't hurt them and they don't see it as a huge PIA.

We feed a mix of their regular feed with the royal canin dental formula. Basically 3 milk bag juga to one dental. My brittany was on pro plan for years and this really helped.


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I go to a local abattoir in our area and by bones for my hounds. They cost me $4.00 per bag. The bags weigh about 10lbs each. 5 bags for $20.00. I give them each a bone twice a week during the winter and once every other week during the summer. Never have had a problem with tartar build up...

Dental problems can be breed specific. I have always used shank bones for all my dogs to chew on over the years with success. Ask a butcher to cut them in 4" to 6" lengths or buy already pre-cut. I will on occasion scale my dogs teeth as well, using a dental scaling tool.

look into raw food for your dog, you will be amazed at the improvement

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Originally Posted by Westernlaw

I have two GSPs. They are on a high protein and fat diet due to the amount of hunting (and play) we engage in. The food works really well for them for this purpose. The problem is the kibbles are smaller
and they seem to have more of an issue with tartar build up. I brush their teeth every day and give them raw hides to chew once a week to try and alleviate the problem. Sometimes I think its a bit of a losing battle. The vet has recommended those vet dental diets but when I bring up the fact that those diet are insufficient protein and fat wise, the vet agrees.

My question is, does anyone have any experience/recommendations with a good food for their hunting buddy, that also has also been good for their friend's oral health?

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I was using raw food and home cooked food. I have had problems getting the raw so I have been using a food called ACTRIUM 16k bag holistic food from Wal Mart. Not every shop stocks it, it comes in a large kibble for large breed dogs $39.99 for one flavor and over $40.00 for a different formula.Dog doing good on the food,teeth good.This is a Ontario based company and they actually market it under a home brand name where the same bag sells for $60.00.My dog used to have skin problems with commercial food initially so I went to raw.On this food he has no skin/allergy problems.

Grains can cause tartar. Raw hide is not good for them. And you need to be careful with bones, some dogs are aggressive chewers and will damage teath. I scall about once a month and they have bones with no meat to chew. As long as there is no meat on the bones they don't chew aggressively.
deb

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Originally Posted by thunderbelly

look into raw food for your dog, you will be amazed at the improvement

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I second that...my dog gets home cooked meals "raw diet" you could say but modified a bit...i cook for her once every 3 days and make a 3 day batch at a time. Its much cheaper and nice to know whats going into her belly. German Sheppard with skin problems...once I went raw it all went away....Use brown rice as a main carb then add in various protein and greens which vary from eggs chicken walleye deer beef. She gets lots of extras as well when Im prepping food

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Originally Posted by Longgun

Grains can cause tartar. Raw hide is not good for them. And you need to be careful with bones, some dogs are aggressive chewers and will damage teath. I scall about once a month and they have bones with no meat to chew. As long as there is no meat on the bones they don't chew aggressively.
deb

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If your dog already has existing dental issues(bad teeth) then yes then can cause damage to teeth. I start pups off on shank bones and giving them until the day they die , my oldest dog living until age 16. My working sled dogs were fed primarily raw and still needed shank bones for dental health. You need a combination of both as well as the occasional scaling depending on the breed.

a good raw diet, needs about 15% bone in it. could be whole chicken, or beef bones to chew on, but your dogs need the calcium. there are tons of good informative sites and a few youtube videos, do some research. One thing everyone isn't mentioning is clean up after your dogs is much easier when feeding raw.

bones cause more problems than they fix, dogs break teeth or simply grind them down over the years.

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Originally Posted by vom Dufenshmirtz

bones cause more problems than they fix, dogs break teeth or simply grind them down over the years.

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not the case with the smaller chicken bones...for bone content I stick with bone in breast, wings, wing tips, necks and backs. It grosses my wife out to hear the crunching but my dog loves it. Always non cooked of course.

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Originally Posted by Deer Wrastler

not the case with the smaller chicken bones...for bone content I stick with bone in breast, wings, wing tips, necks and backs. It grosses my wife out to hear the crunching but my dog loves it. Always non cooked of course.

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my preferred method as well, don't count out the mighty turkey neck.

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not the case with the smaller chicken bones...for bone content I stick with bone in breast, wings, wing tips, necks and backs. It grosses my wife out to hear the crunching but my dog loves it. Always non cooked of course.

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Interesting, any problems with dog digesting these?

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Originally Posted by fishhawk

Interesting, any problems with dog digesting these?

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no actually dogs have higher acidity in their stomachs than we do so they are able to break down uncooked bone and digest the calcium. In the wild they would be eating bone and all and their stomachs havent evolved much since. Not that I run her poo through a sieve but no bone fragments from what I can see. Bones are a great source of calcium and that how they get their calcium in the wild. Key word being uncooked....any cooked bones are not good for your dog even though they sell them at pet stores. I only stick to raw chicken bones but I do give her deer shanks that she can chew on but thats just more for teeth health as other stated and to spoil her with a treat to chew on for hours. However I will add my dog is not a sporting dog and others on here have their sporting/hunting dogs on specific diets due to their demands in the field etc. My old girl is more of a napper now then a worker lol.

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Originally Posted by fishhawk

Interesting, any problems with dog digesting these?

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I feed the avatar whole raw chickens, I tend to blanch them in boiling water for a minute or so.Chews right thought a whole chicken carcass minus the legs in 4 minutes or less.The poo out the other end is small,almost white and very compact.Never had a problem with teeth or chocking on them,mind you he,s a big guy with a big bite,don,t know if I would feed a toy poodle the same diet.He also likes to chew on a Moose antler or deer,teeth pretty white and sharp.

and he looks great!

There are other ways they get calcium. One way is through the blood. That white you see is calcium coming out, obviously he is taking in more than he needs.
deb

Good to know longgun...

I use to feed a very expensive dry foods I had to buy from the vet but with four dogs it was quite an expensive trip a couple of times a month. It was also complicated because one of the dogs was on a low residue formula for sensitive digestion. I consulted a friend who is an animal nutrition scientist and asked what he fed his dog. He just fed Iams Large Breed. I switched all my dogs over to it and have been feeding nothing else for over a year now with good results. The one with the sensitive stomach is fine on it and the Cocker which is not a large breed does very well. It is a lot less expensive and available everywhere. I also always have a good selection of genuine nylabones around the house and all my dogs really give their teeth a workout on them.