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Post by barley on Jan 26, 2017 20:44:36 GMT
Oh god, don't say stuff like that to me  I'm really determined to try them as I so want his teeth cleaned up and I know raw chewy things are the best thing for it. Can I not feed kibble too close to him having one? Or is that an old wives tale? I've fed raw mince with kibble before and he's been fine, but I don't know if bones are different? Lol sorry, you won't have that problem, I'm sure! The turkey neck was completely my fault. Duck necks have always been fine  Well, I haven't fed kibble and bones together so I don't really know. It's not usually recommended but if you gave the bone as a treat rather than part of his meal, you could feed it at any time and feed him as normal. I was just messing He's still on 4 meals as I'm still trying to put some more weight on him so whenever I feed it is going to be quite some to food  he gets dry kibble for breakfast & lunch, and then wet for dinner and soaked kibble for supper... so thinking be best to feed between dinner & supper... sure I'm just over thinking this And besides, I need to pluck up the courage first |
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Post by orpheous87 on Jan 26, 2017 20:57:51 GMT
Lol Ahh. You could feed it as supper rather than the kibble? It will have meat on it so it would count as food. |
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Post by orpheous87 on Jan 26, 2017 21:01:15 GMT
I should add here, actually, I spoke to our vet on Friday when I took Pepper & Ellie for their weight check. I was only enquiring about the price of a dental, to try and see whether it would just be worth getting Pepper's teeth done. However, the quoted price was £200-250 so I definitely don't want to have to spend that unless I absolutely have to. She checked both of their teeth and said that although Pepper's are not great, they're not actually that bad compared to other dogs of her age so she recommended just persevering with the brushing for now.
I've just brushed their teeth and they do actually look a little bit better so hopefully this Dorwest toothpaste is working! Cody now comes to get his teeth brushed voluntarily too, lol. He gets excited when he sees the pot and brush come out, which is better than Pepper & Ellie's reactions! Pepper puts her head down and Ellie growls at the sight of it!
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Post by barley on Jan 26, 2017 21:35:16 GMT
Good news that the vet didn't think Pepper's teeth were too bad orpheous87. My vet says that about Alfie's teeth too, that they're no where bad as some. I know he is very particular with teeth too as he's the vet that signs all our export health certificates for dogs at work, and he's failed loads on the basis of dirty teeth, so am pleased he doesn't think Alfie's are so bad. Are all of Pepper's teeth affected or just the back ones? |
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Post by orpheous87 on Jan 26, 2017 21:45:28 GMT
I know, I'm very glad that they're not as big an issue as I initially thought. Also good news about Alfie's teeth then.
It's the back ones really. The ones she would normally use to crunch a bone. Her canines used to have a little tiny bit of plaque on them but somehow the green feeder has helped clean those!
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Post by barley on Jan 26, 2017 21:50:21 GMT
It's Alfie's back teeth that are the problem too. I can't get on with the dental scraper, even though Alfie is being really patient and doesn't mind me trying. Is there a knack to it alfiemummy? |
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Post by alfiemummy on Jan 26, 2017 22:09:23 GMT
Does anyone know how much bone is actually in them? They look quite meaty. I wanted to get the beef trachea, they looked really good and I think I would have been less nervous about those but the fat content was too high at 12%. The duck necks are 5.5% which is a little bit higher than I'm happy with, but then he's not going to eat a whole one in one go. And the stuff I've read online seems to indicate that with the acute form of pancreatitis, you don't need to be quite so strict with diet long term, like you would with the chronic form. I would say they are quite high in bone. Or if they really are mainly cartilage, then it has the same effect as bone. Either way, I know that they count as quite a bony meal for my Alfie and I wouldn't advise feeding it every day - every other day would probably be ok. You'll have more of an idea of the bone content when he actually starts chewing on one - they crunch so much! I would actually say you're probably better off with the necks rather than trachea - it can be quite rubbery if fed defrosted, it takes Alfie a while to get through and would be difficult for you to hold. Another thing you could try is the NM beef or tripe chunks - if you feed them frozen then it would take a fair bit of chewing and still be good for the teeth. Also as it's boneless you could use them to fill the days where he doesn't have the duck necks and then he can still have a good chew. It's Alfie's back teeth that are the problem too. I can't get on with the dental scraper, even though Alfie is being really patient and doesn't mind me trying. Is there a knack to it alfiemummy ? I started from the gumline and worked my way down the