Keeping Your Pet's Teeth Clean Naturally

There is no question that certain breeds are more prone to having bad teeth than others. However, should you initiate a simple, yet effective at-home teeth cleaning routine with your pet, ensure your feeding a canine species appropriate diet and initiating chew time, no matter what breed he/she is, you can significantly increase the chances of having a pet with a nice set of pearly whites for years to come.

What many people don't understand is that most pets will keep their teeth cleaned by themselves by simply "chewing". This is why having rubber toys, knotted ropes and natural bones and chews are of great importance to your pet. Initiating "chew time", especially after meals are key. Despite the belief that feeding your dog moist/wet foods will "rot" your dog's teeth out is simply a myth. Realistically, it's certain poor ingredients in your pet's food that will damage your dog's teeth; not the consistency of dry vs. moist. For example, if you were eating lots of hard candy all the time, this would than keep your teeth clean more than eating fresh vegetables and lean proteins?  There is no question that foods with too many starchy carbohydrates and sugars are the culprit of bad teeth as they will create a layer of "film" over the teeth.  This is mainly the issue of which dogs face today as they are not removing this film from their teeth by chewing and not having at-home cleanings by you regularly.  Obviously, this combination will create a disaster in your pet's mouth over time.

Because wild carnivores eat mainly soft protein meats, they then enjoy chewing on the bones of their prey; keeping their oral hygiene in check naturally. With the significant lack of processed foods, carbohydrates and sugars found in their natural diets, it helps the health of their teeth tremendously. However, what do you do when you have a pet that does not entertain the idea of chewing?

I have come across some pets throughout the years that simply aren't interested or really don't know what to do with a chew toy. This may be because initially, as a puppy, they weren't really given toys or chews and didn't fully develop the skills of what to do with it. It's as they "lose" that natural instinct of what to do if it does not become part of their regular routine in the early years of their development. To some that are re-homed (adopted) and not familiar with the history of the pet, it leaves the new owner wondering why their new pet doesn't like a chew toy. This is when you need to take the time to help initiate chewing and reinforcing the instinct to chew again by picking something that your dog would really enjoy, such as a bully stick. Sometimes having a natural chew that has much flavor is much better than a tasteless toy. However, there are some cases of dogs putting their nose up and refusing to chew anything. If that is the case, a thorough check of your dog's mouth is highly recommended. Sometimes, many owners neglect to regularly check the dog's mouth who may have some or several rotting teeth, missing, cracked and/or loose teeth, thus making chewing on anything hard a bothersome to your pet, for obvious reasons.

For dogs that have a decent set of choppers, make it a habit to help them keep their teeth clean by wiping the teeth regularly with a dry washcloth from front to back, ensuring to get along the gum line as well. By helping remove any residues left behind from meals that your pet may have missed by a toy or bone, will help your pet have a nice set of teeth for years to come. My suggestion is to make it a point to incorporate this essential, at home teeth cleaning routine at night time, after you have brushed your own teeth before going to bed. 

1-2-3 = How Many Times Should I Really Feed My Pet a Day?

I often get asked this question when I have a customer who comes into the store, looking for secondary advice because of a medical issue they are experiencing with their pet that is ultimately associated with their diet. With reasons being different from dog to dog, there is one common factor .... owners are only feeding their dog once a day and usually feeding a poor quality dry food loaded with grains, cheap fillers and carbohydrates.

Although feeding a dog once a day may be a huge convenience to some who have busy schedules, there is  a lot of draw backs,  especially if you don't really look at the ingredients of your pet's food.  I once had a customer who I said this too say "well, wild carnivore usually eat once a day, so why not my dog?".  However, one thing she neglected to think about is that wild carnivores only eats an abundance of wholesome, unprocessed, raw proteins from their prey; unlike her dog that was eating a food ridden with a ton of processed grains, cheap carbohydrates with minimal wholesome proteins.

Here are some issues that usually are the result of dogs eating a poor quality dry food once a day and how it can impact their overall wellness daily:
 

- Obesity in dogs.  Dogs that gain weight are usually the result of:  feeding too much food per meal & too many snacks per their activity level, being fed a high carbohydrate food with minimal wholesome proteins and lack of moisture intake, thyroid issues, or the result of a side effect of a medication.  If the last two examples are not applicable to your pet, then it's simply your dog's daily, present diet!  By changing the feeding schedule and food to a more natural, wholesome diet, enriched with natural moisture, you can shed the pounds off your dog naturally and easily!  For example, if you are trying to lose weight yourself, eating once a day will not help you lose the weight, especially if your eating one large meal that is loaded with high carbohydrates.  However, if you split that large meal into multiple small meals throughout the day and have portions that contained mostly wholesome, lean protein and low carbohydrates, you'll speed up your metabolism and lose the weight naturally.  Same holds true for dogs.
 

