# Alternatives to raw chicken wings for tooth cleaning?



## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

Annie is only a year old, but her back teeth quickly get awful and black if I don't feed her a chicken wing at least once per week, even if I brush them. With the raw chicken, her back teeth are now almost white again.

She has always had issues with chicken kibble, but seemed to be okay with the raw chicken - but lately has started to vomit up her chicken wings after she finishes.

It's not an eating too fast issue, as it takes her a good half hour to eat a single chicken wing. She's also not particularly interested in them - she sniffs at them, walks away, chews for a min or two, then drops it and walks away, etc.

She comes from a line of raw-fed standard poodles. I have tried raw beef soup bones (recommended by the breeder), but I worry about splinters/hardness, don't think they get her back teeth the same way, and I also can't feed them around my mom's dog, as Annie takes hours to chew on them, and mom's dog slips out onto the porch, snarls and steals them, takes them, buries them in the dog-potty yard, then guards the potty yard from me and Annie for a week or two even after we've unburied and thrown out the bone. (sigh).

Is there another bone I could be using that's an "eat the whole thing in a sitting" sort of thing? She does well on beef, lamb, and pork. Beef ears are good chews, but don't seem to clean her teeth well.


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## Pytheis (Sep 17, 2019)

How does she do with turkey? I give my dogs raw turkey necks, but my dogs are probably much bigger than your girl is. You can always take a knife and cut the neck into smaller sections. I like the turkey necks because they have a fair amount of meat still and the thickness really makes the dogs chew rather than _crunch, crunch, gone_ like any kind of chicken.


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

Good question - I've never tried her with turkey (or duck). I'll see if I can order some from somewhere. Crunch crunch gone is never an issue I've had with this dog, it's more "please, eat this piece of raw chicken and stop carrying it around, you silly poodle!".


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

The local raw food place (never tried it) has among other things listed under meal replacement bones:

Beef brisket
Lamb necks
Duck heads
Turkey necks
Pork tail
Turkey wings
Duck necks
Duck heads
Duck wings
I'm thinking of ordering a few things to see if she can handle any of them. Definitely a couple of turkey necks, duck wings,and pork tail.

Anything else on that list that looks interesting?


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

Well, bought duck heads, duck wings, pig tails, beef brisket, and a turkey neck today. Partially thawed and chopped things into smaller pieces then portioned into the freezer. Annie got a duck head and had a very good half hour crunch session, and so far hasn't thrown it up.

It's amazing what a difference raw bones has made over the last few months. I took a good look at her teeth today, and they have gone from "going to need a tooth cleaning when I have her spayed, OMG never seen teeth so black" to "there is a bit of faint brown staining on a few of the back molars, but along the gum lines and everywhere else is pearly white"

My mother really wants to try her small dog who is 5 and has already had her teeth done once, but the vet has said no raw chicken bones, and she is aggressive with beef bones.


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## VanessaC (Feb 24, 2020)

I’d be careful about cutting the bones since blunt edges have the potential to cause harm.

Perfectly Rawsome’s blog post has a lot of good ideas about types of bones that might be worth a shot for your mom’s small dog. I give beef marrow and rib bones even though she recommends against them, but Groot isn’t an aggressive chewer so we haven’t had any issues.


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

I am lucky - annie is also not a gulper/aggressive chewer so not too worried, and I am choosing only really soft bones. Her duck head took a leisurely half hour and included several breaks where she walked away and abandoned it, and even asked to come in for a drink of water in the middle! Moms little dog, sigh, is becoming a true terrier, and food aggressive with bones, chews etc, so can't be trusted with anything she can't finish in one setting, and Annie needs to be separated when I give her a chew as the little dog will steal it!


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

I’m curious as to why the teeth would be black ? Tartar build-up is brownish-beige, not black.


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

Dechi said:


> I’m curious as to why the teeth would be black ? Tartar build-up is brownish-beige, not black.


Me too! I have never seen such awful teeth. Dark brown, near black, even on brand new adult teeth. I was pretty sure her back teeth would need to be pulled by the time she was 2.


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

For Want of Poodle said:


> Me too! I have never seen such awful teeth. Dark brown, near black, even on brand new adult teeth. I was pretty sure her back teeth would need to be pulled by the time she was 2.


What food is she on ? Have you tried different brands, to see if it made a difference ? She might have acidic saliva that’s causing more build-up (just my own theory, not vet reviewed, lol).


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

Definitely not changing foods  Took FOREVER and many, many bags and brands to find one she could handle and does well on. She is now on Acana Classic Red.


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## Liz (Oct 2, 2010)

For Want of Poodle said:


> Is there another bone I could be using that's an "eat the whole thing in a sitting" sort of thing? She does well on beef, lamb, and pork. Beef ears are good chews, but don't seem to clean her teeth well.


Beef bones are generally too thick to chew, but either pork or lamb will work (just less boney than chicken wings). I give Mia lamb ribs (pricey so they're a treat) and country style pork ribs (sometimes goes by other names). Stay away from pork necks - they're cut at odd angles that can cause problems. One last reminder, as long as the bones aren't cooked, you don't have to worry about splintering.


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