Teeth & Gum Disease

For Nice Teeth you Need To Cut Out The Dry Food And Feed Your Dog Raw Meaty Bones... Part 1

By Dr Conor Brady

Gum disease is a serious issue that goes far beyond unsightly teeth and smelly breath. Left to progress it can cause your dog serious discomfort and they may lose teeth. But more than that, the constant bacterial invasion at the gum line is a daily drain on your pet’s immune resources. This is why patients with gum disease are more susceptible to disease. Overtime, the body can become flooded with immune debris, clogging kidneys, inflaming hearts. For more, check out our article on gum disease in dogs.

We are going to show you that the very best way to keep your dog’s teeth clean are raw meaty bones. They are not only safe and nutritious, they are cheap to free. They’re definitely the tastiest solution, that’s for sure! We’ll recommend the ideal bone for your dog’s type and finish with a list of do’s and don’t that will not only explain why vets are a bit scared but will ensure your pet’s safety going forward (I hate those two words but wasted more than 5mins trying to think of an alternative…).

Dog's Need abrasion in their Diet...

The biting, shearing, crushing action of chewing cartilage and meat on the bone will clean and massage a dog’s teeth and gums, clearing away any food residues that feed the tartar development. This is how dogs clean their teeth normally and we’ve known it for years. Gray (1923) highlighted how dental problems, greater in smaller dogs, were a result of “dogs fed soft diets with insufficient dental activity…in cutting and tearing raw flesh, breaking or crunching bones, and using their teeth in ratting and rabbiting etc”.

This is why kibble diets don’t work. The kibble, which is usually swallowed hole, bounces off their teeth like tic tacs. That’s why they bring out super magic “dental formulas”, which do actually help, a teeny tiny bit, largely as they are…well, larger! Moreover, the mushy, rapidly digested carbs in these diets feed the bacteria in your dog’s mouth. As carnivores, they have no amylase in their saliva (the enzyme that breaks down carbs, they historically has no need of such an adaption), the sugar hangs around fuelling bacterial growth.

8/10 dogs are dry fed.

8/10 dogs suffer gum disease by 3 years of age.

Does anyone believe this is a coincidence?!

The Benefits Of Feeding Bones To Dogs...

1. Bones Clean Dog's teeth

See that huge tooth there in the back of their jaw? That’s called a a carnassial tooth. The huge and highly modified upper pre-molar comes down like a scythe past the anvil-like lower molars, slicing meat, cartilage and bone with ease. All carnivores have them but the dog’s are particularly impressive. So nobody is doubting that he’s very much up to the bone-eating job.

the carnassial tooth in the dog

Brown and Park (1968), periodically replaced the moist kibble ration fed to 30 dogs that were displaying dental calculus and tooth loss, with beef oxtail. Two-thirds of the dog’s calculus was removed within 24hrs after the first oxtail feeding, this increased to 95% by the end of week 2. Interestingly, the same authors note that oxtails, consisting of hard spinal vertebrae, were fed to over 200 dogs for more than six years and “no harmful effects were observed”.

clean teeth

 More recently, Marx et al. (2016) evaluated beef bones as chew items to reduce dental calculus in adult dogs. They found raw bone consumption reduced dental calculus by 57% after three days and by 82% after twelve days. Again, no complications such as tooth fractures or intestinal obstructions were observed during the trial.

More recently, Marx et al. (2016) evaluated beef bones as chew items to reduce dental calculus in adult dogs. They found raw bone consumption reduced dental calculus by 57% after three days and by 82% after twelve days. Again, no complications such as tooth fractures or intestinal obstructions were observed during the trial.

2. The nutritional benefits of feeding bones to dogs

Dogs eat whole prey. That’s what those big, back teeth are all about. They are bone crunchers and consumers. It stands that they gain some nutrition from them. In fact, they say bones feed bones in dogs. First off, a raw meaty bone contain lots of fresh cartilage which is a source of glucosamine, collagen, chondroitin and vitamin C to your dog (how does it make sense to wait until their joints are ruined before adding this stuff into their food?!). Bones also contain lots of protein and minerals vital for bone growth, including lysine and easily assimilated natural calcium, as well as micro minerals, such as selenium, copper and magnesium. These are all essential to young pups and brood bitches, as they help build strong teeth, joints and bones.

On top of this, raw bones provide some much needed roughage in their diet. They have a cleansing/scouring effect on the dogs digestive tract, and the roughage encourages healthy faecal motions that stimulate the anal glands

Written by Dr Conor Brady