Is Wet/soft food bad for dog's teeth?

[Jamilupine]

It seems like I keep hearing people say that soft dog treats are bad for dogs teeth, and that treats such as dog biscuts are good for thier teeth. IS this true? And if so, is the same true for cats? (if anyone knows.) Thanks in advance for everyone's help!

Jami

[Mom2Many]

Technically speaking, dry dog food sticks to dogs teeth and causes plaque and tarter build up. The problem with all soft food is that dogs are designed to cruch bones, which helps clean their teeth and changes the pH balance in the mouth to one that helps clean off the plaque and tarter so by not giving anything hard and crunchy to chew on your dogs teeth will deteriorate quicker and their jaw muscles won't get enough exercise. A happy medium is feeding wet food but providing ample chew toys for recreational chewing and daily brushings. If you feed only dry dog food you should be brushing your dogs teeth everyday and provide chew toys.
Either way you need to provide proper dental care for your dogs, bad teeth lead to many other problems.
Hope this helps!

[GSD]

One thing that i've noticed with wet foods cat or dog is that they are much higher in water content, so you aren't getting as many nutrients as with dry food. Therefore you might spend a little more for water instead of "food".

[Mom2Many]

Originally Posted by GSD

One thing that i've noticed with wet foods cat or dog is that they are much higher in water content, so you aren't getting as many nutrients as with dry food. Therefore you might spend a little more for water instead of "food".

Right but they usually have a higher meat content because the meat doesn't have to be dryed out so they are actually usually more nutritious and species appropriate then grocery store brand dry foods.

[GSD]

Originally Posted by Mom2Many

Right but they usually have a higher meat content because the meat doesn't have to be dryed out so they are actually usually more nutritious and species appropriate then grocery store brand dry foods.

I bypass all that and just feed raw, wet food with bones, mmmmm, nutritious and good for teeth.

[Mom2Many]

Originally Posted by GSD

I bypass all that and just feed raw, wet food with bones, mmmmm, nutritious and good for teeth.

I'm with you on that note! Nice big meaty bones and organs for me! I wasn't trying to call you our or anything like that, it's just what I have learned from a wonderful woman who has devoted her life to informing people about dog foods, although she herself feeds raw as well. Sorry if I offended you at all.

[GSD]

I didn't think you were trying to offend me, no worries

[Boleyn]

Jami, I've also read recently that canned food is recommended for cats with UT/kidney problems, due to the extra moisture. My cat Pandora was on Chicken Soup dry, and I decided to supplement with Wellness canned. She has since very politely gone on a boycott of the dry food, holding out for the canned!

My dogs get a spoonful or so of canned with their kibble, but I also give RMB's for chewing.

[Mellie]

I, too, supplement my dogs' dry food with canned. Not just to make their food more palatable to them, but to give a little more hydration to them as well. Luckily, they haven't become so spoiled that they spit out the dry food... yet.

[Jenjeanne]

I purchased some raw beef bones from a website called "Sitstay.com". They delivered them to me in a box with dry ice and I put them into my freezer immediately. I thawed out a couple every week and gave them to my dog. My dog would spend an hour or more sitting on the lawn in the backyard working on one of those bones. There was very little meat on them but he loved working on those bones until they were completely clean - including the marrow in the center. Watching him do this made me realize that his teeth were getting a great cleaning as he scraped his teeth along the sides of the bone. And, too, his jaws were getting quite a bit of exercise. I fed my dog a raw diet but I used these bones for recreational purposes because there was not enough meat on them to make a meal. I always gave him these about an hour or so before his dinner. This way he was getting hungry and enjoyed this as an appetizer.

[Jamilupine]

Those bones sound like a good option...can I get them from the butcher as well? They are definately an outside treat!

Lucy eats dry food for her meals, and gets soft treats for training times. In addition she has a number of hard booda bones to chew on. Although, she doesn't particularly like the booda bones for long periods of time! I got some Hartz Denta bones that have the same ingredents as Booda bones, but are bacon flavored and shaped differently - she seems to prefer those. I have been trying to get a teeth cleaning regimine down, but admit to not doing it as regularly as I would like.

So, sounds like a variety of treats and foods is best for Lucy! Thanks for all your replies!

[elegy]

Originally Posted by Jamilupine

Those bones sound like a good option...can I get them from the butcher as well? They are definately an outside treat!

yep, you can get them from a butcher. that's where i get mine. i can't say enough good things about having bones for dogs to chew. when i got mushroom he had oogy teeth, lots of built up grossness and bleeding gums. having bones to chew completely turned his mouth around. he has the cleanest white teeth and healthy happy gums.

they don't have to be an outside treat. you can train your dog to chew them on an old towel in the house also, or give the fresh bones when the dog is crated, which is what i do. once they've cleaned the grossness off the outside i don't care if they take them all over the house.