milo78
Junior Grey Lover
Posts: 311
|
Post by milo78 on May 7, 2011 21:00:22 GMT -5
Hey everyone I have a quick question.. My knowledge in the meat dept is limited- being a vegan n' all... I've been reading posts on here in regards to bones n such. Just wondering where to pick up a good chew bone. What does one ask for? (at I'll assume the butchers counter ?) I won't deny the fact that it freaks (lack of a better word) me out some but I'm not obviously going to push my lifestyle on the grey . Any suggestions? Thanks in advance !
|
|
|
Post by luvastorm on May 7, 2011 21:36:26 GMT -5
You do NOT want any weight bearing bones, i.e. marrow bones as some dogs have chipped teeth on them. In Sunny's picture, I think that was a pork riblet she was chewing on, they're quite soft with a lot of cartilage which is good for joints and a lot of folks feed pork hocks (ours have had them sometimes). I'm sure you'll get lots of advise as there other vegans with greyhounds. "KRASH" is one.
ps: We also give our girls Dentastix every evening after dinner to clean their teeth.
|
|
milo78
Junior Grey Lover
Posts: 311
|
Post by milo78 on May 8, 2011 0:42:30 GMT -5
Thank you! Ill have to go search them out. Ill have time to burn while working on "alone" time. . Safe to say a dentastix a day won't do harm? Do you buy them in bulk? do you brush your greys teeth at all?
|
|
moncheri
Grey Addicted
Broodies are the best!
Posts: 2,843
|
Post by moncheri on May 8, 2011 8:41:48 GMT -5
Hi milo78...
I would recommend contacting kjw (Karen Ward) and/or visiting her website of "CampGreyhound". She has many articles and info on feeding bones & raw feeding.
I brush my girl's teeth almost every night. I use a battery operated rotary tooth brush with a small round head. If you decide to go with a standard toothbrush then buy the smallest, softest toothbrush you can find. No need for doggie toothpaste - just have a dish of lukewarm water with you to rinse the brush out every 2-3 teeth.
|
|
|
Post by luvastorm on May 8, 2011 10:46:22 GMT -5
The following is an answer to a query I put up last night on the American Greyhound site. A lot of the replies suggested marrow bones (weight bearing) but this answer makes the most sense to me. We feed chicken quarters sometimes and turkey necks and everything needs to be raw, otherwise the bones can splinter.
This reply is from a racing owner/trainer/breeder.
Bully sticks, antlers, raw bony pieces of meat (slab of ribs, chicken leg quarter, etc. I don't give as many bones and treats for chewing as most do because I feed raw, so my hounds get their requisite chewing and teeth cleaning needs met mostly through diet. I would stay far away from weight bearing bones of large ungulates like cattle - they are tooth breakers and tooth killers.
|
|
milo78
Junior Grey Lover
Posts: 311
|
Post by milo78 on May 8, 2011 13:32:59 GMT -5
Hi milo78... I would recommend contacting kjw (Karen Ward) and/or visiting her website of "CampGreyhound". She has many articles and info on feeding bones & raw feeding. I brush my girl's teeth almost every night. I use a battery operated rotary tooth brush with a small round head. If you decide to go with a standard toothbrush then buy the smallest, softest toothbrush you can find. No need for doggie toothpaste - just have a dish of lukewarm water with you to rinse the brush out every 2-3 teeth. thank you for your advice. I did pick up a tooth brush/paste set when i was picking up misc things to set up the home for the new arrival. Did it take yours some getting used to - re: battery operated rotary tooth brush?
|
|
milo78
Junior Grey Lover
Posts: 311
|
Post by milo78 on May 8, 2011 13:34:04 GMT -5
The following is an answer to a query I put up last night on the American Greyhound site. A lot of the replies suggested marrow bones (weight bearing) but this answer makes the most sense to me. We feed chicken quarters sometimes and turkey necks and everything needs to be raw, otherwise the bones can splinter. This reply is from a racing owner/trainer/breeder. Bully sticks, antlers, raw bony pieces of meat (slab of ribs, chicken leg quarter, etc. I don't give as many bones and treats for chewing as most do because I feed raw, so my hounds get their requisite chewing and teeth cleaning needs met mostly through diet. I would stay far away from weight bearing bones of large ungulates like cattle - they are tooth breakers and tooth killers.thank you for the info!
|
|
craftycrafter
Grey Lover
Holstein 2008-2011 "gone too soon" Lola 2003-2014 "sweetheart"
Posts: 726
|
Post by craftycrafter on May 8, 2011 20:27:24 GMT -5
I can attest to the weight baring bones breaking teeth, Ramone has a chipped tooth from chewing on the smoked cow joints, I've gotten rid of them all, they just get the raw bones in their meals now.
|
|
moncheri
Grey Addicted
Broodies are the best!
