Every now and then I give them "greenies", but I would like to see if y'all have any other suggestion, possibly cheaper / free alternatives?

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Hmmmm.... My Sofi is about 3 years old now. A year ago she started getting stinky breath, but I attributed it to the amount of brown gunk that she had stuck to her teeth. I signed her up for a teeth cleaning at the vet which ran me $100, which was worth it to me at the time, because her icky breath was gone. A year has passed now though, and her breath is back to being stinky. I duno if it's something in the food she eats that it gets stuck to her teeth or something, or if I should just bunker down and start brushing her toofers on a regular basis (most vets say regular teeth brushing in dogs is a must anyway), or try some chewy alternatives. I used to think that rawhide bones were good for her teeth to chew on, but she ends up destroying them so fast that they don't last long enough to do any good. She normally doesn't chew on anything else, otherwise I'd get her like a nylon rope thingy that she could "self floss" with.

I did read somewhere though that feeding a raw meat and bones diet did a lot for the condition of your dog's teeth which ultimately improved the breath issue. Not sure how much foundation that has to it though.
Your best bed would be to feed dry kibble instead of soft food. Dry kibble is better for your dogs teeth. You will also have "drier" and firmer stools.
We've stuck to good old hard treats and hard food. She's still a pup so I can't exactly say anything yet lol but so far its done great.
I read in a magazine article on dogs that nyla bones are better than raw hides. Brushing the dog's teeth is a good habit and mentioned by one member, dry kibble is indeed better than canned food. Not just for the breadth but for the stools too. Canned food contains too much preservatives and salt. I supplement my Corgi's diet of dry kibble (holistic) with veggies and fruits. He loves uncooked carrots, steamed peas/cabbage/pumpkin and fruits: apples, bananas, mangoes, dried apricots etc. However, onions, garlic, chocolates, grapes, raisins and macadamia nuts are harmful to dogs. Chocolates can be fatal too.
I've read that raw vegetables aren't that great for dogs. Their stomachs do not contain the proper enzymes to break down raw plant matter, so it just goes straight through them, providing no nutritional value. I'll have to find the article I got that from.
Hi,
Some vegetables can be eaten raw but others need to be cooked.
You know there is a new vaccine that came out to aid in the prevention of canine periodontitis Its called PORPHYROMONAS. It can be given in puppies <1 years old. And this will help dec that need for dental cleaning by dec the freq need of it. My vet recommended it for Bonni (now 2.5years old)....
He says he is usually skeptic about new stuff. But he tried it in some of the older dogs with much more advance periodontitis... and alot of its signs resolved. Such as the redness and swelling of the gum attached to the teeth.

Its not an expensive investment either.
First dose consist of 2 shots.
And subsequent shots are yearly.
It can be incorporated into the yearly vaccinations requirements.

Insurance doesnt pay for it yet. But give it some time. If they see that they save from the gingivitis/periodontitis treatment, they may even end up paying for some of it.

At the clinic I take my girls.. they charge $15... and their pricing are average. -- Altamonte Springs, FL

Of course, we gotta brush their teeth.
That helps a bunch!
There is not. Unfortunately there's just not as much stuff for cats. Sucks...
I tend to avoid Greenies. Ever since they were pulled off the shelves last year (or was it the year before?), it makes me nervous. Of course, we feed dry kibble. Occasionally, they'll get a Busy Bone dental chew. Have to keep up with the tooth brushing, too. But, the one thing we've found is just wonderful is parsley. It's a natural at helping bad breath.
why were the greenies pulled? I just want to know because we've been waiting for Roxi to get old enough to use em but if they cause bad things I don't want to use em anymore ;)
I'm sure you could find more on the internet, but the basics were: There were a couple of dogs (3 I think) that died from eating them. They really aren't digestible in bulk form. They're meant to be nibbled, not swallowed. The dogs were ones that would swallow them and then they got stomach rot. People tend, because they are so expensive, to buy the smaller sizes thinking you can use them like biscuits. I suggest that folks read the bags or boxes some of these things come in. It can be an eye-opener! But, Greenies pulled them for several months. Customers were ticked because we didn't have them...and ticked when we put them back on the shelves! Can't please everyone, obviously. Greenies was changing their formula. (Personally, I don't see much difference.) The lawsuit which involved a dead dog's owner and Greenies? I never heard how it turned out. But it was for millions in damages.

My thought has been that for dogs that are nibblers, they may not be too bad. But for dogs which would bite off larger pieces, they just don't digest properly.
You can Google it, or check consumeraffairs.com, but... Okay, here's the gist of it. If I remember right, there were 3 dogs. All 3 died. One sued for several million. That dog had swallowed a good sized chunk. Since it wasn't fully digestible, the dog's stomach wall rotted and the dog died. There was a warning label on the Greenies that stated small pieces the size of a grain of rice were acceptable but no large pieces should be ingested. They took the whole product line off the shelves and redesigned it. Still, there is a warning label. The biggest issue right now is that, because they are expensive, people think of them as "treats" and buy the smaller sizes. Then their dogs get large chunks and get sick.

I read the warning labels and the ingredient labels in class. That's usually all it takes for my clients to realize the problem with them. And there are other ways to give your dog treats, as well as take care of their teeth and breath.

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