tooth. It's not a quick and easy fix and definitely takes a while, especially if the teeth are really bad. It took me ages to get Alfie's completely clear. I wouldn't say there's really a knack to it as such, just keep scratching away until you start getting it off, it doesn't come off in big lumps like you'd hope, just tiny shavings at a time and it's really time consuming but worth it in the end. Did you manage to get any off at all? If so, just keep doing what you're doing and you'll see the results eventually. It's really tricky to get the ones right at the very back too. Now that Alfie's teeth are clear, I have a regular routine to keep them that way. He still gets plaque build up mainly on the canines, I don't use the dental scrapers anymore, but instead use my thumbnail. I don't do it every week - my routine is to wait until I decide I want to cut my nails, but before I do I make sure I scrape his teeth, that's my reminder to do it lol. |
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Post by alfiemummy on Jan 26, 2017 22:53:44 GMT
I'll add as well - the canines are a lot easier to scrape than the back teeth. Does he have plaque/tartar on the canines too barley ? If so it's probably best to practice on those first and then you'll get an idea of the sort of motion you're looking for before progressing to the back. I realise that the back teeth are most worrying, but they'll all need doing eventually anyway (if they need doing at all!) and it's so much easier once you've practiced a bit. Also, what scraper did you get? Mine was really pointy, fine and sharp - it looked lethal and I had to be so careful. It came with a selection of scrapers but I only used this one as the others weren't as good because they were all funny shapes. The one I used was just straight, like the second one down in this set: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0015V3050?tag=httpwwwshopst-21&ascsubtag=2361029717&tag=httpwwwshopst-21)Is your Alfie a real big chewer? I mean if you gave him something like a marrowbone, would he happily just gnaw at it a bit or would be really go to town and try to break bits off? If he's not a serious chewer then the NM beef ribs or marrowbone might also be handy chews and there's no way he'd be able to swallow those whole. I doubt he'd even be big enough to break pieces off the beef ribs if he tried. The marrow in a marrowbone would probably be too fatty, but you could scrape that out and put something else inside instead. If he's a hardcore chewer though then I would worry it will be too hard and he could damage/break a tooth. Just trying to come up with more ideas! |
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Post by barley on Jan 27, 2017 16:21:38 GMT
I'll add as well - the canines are a lot easier to scrape than the back teeth. Does he have plaque/tartar on the canines too barley ? If so it's probably best to practice on those first and then you'll get an idea of the sort of motion you're looking for before progressing to the back. I realise that the back teeth are most worrying, but they'll all need doing eventually anyway (if they need doing at all!) and it's so much easier once you've practiced a bit. Also, what scraper did you get? Mine was really pointy, fine and sharp - it looked lethal and I had to be so careful. It came with a selection of scrapers but I only used this one as the others weren't as good because they were all funny shapes. The one I used was just straight, like the second one down in this set: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0015V3050?tag=httpwwwshopst-21&ascsubtag=2361029717&tag=httpwwwshopst-21)Is your Alfie a real big chewer? I mean if you gave him something like a marrowbone, would he happily just gnaw at it a bit or would be really go to town and try to break bits off? If he's not a serious chewer then the NM beef ribs or marrowbone might also be handy chews and there's no way he'd be able to swallow those whole. I doubt he'd even be big enough to break pieces off the beef ribs if he tried. The marrow in a marrowbone would probably be too fatty, but you could scrape that out and put something else inside instead. If he's a hardcore chewer though then I would worry it will be too hard and he could damage/break a tooth. Just trying to come up with more ideas! His canines really aren't too bad, they're a little stained but no thick tartar like the back teeth. My boss gave me a dental scraper that she'd got for her dog and didn't use - it's double ended, one is a really sharp pointy end and the other a little wedge shape scraper thing. Ah ok, I do get really tiny little shavings off, I was expecting nice big satisfying chunks so was obviously expecting too much! I haven't tried the front teeth, just the back ones. I'm using logic gel to try and soften it to make it easier to get off. Alfie isn't a sensible chewer, he's one of those dogs that really bear down hard on chews rather than just gnawing. I really think he'd be likely to break a tooth on something like a marrowbone, he'd bite down with his back teeth to try and go through it! These were the pics I took the other week to keep as a comparison to see if they get any better. It's those big chunks on the back teeth than worry me.   |
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Post by caz2golden on Jan 27, 2017 16:46:59 GMT
They look better than my mutts teeth!
