Did you know that looking after your dog's dental health can add 2 - 4 years to their life?!
Why does dental health affect your dog's lifespan?
- If your dog has a constant build up of plaque and bacteria on their teeth, this results in their gums becoming red and inflamed which is an open door to the bacteria entering your dog's blood stream and causing kidney or heart disease.
- Pain when chewing due to red sore gums, results in less food being eaten and your dog losing out on valuable nutrients (and we never want our dogs to experience any pain).
- Did you know that our dogs are like us in that bacteria in their mouth and gums can enter the blood stream and go straight to the brain resulting in early doggy dementia (or Alzheimers in people with poor dental hygiene)!?
But what if your dog will not let you anywhere near their mouth for regular brushing? This is such a common concern with so many of your dogs. We do clean Ruff's teeth religiously daily, but as a rescue, he has always had such bad teeth and red, sore gums!
We use these soft finger brushes daily with some logic gel on it (which he just wants to lick as it has a malty flavour), and to make it really positive for him, he waits for his 'dental bone' after his brushing, which is half a PlaqueOff Dental Veggie Bone.
When I realised that it was not just me using these PlaqueOff dental chews daily, but Dr Clare was also relying on them fully to keep Jumble's teeth clean; I realised that I had to stock them for all your dogs too!!
We have chosen to also stock the PlaqueOff soft chews for small dogs (and cats) as both these products contain a 100% natural seaweed called Ascophyllum nodosum that is sustainably harvested in the clear cold waters off the Scandinavian coastline.
They work systemically through the bloodstream, reaching the saliva to coat teeth, softening stubborn plaque and tartar buildup and regular use ensures that they work within 3-8 weeks as shown in the image above.
Small dogs with flat noses do tend to be predisposed to much more tartar, loose teeth and inflamed gums as their teeth do not grind against each other as happens in larger dogs. Being able to give a daily soft chew that works through the bloodstream, is one of best ways to look after their dental health.
Please note that as a vet (and I have done it with our own Ruff); a full general anaesthetic and dental procedure done by your local vet practice, is the best way to keep your dog's teeth clean.
Getting into a regular cleaning routine and/or PlaqueOff dental treats after a full anaesthetic will prevent the build up of the tartar and save you money further down the line as you won't need to have those frequent expensive dentals!
What dental chews do we definitely NOT recommend?
What about giving POPCORN to dogs - is it good or bad?
