Dental Health for Pets Without the Wrestling Match

If you have ever tried brushing your pet’s teeth and ended up in a full Olympic-level wrestling match, welcome to the club. Most pets would rather eat the toothbrush than let you use it, and without some gymnastic style maneuvers, brushing your furry family's teeth might be a bit tricky, but good oral care is still essential!

If you've been with us a while, you've likely heard us talk about the importance of brushing and proper oral health for the furry guys. Studies show, that up to 80% of dogs have some form of dental disease by the age of two. So you can see why we're so passionate about keeping the chompers shiny clean! Plaque regrows every 24 hours, that's why we recommend brushing every 24 hours, but if you're struggling to get some furry cooperation for teeth brushing, you're not alone!

The good news is that you can still support your furry family’s dental health without the daily struggle. Nature gave our pets the perfect tools to keep their teeth clean, and when we use them the way nature intended, the results are incredible.

Let’s talk about how to keep those pearly whites healthy the easy way.

🍖 Raw Meaty Bones

Raw meaty bones are literally Mother Nature’s toothbrush! And not just for dogs! It's rare that we associate kitties with bones, but their mouths are designed to chew bones, just like dogs. Think of tigers, lions and any wild cat, after filling their bellies with a fresh meal, the bones are the best after dinner snack to keep their smiles clean! Our domesticated house tigers, are the same!

Raw meaty bones are found in the freezer, and they are literally what they're called! They are a bone with raw meat still attached. They help clean teeth, massage gums, and provide natural minerals like calcium and phosphorus. When pets chew, the bone grinds against plaque just like a dental tool would. The difference is your furry guy enjoys this a lot more then any of us like going to the dentist!

Which brings us to our next point! Many pet parent are hesitant to offer raw meaty bones, for fear their furry guy may become a little possessive or aggressive. So here's the thing, raw meaty bones are definitely a high value reward, but....if your furry guy knew another one was always coming and they had a dinosaur's graveyard in their back yard, they wouldn't be possessive or aggressive. It's when the bone (high value reward) is few and far between. We recommend one raw meaty bone per week for raw fed pets and two bones per week for dry fed pets to keep the smiles white!

🦴 Natural Chews that Do the Work for You

Chewing is one of the most natural and effective ways to help our pets maintain good oral health, it's also our pet's version of "kickin' back to chill". As they chew, the texture of the natural chew scrapes away plaque, strengthens the jaw, keeps gums healthy and entertains the furry guy for a while.

Natural chews can help with keeping the chompers nice and clean, but nothing beats the raw meaty bone. A natural chew will scrape the teeth while it's being chewed, but the furry guy is essentially eating the chew, whereas they don't necessarily eat most raw meaty bones. Always ensure the natural chews you offer are in fact natural, that means no Rawhide, ever...period! Rawhide is not a natural chew, the furthest thing from it in fact!

Some of our customer favourite Natural Chews are:

Bully sticks
Fully digestible and perfect for scraping along the tooth surface.

Collagen and Esophagus chews
Naturally rich in collagen which supports teeth, gums, skin, and joints.

Bull Tails
A long lasting, fully digestible chew that looks like rawhide but is processed safely using only warm water and ground walnut and pistachio shells.

🧡 Supplements that Support Oral Health

If you want to take dental care up a notch, there are incredible natural supplements designed to help reduce tartar, freshen breath, and support healthy gums. One that we carry in store is a prebiotic that supports oral health and is added to the food or water. We also carry some dental "treats" and normally we would tell you steer clear of things like Greenies or DentaStix because they're more starch than anything else and not effective at supporting oral health. But the reason we carry the dental chews and treats that we do is one simple ingredient...brown seaweed!

Brown seaweed is effective at supporting oral health, so though our dental chews and treats don't last long enough to actually scrape the teeth, that's not their job. Their job is to get the brown seaweed into the system! Brown seaweed works from the inside out to loosen tartar, reduce plaque-forming bacteria, freshen breath, and support healthy gums, all by simply incorporating it into your pet's oral routine. If your pet suffers from hypothyroidism, then seaweed based dental options are not a good fit due to the iodine found in kelp.

🥩 Raw Diets Help Support Oral Health

You may have heard us say it before, but we'll say it again just for folks in the back. Kibble does not clean teeth! As pet parents, we've been told for decades, "feed crunchy food to clean their teeth" but that's the equivalent of me telling you to "eat Doritos for a lifetime and you don't have to brush your teeth". Doesn't make a whole lot of sense, does it? It doesn't make sense for our pets either. Kibble does not clean the teeth, fresh, raw food does!

Raw meat is the only food that naturally contains the enzymes needed to break down plaque and debris on your pet’s teeth. These enzymes help dissolve the soft buildup before it hardens into tartar. When pets chew raw meaty bones or enjoy fresh raw food, those natural enzymes work together with the mechanical chewing action to support cleaner teeth, healthier gums, and fresher breath. It’s one of the reasons raw fed pets often have noticeably better dental health without the daily brushing battles.

🎉 You Do Not Need to Battle a Toothbrush to Have a Healthy Mouth

You simply need the right natural tools. We like to layer the approach for oral health and combine a few options. Your pet gets to enjoy a satisfying chew session and you get the peace of mind that their oral health is improving without the struggle. That is a win for everyone.

🪄 Bonus: Chew Size Guide

Choosing the right size chew is important for safety and effectiveness. We want to look for bones or chews for the furry guys that will not fit entirely in their mouth. A good guideline, is finding a bone, almost the size of their head. As long. as it doesn't fit in their mouth, it's a good size. Teaching the furry guys to chew is important as well! Once they've figured it out, we can let them chew, supervised of course.

Here is a simple guide you can reference for supporting your pet's next raw meaty bone.

Chew Size Guide by Dog Weight

Under 15 lbs: thin bully sticks, small esophagus chews, small collagen sticks, marrow bones for tiny breeds
15 to 30 lbs: standard bully sticks, medium esophagus, medium collagen chews, chicken necks, duck necks or duck feet
30 to 60 lbs: thick bully sticks, large collagen sticks, beef ribs, lamb necks
Over 60 lbs: jumbo bully sticks, extra large collagen chews, turkey necks, beef knuckles or large marrow bones

If you ever want help picking the right chew for your furry family member, come see us in store. We love matching pets with the perfect safe natural chew.

Here is to happy teeth, fresh breath, and zero brush battles.