Dry dog food ≠ Clean teeth

As a follow-up to the previous post on things that can help get your dog's teeth clean, I wanted to mention something that does not work to clean a dog's teeth....

Dry dog food does NOT keep teeth clean.  
I wanted to talk about this real quick because I've had so many people tell me that their veterinarian recommended that they give their dog a larger sized kibble as a way to help keep their dog's teeth clean.  I'm sad to say that veterinarians do not always know what they're talking about, especially when it comes to food.  (My vet once told me that Purina Pro Plan was a high quality food.  HA! but we'll talk about that another time)

Their logic: if the kibble is bigger, the dog has to chew more, and the kibble scrapes stuff off the teeth in the process.  This would be like your dentist telling you to chew on Captain Crunch to clean your teeth.  I don't know about you, but if anything, my teeth feel kind of "fuzzy" after chewing on Captain Crunch; the fuzziness, of course, is due to food particles that are now stuck to my teeth.
The large kibble idea is a scraping technique that doesn't work, but can actually makes things worse.

In reality:  the more a dog has to chew their food , the more likely that food particles are going to get lodged in and around the teeth and gums.  Have you seen dry dog food when it gets wet?  It's very soft and falls apart.  Saliva in a dog's mouth makes kibble more soft the longer it's there.  This makes it more likely to stick to their teeth.  More food bits means breeding grounds for bad bacteria.  It makes periodontal disease more likely.

If you're trying to keep your dog's teeth clean, or if you're trying to clean their already-dirty teeth, it's better to stick to the techniques I mentioned in the previous post.

Halo gets her breakfast from a Big Orange Ball

Winter is making my household lazy;  the dogs have been napping more than usual.  So this morning I decided it was time for some mind-stimulating games.  Halo got to play with what I call the Big Orange Ball!  (It's actually called a Tricky Treat Ball, by Omega Paw--convenient product link at end of post).

The ball design is quite clever.  Not only does it have a hole on one side so that treats can fall out, but there is a tube that is recessed into the ball from the hole, making a sort of barrier that the treats have to first get around before they fall out.  The result is that a dog has to work harder for treats to fall out because they don't fall out every time the ball is turned upside down.

Halo is very excited about her kibble, so I like to use that instead of treats.  This morning I put her entire breakfast in the ball.  At first, when its so full, many pieces of kibble fall out at a time, but once there are less pieces in the ball, they come out less and less often, and Halo has to work harder for her kibble!  Leopold likes this game, as well, but gives up after it becomes too hard to get kibble or treats out.  Halo, on the other hand, will continue rolling around the ball until the very last piece of kibble comes out--which sometimes takes her over an hour!

Here's Halo working on getting breakfast:

If you're looking for a great way to stimulate your dog's mind and/or want a way to slow down their eating, this big orange ball is a great option.

Want to get started?  
Here's where you can get it on amazon.com: Omega Paw Tricky Treat Ball, Large


A quick tip on filling the ball:  after dumping some kibble down the hole, cover the hole with your hand and shake the ball to get it to fill up around the tube on the inside.  You can also put your thumb down the hole and shake to push the kibble in.

Halo is content after a delicious breakfast game!

Convenient Product Link: