My dog has IBD. Are Greenies or other dental solutions safe for her?

My favorite is the Virbac veggie chews. They contain no meat products. Here is a link —> https://us.virbac.com/home/our-products/pagecontent/product-selector/cet/cet-veggiedent-tartar-control.html However, keep in mind that if Twinkie has severe dental disease (ie loose teeth, gum loss), then he won’t be able to handle any hard chews like this. Instead a good dental cleaning and extraction of any diseased teeth should be discussed with your veterinarian before using chews. Best of luck moving forward with Twinkie, and I hope that these are suitable for him. Take care

I'm glad you guys are able to get Piper on appropriate treatment for her IBD. Sometimes fruits and vegetables can be OK for treats. It depends on how severe her case is and how well she responds to management. Usually we avoid anything but their prescription food and medication while we are getting there IBD under control. I would check with your veterinarian if it is OK to give something like baby carrots or green beans at this time. Also some prescription diet also come in treats so that may be an option for Piper as well. I would bully sticks and high protein treats as they can cause IBD flare ups like diarrhea.

I feed greenies to my own pet. As long as your pet chews the greenie and doesn't attempt to swallow it whole, it shouldn't cause any issues. Just remember they can add significantly to caloric intake so you should probably limit the number fed to once daily or every other day.

HI, some dogs have sensitive stomachs and switching foods is not recommended. One option is to make sure you are feeding her a bland food with a chicken and rice base. I would stay away form the milkbone treats and give a greenie only occasionally, not every day. If you want to be really safe, exclude all treats from her diet unless they are a bland chicken. You can even feed the Hill's ID diet life long if needed. I certainly recommend changing up her diet then staying consistent with it. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Hello, sorry to hear about Piper. You can try the kong toys which are good for chewing as they are soft enough not to cause teeth fractures but hard enough so that they do not break into pieces that they can ingest. These toys can generally be found at your local per-store or online. Hope this helps and best of luck.

HI, thanks for using Petcoach! I am sorry Ziggy is sick! Sadly there isn't a perfect treat to keep a dogs teeth clean. Veterinary dentists recommend brushing their teeth AT LEAST three times per week. Anything less isn't doing anything. If Ziggy has a lot of tartar build up already then it is best to have an anesthetic (put under) dental to have his teeth cleaned, X-rayed and extracted if infected. Then brushing his teeth 3 or more times per week will hopefully keep the tartar away. Below is a link to the Veterinary Oral Health Councils recommend products. I hope this helps and good luck! http://www.vohc.org/VOHCAcceptedProductsTable_Dogs.pdf

Both help fight tartar formation on your dog's teeth. Both do a fairly good job of slowing the process down, however neither brushing or Greenies treats will eliminate or remove the tartar that has already built up on a dog's teeth. In an ideal world you would be brushing Bella's teeth daily and giving her dental chews (like greenies). The downside of brushing is really just the time it takes and getting your dog comfortable with the act of tooth brushing. The downsides of greenies and similar treats is that some dogs just don't chew on them enough to get the effect of the tartar control and instead swallow big chunks in their enthusiasm at getting a treat. Additionally if weight control becomes an issue as Bella gets older, extra treats mean extra calories. You're in a great position with Bella being so young to start getting her used to regular tooth brushing while she is still teething and may enjoy the act of brushing on her teeth and gums as her adult teeth come in. I recommend using a commercial toothpaste that is labeled pet safe (can be found at a local pet store, online, and many veterinarians have samples for patients to try) and a toothbrush that is appropriate for your dogs mouth (Bella will probably need a small brush since she is a little dog). Ask your vet if they have any instructional information for how to slowly introduce brushing into your routine. Also with dental chews always make sure you follow the charts and give the right size treat for your size dog (my 6.5 chihuahua once ate a Greenie that was for a much larger dog and did get a little loose stool for about a day... lesson learned). I hope this was helpful!