- Many dogs will experience stomach upsets which will result in throwing up a yellowish/mucus bile substance, especially if they eat their entire meal in one helping.   Throwing up yellow bile in dogs can be a sign of an empty stomach due to the strong stomach acids building up.  Ask yourself:  has your dog done this approximately 8-12 hours AFTER its last meal?  This is because dogs digest a full stomach within 8 hours when fed a high protein, quality diet.  However, foods loaded with high carbohydrates and cheap ingredients such as corn, wheat, soy, and by-products, will fulfill your dog short term as the foods break down much faster.  Just think of you eating Chinese food.  Usually after loading up on pork fried rice, aren't you hungry about three hours later?  Since dogs are carnivores with much stronger stomach acids than humans,  their bodies are built to take in a majority of wholesome proteins which break down much slower than simple and complex carbohydrates.  This is why this is the result of this common, possible stomach upset.  

- Diabetic dogs may be more prone to increased insulin injections .  Diet and the amount of meals  is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to dogs that are diabetic!  I have never understood why vets even push prescription diets such as Hills W/D to pets that have diabetes when this food is LOADED with CARBOHYDRATES and NO WHOLESOME PROTEINS!  Why is it even a prescription food when this is totally opposite of a carnivores diet to begin with?  Interesting enough, dogs that have been diagnosed with diabetes have been usually fed a poor quality food previously and then put on a food like this?!?!  To boot, the feeding guideline on the label does not even mention how many times to feed your pet, when that is also of importance.  Like humans, the last thing you want when your body is not producing insulin correctly is to load up on sugary foods and/or carbs that elevate the blood sugar!  Keeping the blood sugar stabilized is KEY! 

Having a family member personally that is diabetic, years ago before grasping the common sense practices of how to eat when your diabetic (as it was not even explained by his primary doctor as well),  he used to eat a sensible diet, but ate meals with sides of pasta, bread, rice, etc. on a regular basis.   It was obviously a daily practice to inject insulin up to twice a day.  However, when he converted his diet years later to eating small multiple meals throughout the day that primarily consisted of wholesome lean proteins and low starchy vegetables with minimal fruit,  he went from 2 does to a 1/2 a dose per day and sometimes was able to even skip an injection!  This is solely because, by diet,  his blood sugar levels were consistently stabilized and maintained by eliminating most of the foods that caused blood sugar elevations.  Therefore, the same concept holds true for dogs with diabetes!    Feed MULTIPLE small meals throughout the day that mainly consist of what their bodies were built for; wholesome, lean proteins and a small percentage of low sugary raw vegetables for a much better and healthier maintenance regimen.   

- Hypoglycemic dogs usually have more episodes of low blood sugar attacks often when fed once a day.   As with diabetic dogs, you should consistently maintain blood sugar levels by feeding a correct regulated diet for dogs considered hypoglycemic or prone to it.   A balance of wholesome proteins with vegetables (with a minimum of 'low sugary' fruits) will keep the blood sugar levels constantly sustained at normal levels naturally.  

- Crystals and/or stones formations in the bladder or kidneys.  Many pets develop this condition due to several reasons:  genetics, infections, medication side effects, a specific disease and/or a poor quality food that they have been eating.  There are six types of formations that can occur in pets, however, Struvite and Calcium Oxalate stones are the most common.  Depending on the ph levels within your dog's body, they can form at any time.  This why it's essential to ensure you are feeding a high quality, balanced diet, but most importantly, your dog is eating foods that contain it's natural moisture that is still in tacked.  Mositure in foods are very essential as it will help flush these deposits from the body and keep the organs functioning properly.  Dry diets with a pet only depending on water intake for hydration is not enough! 

- Dogs being fed poor quality, high carbohydrate foods impact their immune system, and overall wellness significantly simply because of diet.  Just imagine you eating fast food once a day, everyday, yourself.  How would you feel and your body function on a diet like this?  Basically, this is the same scenario when dogs are fed high carbohydrate, poor quality diets once a day.  Their bodies have been solely built and designed to eat mostly, wholesome proteins, some vegetables and (sometimes) low sugary fruits only (as a snack).  Eventually, your dog's health will suffer in one way or another as your overall health would too if eating poorly.

So, the bottom line is, the MINIMUM times you should feed your adult pet is TWICE a day, should your pet be considered healthy.  However, puppies, pregnant females, diabetic/hypoglycemic dogs, pets with immune disorders or ones undergoing chemo/radiation treatments should be feed a MINIMUM of THREE small meals a day with lots of moisture in tacked for optimum health benefits!