# best raw bones for teeth?



## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

Just wondering what you guys consider the good bones to give to help keep teeth in tip top shape?


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## Guess (Sep 23, 2009)

I don't feed real raw, but would love to know what raw meaty bones are best for their teeth as well. :3


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Chicken wings, drumsticks, and thighs. Any part of the cornish hen. Pork riblets or pork ribs. Some beef ribs.

Some raw purists advise strongly against the weight bearing bones of large animals like cows, as their bones are too hard and can be teeth breakers. Having said that, I DO use the raw femur marrow bones from cows occasionally. (I scrape out most of the white marrow in the middle as it is nutrient dense but also fatty and can cause loose stools.) Brody loves to work on the meat around the bone and really gets some good scraping on his back teeth with these bones. If you have a super vigorous chewer with a lot of jaw strength, I would advise against these bones.

I recently bought him some mutton bones from hare-today.com and he likes them too. I would think they wouldn't be as dense as cow bones, but he still doesn't consume them. He chews on them for awhile and when they dry out, with no more meat on them, I throw them away and get him a new one.

For ribs, he chews on the ends which have a softer consistency than the hard bone. I also throw them away after a day or two of chewing. 

And of course, all bones must be raw. Not the "smoked" bones you get at the pet store. Those are cooked and rock hard. Definite tooth breakers. 

Bully sticks can also be good for teeth, especially if they gnaw hard on them with their back teeth.


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## rache (Nov 10, 2009)

I mostly use chicken thighs and wings mainly and pork ribs occasionly to. 

They also have bully sticks


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## omguthrie (Oct 13, 2009)

How often do you raw feeders give these large chewing-type-bones? Lilo is kibble fed as are the rest of my dogs but I give sheep femurs and such to the border collies for chewing. They only get them once or twice a month but I've never had problems with tarter on their teeth. I know chihuahuas are prone to dental disease and want to keep Lilo's teeth good as long as possible. Should I give her raw bones more often? 

Thanks!!


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

omguthrie said:


> How often do you raw feeders give these large chewing-type-bones? Lilo is kibble fed as are the rest of my dogs but I give sheep femurs and such to the border collies for chewing. They only get them once or twice a month but I've never had problems with tarter on their teeth. I know chihuahuas are prone to dental disease and want to keep Lilo's teeth good as long as possible. Should I give her raw bones more often?
> 
> Thanks!!


I would try for once a week at least. You want a good long chew where they really gnaw hard. That is what cracks the tartar off and gives the teeth a good scrubbing. Brody gets edible bone (from cornish hens) several times a week as part of his meals. He gets the recreational bones about once a week or so.


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

We've been doing about 3 times a week with raw chicken wings...its helped everyone but Oakley...hers are awful and she's only a year old...I try to brush their teeth too, but honestly don't know if I feel that does any good? 

I'll have to try the pork ribs, wasn't sure if raw pork was OK for them or not.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

flippedstars said:


> We've been doing about 3 times a week with raw chicken wings...its helped everyone but Oakley...hers are awful and she's only a year old...I try to brush their teeth too, but honestly don't know if I feel that does any good?
> 
> I'll have to try the pork ribs, wasn't sure if raw pork was OK for them or not.


Raw pork is fine. Trich used to be a problem, but hasn't been found in domestic pork for over 30 years in the US. It can still be found in wild boar however.


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

flippedstars said:


> We've been doing about 3 times a week with raw chicken wings...its helped everyone but Oakley...hers are awful and she's only a year old...I try to brush their teeth too, but honestly don't know if I feel that does any good?
> 
> I'll have to try the pork ribs, wasn't sure if raw pork was OK for them or not.


As you know we do raw - my pups get bone in items 2-3 times a week (the rest whole ground or meaty items). We did do beef rib bones for a bit - I'm reluctent to use them again because Matilda is such a big, strong chewer I think she even cracked the top "point" of one of her back teeth! So I am really careful now about what I give her to chew. Anyway, I know we'd talked about teeth just the other day...Maya's teeth were much better but I finally got the metal scaler out & thought I'd try for the remainder of the build up (which was only a tiny bit in the front & one tooth in the back which was pretty covered) because her breath still was pretty stinky. WELL, I scraped her teeth but the worst one seemed a bit sensitive to her so I just gently scraped w/o result. I finally used my fingernail placed at the base of her tooth & scraped & I got hit in the face (EWWW!!) by something. I looked & the ENTIRE build up piece was GONE! LOL So sometimes fingernails work. :roll: Saying that - her breath has been amazing since. Thank goodness! 

I read a lot about how this isn't true but I still like chicken necks for chewing. I'd love to toss them a good ole turkey neck (or part of one)...one of these days I will.


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## Suekadue (Nov 16, 2009)

Raw chicken wings? Do you take the meat off them? _Max won't eat raw food but I'd like to try the bones._


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