The canine's mouth is designed for the tearing, grinding, and crushing of the bones and meat of its prey. However, with today's prevalent kibble diets, we find more tartar issues. Cavities are becoming a problem. Dogs with broken teeth or pulled teeth are not out of the question.
How do we keep our dog's teeth healthy? We turn to chews that work to scratch plaque away from the gum line before it becomes an issue. Let's take a look.
Bones
The uncooked, non-weight-supporting bone is the ideal candidate for the canine chew. It facilitates everything that a dog would encounter in the wild and in the natural diet of the canine.
We realize that our pets are far removed from their wolf ancestors, but that doesn't mean they have evolved physically so far as to adapt to kibble. Remember, kibble is a recent invention, only really showing up in the 1940s and gaining traction from there. While it's wonderful to feed a complete diet just by tipping over a bag or a can, it doesn't help our dog's teeth.
Bones knock, grind, and rub kibble bits stuck to the dog's teeth, cleaning teeth and giving your pup a healthier smile. But remember, watch your dog for gobbling behavior. Bones do offer a significant choke risk for inexperienced chewers
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Dental Chews
Probably the most popular but least helpful of the lot. A dental chew is often in the fun shape of a toothbrush or something silly like that. They attract human attention but dogs may be less than impressed. Sometimes pets are into these and sometimes they aren't.
While the nubs along with the "bristles" usually act in the same way a bone would, these aren't always the safest chew for a pet, either. Large pieces may get lodged in the stomach, the throat, or the intestines. Watch your pet while they chew these.
Bully Sticks
A bully stick is both the perfect toothbrush and flossing implement for your pet. It cleans, scratches, and frees up all sorts of gunk from your pet's teeth while also being fully digestible. A healthy dog should be able to chew a bully stick much like you enjoy a jerky snack. Simple, easy, and there's nothing left over to deal with.
Though there is a risk of choking with any chew, we hear fewer stories of issues with these all-natural sticks!
Now you know the more about the best treats for your dog! If you have more questions please visit our blog more tips and treats. 🐶
Thank you for reading. Please let me know what you think I should write about next by emailing me at jentry@dogbullysticks.com.
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