# Tiny Dogs and Wet Food?



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

How old is he? Could his mouth be sore from teething?

Sophy never really enjoyed kibble - I switched to raw/home cooked and life improved all round. There is a big question mark over the effect kibble has on teeth - the ingredients are likely to do more harm than any small scraping from chewing does good. Daily teeth cleaning with an enzymatic toothpaste and a brush or coarse cloth is far more effective - if your pup so obviously prefers the wet food I would feed that, and get him used to having his teeth cleaned.


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## Mysticrealm (Jan 31, 2016)

Thanks. He's 7.5 months old. His teeth are all in, but he has a ton of puppy teeth still stuck in there. I'm hoping to wait till I want to neuter him to have them pulled, but I wanted to wait to neuter him till he's well over a year so we'll see. He's seeing the vet next week. He does not have any issues eating the food, he did for a bit while he was actively teething so I wet it down, but now he doesn't have any issues.
I've thought about raw but it's so confusing that I'm unsure. Even the premade stuff I don't really get as all the studies seem to say they need different ratios of different things.
He's on a very high quality kibble (orijen).


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Timi eats freeze dried raw mixed with water. I brush her teeth every day - if you do that, it shouldn't matter what you feed as far as the teeth go. And if he has retained puppy teeth and you want to wait for his neuter, you especially should be brushing daily, or you will have major problems with plaque between the teeth.
And as an added bonus, you just may push some of those puppy teeth out while you are brushing!


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

Keep him on the food that he enjoys. One less thing to worry about with a puppy and keeps his elimination schedule more predictable. With two full sets of teeth his mouth must be sore. Hope brushing can dislodge some of those baby teeth!


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## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

My Cayenne eats wet as she is real picky eater and she only weighs 3 pounds, I would feed wet and take car of the teeth or have the vet handle the teeth on a regular basis


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## TrixieTreasure (May 24, 2015)

My dogs got dry, and then wet food now and then as more of a treat. For years, I was a bad mom, and neglected the tooth brushing, and only did it when I thought about it. As years went by, I got better at brushing their teeth more often. Twice a week, and then have them professionally cleaned by the vet whenever the vet said it was time.


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## Mysticrealm (Jan 31, 2016)

Thanks guys. My mini poo is days away from 11 and has never had a tooth pulled so I'm pretty good of being aware of teeth and getting them done as needed (which I usually a lot less than my vet was trying to get me to do!). I'll try to step up my teeth brushing. I don't like the tooth brushes I have. I need to get him a tiny kids toothbrush. I will try him on wet and see how he does. I imagine that the packages will have feeding instructions. But roughly how much would you feed a 3.5 pound dog a day?


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

I feed prepared raw and Swizzle loves. it. I also give him raw chicken necks out one every other day. If you don't feel comfortable going fully raw why don't you just do the chicken necks? If his stool gets too hard just add in some chicken hearts (very cheap at the grocery). I did this with my Aussie. His teeth went from yuck to pearly white. I always brushed his teeth but they still got stained and he had plaque deposits. The vet had recommended him getting a cleaning under anesthesia which I was reluctant to do because of his advanced age. The vet was amazed when he saw how clean his teeth were at the next visit. I also use a tooth scraper on my toy if there is a spot of plaque missed by bone chewing. The vet always raves about how great his teeth are. I guess toy dogs usually have dirty teeth as their mouths are so crowded. You are so. Wise to. Keep on top of tooth care. He will lead a longer healthier life with clean teeth. It also has the side benefit of fresh breath too.


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## Mysticrealm (Jan 31, 2016)

Thanks. He does like chicken necks fairly well so I'll keep giving those every couple days. 
I went to the pet store today and was about to buy wet food (Go! or similar grain free) but the lady that worked there said that wet food is just not made to be eaten as a dog's main food source for extended periods of time. It's missing ?enzymes or probiotics or... something? that apparently you can't put into the wet food that's in kibble.
So hearing about the freeze dried raw food on here I allowed her to talk to my about it and they allowed me to take home some samples.
I fed him one today for his supper and he did eat it right up similar to wet food so that's a good sign. Hopefully I have enough samples to see if he'll get bored of it or not. It's not too expensive for a dog his size. So we'll see how it goes.
I bought him a baby toothbrush today. He hates toothbrushing but we'll keep working on it.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Mine aren't keen on tooth brushing, but they really like the Logic toothpaste. The deal is they let me clean their teeth with it, then get an extra lick from the tube as a reward. Very often Tilly-cat joins in, just for a taste - her teeth don't need cleaning and I've never attempted it, but she likes to get her share of any good stuff going!


