What your dog should NOT eat

Here is a simple list of foods that you should avoid feeding to your dog:

Wheat

Corn

Soy

Gluten

By-products

Artificial dyes

Chemical preservatives

Alcoholic beverages

Avocado

 

Chocolate, coffee, tea and other caffeine products

Grapes, raisins and currants

Hops

Macadamia nuts

Mushrooms

Onions and garlic

Persimmons

Rhubarb leaves

Pits/seeds, leaves, or stems of apples, cherries, apricots, peaches, plums, and avocados.

Feasting on raw bones!

Do you see people going around and brushing the teeth of all those wild coyotes and wolves to make sure their pearly whites stay pearly?  Not at all!  So what ARE the dental secrets of the ancestors of our favorite companion animals?  Raw bones!

Ditch the rawhide bones and try raw beef/bison necks, beef windpipes, beef tendons, beef/bison ribs, beef split legs, beef/bison marrow bones, beef dino bones, chicken necks, chicken backs, and turkey necks!  So much variety and its all good for your dog!  So whether you have the tiniest chihuahua or the biggest irish wolfhound, keep their teeth in tip-top shape with raw bones.

NOTE: NEVER FEED COOKED BONES.  Cooked bones splinter and can wreak havoc on your dogs digestive tract and on your wallet.  Raw bones only!

• Beef/Bison necks – the odds and ends and points on these bones are great for making your dog work harder at getting the meat, tendon and marrow around the bone.
• Beef windpipes – a low fat option with lots of readily available calcium in the cartilage that is great for dog’s joints.
• Beef tendons – the stringy nature of tendons are nature’s floss!  Make sure your dog cleans between his teeth with a daily tendon.  These supply dogs with calcium and minerals essential for good joint health as well!
• Beef/Bison ribs – if your dog is giving you the bored puppy dog eyes, toss him a rib as a low fat treat to keep him occupied.
• Beef split legs – split leg bones are thick enough that big dogs cannot immediately chomp through them and they give the dog access to the tasty marrow in the middle.
• Beef/Bison marrow bones – smaller than the split legs, these round pucks give access to the tasty marrow inside the bone and keeps your dog busy as he tries to get it all.
• Beef dino bones – are primarily meant for large dogs, but don’t hesitate to give it to a little guy.  They’ll just have to work at it all day!
• Chicken necks and backs – a great way to get some raw meat and bone in your dogs diet and for little dogs, this is a great way to encourage them to strengthen their jaws.
• Turkey necks – larger than chicken necks and so they last longer and can be used as a meal for small to medium dogs.

Here is a picture of my own dog, a shih-tzu/lhasa apso defending her bone from the cats!