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Post by barley on Jan 27, 2017 16:56:43 GMT
They look better than my mutts teeth! Really? I thought the back ones were pretty awful. |
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Post by caz2golden on Jan 27, 2017 17:52:44 GMT
They look better than my mutts teeth! Really? I thought the back ones were pretty awful. The images seem to show pearly whites!! Maybe I am missing where the build up is! Excuse the lighting swear as its artificial light that it is looking more yellowy than it should. Their teeth for them do not look too bad at the moment! Gypsy front teeth (her back ones are clean at the moment)  Yes she has a broken canine!  Phoebe, had to take front and back teeth separately     |
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Post by alfiemummy on Jan 27, 2017 19:09:13 GMT
His canines really aren't too bad, they're a little stained but no thick tartar like the back teeth. My boss gave me a dental scraper that she'd got for her dog and didn't use - it's double ended, one is a really sharp pointy end and the other a little wedge shape scraper thing. Ah ok, I do get really tiny little shavings off, I was expecting nice big satisfying chunks so was obviously expecting too much! I haven't tried the front teeth, just the back ones. I'm using logic gel to try and soften it to make it easier to get off. Alfie isn't a sensible chewer, he's one of those dogs that really bear down hard on chews rather than just gnawing. I really think he'd be likely to break a tooth on something like a marrowbone, he'd bite down with his back teeth to try and go through it! These were the pics I took the other week to keep as a comparison to see if they get any better. It's those big chunks on the back teeth than worry me. Your Alfie's teeth are a lot better than my Alf's were when I started scraping them (they were more brown), so you should see results quicker. Just keep doing what you're doing and scrape little bits away. Once you've made a start and get a clean edge to work against, it does become easier and you do occasionally get larger pieces that chip off. Ah ok, definitely don't try the marrowbones or beef ribs then! Stick to the more edible chewies |
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Post by alfiemummy on Jan 27, 2017 19:53:23 GMT
Thought I'd get some photos of my Alf's teeth to compare, looks like they're getting worse again, mainly just on the left side. I've been trying to feed more bones (particularly on that side) but they're still getting a bit manky - I can't scrape that part with my nail because it's a funny shape. I got rid of the scraper before so I think I'll have to buy a new one and give them a go again before they get too bad. I don't brush his teeth anymore either so I'll probably start doing that again too. Here are the photos of Alfie's teeth, his canines are fine apart from the front of the tooth on his left side canine (best seen in the last photo) - it's discoloured, but I can't fix that. Also, his gums are really pigmented compared to the others! I had a mini panic attack and had to check that it was normal even though they've always been like that.    |
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Post by barley on Jan 27, 2017 20:12:30 GMT
It's a relief that you guys don't think they look too dreadful. I will keep up with what I'm doing but not worry too much then! caz2golden your girls don't look bad to me either! And alfiemummy those are lovely pearly whites! I think pics are a good idea to document progress when trying to clean them up, as it's easy to think they're looking better/worse when there might be no real change, so good to have the pictures to look back on to compare. If you scroll back through the thread really quickly, it looks really quite menacing |
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he gets dry kibble for breakfast & lunch, and then wet for dinner and soaked kibble for supper... so thinking be best to feed between dinner & supper... sure I'm just over thinking this 