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Mysticrealm said:


> Thanks. He does like chicken necks fairly well so I'll keep giving those every couple days.
> I went to the pet store today and was about to buy wet food (Go! or similar grain free) but the lady that worked there said that wet food is just not made to be eaten as a dog's main food source for extended periods of time. It's missing ?enzymes or probiotics or... something? that apparently you can't put into the wet food that's in kibble.
> So hearing about the freeze dried raw food on here I allowed her to talk to my about it and they allowed me to take home some samples.
> I fed him one today for his supper and he did eat it right up similar to wet food so that's a good sign. Hopefully I have enough samples to see if he'll get bored of it or not. It's not too expensive for a dog his size. So we'll see how it goes.
> I bought him a baby toothbrush today. He hates toothbrushing but we'll keep working on it.



They do really well on the freeze dried raw, and although expensive, it certainly is manageable for the little ones.
As for the tooth brushing, have not met a dog yet who likes it, just stick with it and they learn to put up with it as a necessary evil. But I think that they will always hide when they see that toothbrush lol!


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## Mysticrealm (Jan 31, 2016)

Thanks.
So far so good in him liking the food. It's so nice to put the food down, and him eat it right away and not only do I not have to worry about him actually eating, but I don't have to worry about other dogs eating his food!


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

It's really not about whether or not the food is dry, hard kibble or canned that is bad for the teeth and gums. Kibble isn't any better. It's the carbohydrates in most commercial food (grains, fruit, vegetables) that turn to sugar and that's what causes a hospitable environment for bacteria that causes gingivitis. Before I fed raw meaty bones, I had to brush their teeth every night. I still do with Jose` who doesn't crunch on raw bones but eats them ground up or egg shell powder. Anyhow, you can gradually accustom your dog to teeth brushing. Just make it a pleasant time (as much as possible) and make it a short session at first. You can even use treats to reward for brushing. (at first, just to make the whole thing less bothersome) 

I have read that kibble should have some water added to make sure the kidneys are okay because if they're not drinking PLENTY of water, dry, processed food can be a little taxing. Anyhow...good luck with the tooth brushing.


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## Mysticrealm (Jan 31, 2016)

Thanks for the info. 
He's gettin better about brushing. It's still isn't a really good in depth brushing but he's being more tolerant. He has lost 1 baby tooth in the last couple days but his baby canines are in there solid. 
He's loving his new food. Yesterday for the first time he actually went to his bowl code to feeding time and stared me down to try to encourage me to feed him!


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## Steffie (Apr 6, 2016)

My first tiny little Toy poodle ate Hills Science diet.......I think their is better food now than 35 years ago.I feed my toy poodle now chicken & rice mixed with kibble.I use chicken livers & white meat & brown & wild rice all in a crock pot.I have found most toy breeds I have had had weak teeth even though I brushed them & had them cleaned yearly.I guess my post was no help at all.I give my dogs vitamins to help their teeth too.P.S. Palm are lovely little dogs.


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## Shamrockmommy (Aug 16, 2013)

I feed wet food to two of my dogs. One is a 3.5 pound chihuahua, the other is a 10 pound OT. 

For teeth, the absolute best thing I've found is once a day I brush with CET oral rinse. IT's made to be squirted in the mouth, but I use a brush and brush the teeth. Both of them have nice clean teeth. Do it daily. They both started out hating tooth brushing, but I INSISTED (gently but firmly) that it's important to take care of doggy teeth. 

So far, so good. One has been eating canned for years, since I got her 4 years ago (she's 9, and I had to have her teeth cleaned, they were a mess)


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## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

Steffie said:


> My first tiny little Toy poodle ate Hills Science diet.......I think their is better food now than 35 years ago.I feed my toy poodle now chicken & rice mixed with kibble.I use chicken livers & white meat & brown & wild rice all in a crock pot.I have found most toy breeds I have had had weak teeth even though I brushed them & had them cleaned yearly.I guess my post was no help at all.I give my dogs vitamins to help their teeth too.P.S. Palm are lovely little dogs.


I agree with you out of 7 poodles 6 have had to have teeth pulled and when they became say 13 most were gone


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