Dog food

[t3h_wookiee]

We've tried a ton of different quality foods out for our two Corgies, and have been using Canidae for the past year or so because they both love it. :) Usually our male is finicky and will only eat because he's hungry, or will skip dinner because he doesn't like the food. But he loves this stuff. Plus we can't feed them food with corn or lamb (allergies), so that narrows down our choices.

We've noticed however that their teeth are getting pretty bad now. They have dental bones that they chew on a lot, and they play with all sort of other chewing toys. I used to give them treats that fought tartar, but I've cut down on treats lately as they were gaining some weight back. We've tried brushing their teeth many times, and we just can't get them to allow us to do it. They fight so hard, no matter what we do. Not even cheese as a reward will work (which is amazing, because they'll usually do anything for a little piece of cheese). We can't give them rawhide anymore, because Ein will tear pieces off and swallow them, even when we're watching and correcting him.

Does anyone else that's feeding Canidae have this problem? It wasn't much of a problem at all when they were on California Natural, but Ein didn't really like that stuff after about a month. They just had a dental cleaning at the vet in February, and their teeth already look like they never went at all. :(

Any other recommendations for food then maybe? Or of some other way to help keep tartar down? I feel so bad, because their teeth look really bad, but I don't know what else to do. :(

[Hello Kitty]

I feed our dog canidae (one of many as she likes variety :rolleyes: ) and I don't have any problems with excess tartar buildup. I do check her teeth almost every other day, and then brush any yellow stuff off, if needed.

I wish I could be of more help with the tooth brushing. My dog loves it, but my cat absolutely hates it. I can get my cat to be okay, if there's two of us to help and we wrap him up in a towel.

Do they have access to plenty of water? Do you encourage them to drink? That might help them (especially after eating) to wash the food down, if it's sitting on their teeth.

[t3h_wookiee]

Oh yes, they drink a lot of water (we usually have to tell Ein to stop drinking, and that he's not a camel actually!).

I was thinking that maybe it's something else then. It just really hurts when they chomp down on your fingers when you try to brush their teeth. The kitty is much easier, lol!

[Rico'sAlice]

Any other recommendations for food then maybe? Or of some other way to help keep tartar down? I feel so bad, because their teeth look really bad, but I don't know what else to do. :(


Bones. I've never seen anything else work nearly as well. One of my aunts dogs (10yo miniature poodle if it matters) had terrible teeth, they were brushed almost daily , she chewed on greenies and rawhide, and she still had to go in to the vet for cleaning (put asleep) every 6 months.
She started giving her chicken necks (must be raw) for just a few meals every week. Now she looks like she has puppy teeth again and hasn't needed them brushed or been back to the vet for cleaning in 2 years.

All of my dogs are on practically 100% raw meaty bones as their food, but you can also feed whatever food you like and just give the dogs a recreational bone to chew on a few times a week. I don't like shank/femur/marrow bones and my dogs have never enjoyed rib bones. For something they can chew on for a while I get beef or bison neck bones, or knuckle bones. For meals they get things like turkey necks, whole trout, chicken carcasses, pork neck bones, etc.

[t3h_wookiee]

Bones. I've never seen anything else work nearly as well. One of my aunts dogs (10yo miniature poodle if it matters) had terrible teeth, they were brushed almost daily , she chewed on greenies and rawhide, and she still had to go in to the vet for cleaning (put asleep) every 6 months.
She started giving her chicken necks (must be raw) for just a few meals every week. Now she looks like she has puppy teeth again and hasn't needed them brushed or been back to the vet for cleaning in 2 years.

All of my dogs are on practically 100% raw meaty bones as their food, but you can also feed whatever food you like and just give the dogs a recreational bone to chew on a few times a week. I don't like shank/femur/marrow bones and my dogs have never enjoyed rib bones. For something they can chew on for a while I get beef or bison neck bones, or knuckle bones. For meals they get things like turkey necks, whole trout, chicken carcasses, pork neck bones, etc.

Do raw bones splinter? I know chicken bones are out-at least for Corgies. They chew like a Rottie, but have a small throat. If the others don't splinter though, I'll definitely look into that. I'm sure they'd love it. :D

[chefker]

Ivan gets a smoked ham bone (I buy them at Petco), and he does well with it. I brush his teeth maybe once a week--if that--and the vet said they are in great shape.

I just have to keep an eye on him if he bites off the little 'knob' at the end; if he breaks off a piece that's small enough for him to swallow, then I just have to take the broken-off part away.

[Rico'sAlice]

I don't know anything about corgis. Sorry. :( Not exactly sure what you mean with their jaw/throat.

For their teeth, the beef neck bones are probably going to be a better choice anyway, b/c they are tougher and last longer so they provide more chewing. Basically the dog will have to scrape away at the bone with their teeth for hours. If it makes you feel more comfortable, you can take it away before it gets small enough for them to swallow.

But I'm not sure how you are defining "splinter." I personally wouldn't describe raw chicken bones as splintering. Possibly leg/thigh bones would be slightly more likely to do something like that, but that is why "weight bearing" bones are generally frowned upon by raw feeders. (I do feed them, but i know my dogs and they are excellent, thorough, careful chewers) Neck bone has a lot of cartilage and stuff and IMO doesn't splinter at all. It kind of crumbles when they chew it.

This woman has a bunch of corgis that she feed raw. She might know some more info specific to Corgis.
http://www.barfershoppe.com/about_me.htm

This book review of a book about corgis mentions that the author raw feeds hers.
http://www.corgiaid.org/book/review.php


A reference to a "gulping" Corgi-http://www.rawdogranch.com/tips.htm
The Gulper - My Corgi mix is one of these. She chews the piece of food just barely enough to get it down her throat. And she doesn't always judge it correctly. I've had to pry open her mouth and pull out a piece of chicken thigh she didn't chew quite enough and had gotten stuck.

This is another reason why I hang around while the dogs are eating. Just in case anyone needs help.

The answer to the gulper is either make the pieces so small they CAN be swallowed whole without fear of getting stuck (or just grind it) or make them so BIG they can't possibly be swallowed whole and force the dog to chew.

With Winnie, the Corgi mix, I now tell her to CHEW her food when I put her bowl down. If I think she's gulping it I'll yell "Winnie - CHEW THAT!" and she slows down. A little.

[t3h_wookiee]

Thanks Kerrie. :)

Thanks for those links Rico'sAlice! If I'd thought about it I could have asked on Corgi-L about bones. I'm a dork.

Rib bones of pork and chicken wing bones I've noticed splinter, but those are usually cooked too now that I think about it. Maybe the cooking makes the bones weaker, and thus they splinter? We haven't tried raw bones before.

I'm going to check some of those out next time I'm in town. :)

[Rico'sAlice]

Rib bones of pork and chicken wing bones I've noticed splinter, but those are usually cooked too now that I think about it. Maybe the cooking makes the bones weaker, and thus they splinter? We haven't tried raw bones before.


I don't think it's "weaker" per se, but that it is drier and that's why they become brittle, if that makes sense.
I would never give my dogs any sort of cooked bone.

Good luck investigating! :)