Brushing My Dogs Teeth

[-cAtFiSh-]

Feeding raw bones and even raw meat is a lot less risky than most people seem to think... I've never done it and never plan to, but my friend's uncle breeds bengal cats, and their diet consists almost entirely of raw poultry meat, including chicken bones. I've heard the hour+ long speech that man gives when someone adopts a kitten from him, so I'm sure he knows his stuff. Cats and dogs are not omnivores like we are and their digestive systems are designed for raw meat... they must not have a problem with it if my friend's uncle trusts it enough to raise his $1000+ kittens on it starting the second they begin to take solid food

Although you are right that cats are carnivores, dogs are actually omnivores like us. Although many people may feed barf diets and may be quite happy with it, studies have shown that there is an increased risk of transmitting salmonella to those in contact with the dogs food, dishes, and feces. Salmonella is not a fatal disease to healthy people but can be devastating to children, elderly, or immuno-compromised people. Healthy people will survive a 4 or 5 day bout of very painful diarrhea with or without blood in it. I agree that the risk is not too bad for healthy adults but I wouldn't risk it by feeding a raw food diet if I lived with anyone in a high-risk category.
z.

PS How did your chemistry final go today, Synirr?

Wouldnt there still be a very low chance of contracting it though? Unless of course you never wash your hands after handling poultry meat or whatever, but like, when you think about it there is a risk in everything that you do, so really...i dunno...i know what i mean lol.

 

[Synirr]

Synirr, do you have any pics of your Uncle's kittens or cats?
Not that I have the moolah to spend but I'd love to see!!!

They're my friend's uncle's, actually, but yes. His cattery website has tons of pics and even videos
Mystre Bengals
Derringer's pics do him no justice, he has grown considerably since they were taken.

Although you are right that cats are carnivores, dogs are actually omnivores like us.

I wouldn't go so far as to say "like us"... our diets are supposed to consist of more vegetable matter than meat, whereas with dogs it's the opposite.... I think? (Correct me if I'm wrong, here)

Although many people may feed barf diets and may be quite happy with it, studies have shown that there is an increased risk of transmitting salmonella to those in contact with the dogs food, dishes, and feces. Salmonella is not a fatal disease to healthy people but can be devastating to children, elderly, or immuno-compromised people. Healthy people will survive a 4 or 5 day bout of very painful diarrhea with or without blood in it. I agree that the risk is not too bad for healthy adults but I wouldn't risk it by feeding a raw food diet if I lived with anyone in a high-risk category.
z.

PS How did your chemistry final go today, Synirr?

Well sure there's an increased risk of salmonella to us humans feeding our pets raw meat, I meat that it probably wasn't going to hurt the animal, hehe

The chem final was ok, thanks for asking. Mostly multiple choice, so a thousand times easier than his usual test which are just multiple part math problems, where if you miss one part the whole thing is wrong

 

[SRC]

Personally I think if your dog is snapping at you trying to brush it's teeth, that signifies to me that the dog isn't used to anyone messing with it's mouth..please be careful if you try this with your bare hands!

Brushing a dogs teeth is essential to their wellbeing as they age. You can't see the problems that are going on with your dogs teeth, when they start happening, until it's way too late. Their teeth have deep recesses and ridges, unlike our teeth which are relatively smooth. It is generally their back teeth that go first..teeth you cannot readily see without sticking your face in theirs and prying their mouths open to take a look in there.

If your dog has insanely bad breath, you can be almost asured your dog has dental problems brewing..and without proper dental care...it will only get worse. Dogs cannot "floss" or brush as we can...yet they eat everyday. Imagine if you didn't brush everyday, and how your mouth would feel. Wild dogs eat alot of bone material and animal fur (which is very course..like floss) which helps them keep their teeth naturally clean our domesticated pets don't get that luxury..so it is up to us to take care of that for them. Still even so wild dogs do have dental problems, you will see them very skinny and/or sick sometimes..due to the fact that they are in such pain and cannot eat or the infection from an abscess is eating away at them.

It's worth the money to take your dog and have their teeth cleaned, as most people do not brush properly anyway..due to the animal swaying and moving around...nor do they brush long enough (kinda like their own teeth...most folks don't brush the right amount of time).

A holistic diet is good for some dogs, but dogs with sensitive stomachs can't always handle them..it's too much for their stomachs to manage. You can thank your dogs breeder for that...it's a genetic defect that has been bred into your dog. A Holistic diet is also extremely expensive and not really an option for most people, so just simply taking care of your dogs teeth is the best option. Dental work once there are problems is extremely costly and can be life threatening if they get an abscess (just like with people).



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Synirr those cats are beautiful! I want a Havana Brown myself...maybe once I get married (if I should say lol) and have more money I plan to purchase one, but those Bengal’s are nice as well...I think a Havana and a Bengal would make a great duo on my couch lol...but well..that's wishful thinking at this point though lol.
http/www.cfainc.org/breeds/profiles/havana.html

 

[zelandonia]

Wouldnt there still be a very low chance of contracting it though? Unless of course you never wash your hands after handling poultry meat or whatever, but like, when you think about it there is a risk in everything that you do, so really...i dunno...i know what i mean lol.

Yeah, a low risk for healthy people like us that are conscious of handwashing but a much higher risk for 4 year olds that play in dirt with feces and then stick their fingers in their mouths!

I wouldn't go so far as to say "like us"... our diets are supposed to consist of more vegetable matter than meat, whereas with dogs it's the opposite.... I think? (Correct me if I'm wrong, here)

Well sure there's an increased risk of salmonella to us humans feeding our pets raw meat, I meat that it probably wasn't going to hurt the animal, hehe

The chem final was ok, thanks for asking. Mostly multiple choice, so a thousand times easier than his usual test which are just multiple part math problems, where if you miss one part the whole thing is wrong

Well the majority of people seem to consider them omnivores. Some people still call them facultative carnivores but I think that term is loosing popularity. It surprised me to find out that when canids take down herbivorous prey they will often eat the intestines first and that way they get their "salad"!

The raw meat is unlikely to give pets salmonella (that's more a risk to us). I think the primary risks to them are foreign bodies and fractured teeth.

I'm glad the exam went well. I have exams all week too so I know how tiring it can be!