Hello just got back from the vets as it was time for the annual vaccination and inspection and sefa will probably need a scale and polish as her teeth aren't brilliant at the back. I just wondered what you use to clean your dogs teeth. I've tried toothpaste in the past but she just licks it off so thats no good. The vet recommended some gel for gingivitis(sp) I just wondered if anyone has tried this on your dogs and what you thought of it? I know that bones from the butchers are good but I worry that they will get a splinter of bone stuck in their throats. I'd be grateful for some advice please.

What's the gel called that you've been prescribed for the gingivitis?

Get some large knuckle end marrow/beef bones....they won't splinter honest.  I think you've got goldens??  If so similar size to my GSPs...they just grind away at the end after licking the marrow out.
It's smaller bones from lambs and pigs that are more likely to be broken down into splinters but even so I've never had any problems with anything getting stuck.  Once a dog has become accustomed to bones they are pretty savvy.

Hi ange,
            l use roast dinner toothpaste from dorwest, its quite abbrasive and only needs to be used once a week, the other days l use a normal dog toothpaste.
l found the one from dorwest quite good, after about a month the tartar was almost gone.
http://www.dorwest.com/prodinfo.asp?number=RDT

Thanks for your help I think the gel was called logic. Yes I have got goldens I'm sure they would be fine with bones its just me being sensitive as Sam once had problems with a blockage not caused by a bone but terracotta crocks that he had a taste for.  I'm going to go to the butchers this morning to hopefully get some bones and that roast dinner toothpaste might be the answer I'll look into that later. Thanks very much for repying to my message.

LOGIC Gel - brilliant stuff.

I use it on Henry all the time because I would never ever give him another bone :-( he was so poorly after having one once, I just couldnt do it!  Anyway, I highly recommend it and the dogs love it.

Em

As Gunner suggests I would give your dog either a large bone or a raw chicken wing, chicken wings are brilliant for cleaning their teeth.  If you are unsure about raw chicken wings you can always hold it at the side and let your dog crunch on it.

I just thought I'd post and let you know how the teeth decay situation is. After gnawing on huge marrow bones since saturday there teeth are amazing, there is no evidence of scale at all, the blackness has completely gone. I've also been using Logic gel on them, it's not needed now but I will carry on using it as the dogs do love it. Thanks everyone for the advice.

Glad the marrow bones worked.  I always feed my dog raw bones and meat - his teeth are lovely and he doesn't have doggy breath!  He especially likes chicken wings and I like him to eat raw meat because it's more natural.  His coat is glossy too.  I really don't like commercial 'complete' kibble as it produced horrible gunk on the teeth and gums - mind you I guess the companies that produce these foods also produce 'dental' products to deal with this problem - a win win situation.  Another reason why lots of vets in the UK would rather you fed commercial (certain brands obviously, ie. the ones they promote) rather than raw meat which only benefits the dogs and owners!

Another reason why lots of vets in the UK would rather you fed commercial (certain brands obviously, ie. the ones they promote) rather than raw meat which only benefits the dogs and owners!

I think its a bit 'off' to suggest vets only recommend commercial food to line their pockets :) I toally agree with all you say about bones, but lots of pet owners can't stand fresh meat, or don't want to deal with it, or feel worried they won't be giving a balanced diet. Not all dogs fed a good quality complete food will have tooth problems. For those that do, a bone certainly is a good alternative to surgery. (As in a tooth clean under a GA)