Posts: 2,843
|
Post by moncheri on May 8, 2011 20:29:53 GMT -5
thank you for your advice. I did pick up a tooth brush/paste set when i was picking up misc things to set up the home for the new arrival. Did it take yours some getting used to - re: battery operated rotary tooth brush? At first I think the vibration of the rotary brush felt odd to Chicky - it doesn't take me long to do as she only has 4 teeth! (She came up to Canada as a 71/2 yr old with horrible periodontal disease and tremendous tartar buildup. Anyways my vet has been pleased that the 4 remaining teeth are still in there good & solid (he didn't give them much of a prognosis but wanted to give me a chance once I changed her diet & started good oral care). Anyways, Chicky would likely tell you that toothbrushing is not her favourite thing in retirement life but it's all part of our bedtime routine so she knows it has to be done.
|
|
milo78
Junior Grey Lover
Posts: 311
|
Post by milo78 on May 9, 2011 1:39:48 GMT -5
thank you for your advice. I did pick up a tooth brush/paste set when i was picking up misc things to set up the home for the new arrival. Did it take yours some getting used to - re: battery operated rotary tooth brush? At first I think the vibration of the rotary brush felt odd to Chicky - it doesn't take me long to do as she only has 4 teeth! (She came up to Canada as a 71/2 yr old with horrible periodontal disease and tremendous tartar buildup. Anyways my vet has been pleased that the 4 remaining teeth are still in there good & solid (he didn't give them much of a prognosis but wanted to give me a chance once I changed her diet & started good oral care). Anyways, Chicky would likely tell you that toothbrushing is not her favourite thing in retirement life but it's all part of our bedtime routine so she knows it has to be done. That's so sad she only has 4 jibbies left why don't they take better care of their teeth on the track? A bad mouth can lead to problems. Is it the soft food at the track that makes them bad? I can only imagine hoe great she felt once her mouth was fixed up! When did you start brushing her teeth? I don't want to overwhelm the new grey with all these new things. But I do want to start up a routine.
|
|
milo78
Junior Grey Lover
Posts: 311
|
Post by milo78 on May 9, 2011 1:42:08 GMT -5
I can attest to the weight baring bones breaking teeth, Ramone has a chipped tooth from chewing on the smoked cow joints, I've gotten rid of them all, they just get the raw bones in their meals now. Just wondering is it a real need for them to have "real" bones. Has anyone had success with nylon bones?
|
|
moncheri
Grey Addicted
Broodies are the best!
Posts: 2,843
|
Post by moncheri on May 9, 2011 6:45:48 GMT -5
I started brushing Chicky's teeth about a week after coming home. I wanted to bond with her first & also establish myself as alpha. Three months later is when she had her dental surgery and I waited about 4-5 days for her mouth to heal before I started up again.
|
|
OwnedBySummer
Hound Nut
"Summer" (aka Coach Standifer)
Posts: 1,392
|
Post by OwnedBySummer on May 9, 2011 13:03:53 GMT -5
I can attest to the weight baring bones breaking teeth, Ramone has a chipped tooth from chewing on the smoked cow joints, I've gotten rid of them all, they just get the raw bones in their meals now. Just wondering is it a real need for them to have "real" bones. Has anyone had success with nylon bones? IMHO, if you're going to provide bones, provide real ones. I wouldn't provide nylon bones -- they are 100% synthetic and I've had them cause bleeding gums. They get very sharp and bristly. I don't feed raw, so Summer doesn't get raw bones. But she does get raw duck and chicken feet and raw turkey necks. For inside chewing, not that she's a dedicated chewer, I will give her those tartar-reducing kneecaps from Global or Pet Valu. She also has a piece of antler. And she also gets normal chew-and-eat things like dehydrated tendon (from Camp Greyhound), dried pig ears and dentastix.
|
|
craftycrafter
Grey Lover
Holstein 2008-2011 "gone too soon" Lola 2003-2014 "sweetheart"
Posts: 726
|
Post by craftycrafter on May 9, 2011 13:35:18 GMT -5
I've tried pigs feet for my dogs and Ramone will spend a good half hour and eat the whole thing, Lola chews on and will eventually clean out any meaty fatty bits but leaves the outside skin part..they're fairly inexpensive and are a fun chew for them.
|
|
|
Post by luvastorm on May 10, 2011 10:29:36 GMT -5
Newest suggestion from the Professional greyhound folks - "dried sweet potato strips". Apparently they're great tooth cleaners. Also deer antlers but at $10.00 each they're out of our budget. We do have access to lots of turkey necks. As for pigs feet, our girls are like Lola, don't like the thick skin. We cut through the skin in several places on the last lot of pigs feet and that went over better.
|
|