Tartar Shield Soft Oral Care Rawhide Chews for Small Dogs 30 Count - Prevents Tartar, Plaque, Gingivitis, Reduces Bacteria, and Freshens Breath 1 Pack

Small dogs often lose their teeth early. Many people I know have had their very small dogs teeth fall out or need to be pulled leaving their dogs toothless. Since dogs love to chew things and eat things so much, I am doing all I can to keep my dog's teeth and gums healthy. I also don't want to the hassle of grinding up and mashing her food every day.I use these safe, grain-free and chemical free, not hard enough to chip teeth, anti-plaque dog chews (she loves them but being brittle they make a mess of little pieces):"Tartar Shield Soft Rawhide Chews for Small Dogs 30 Count " (tartar shield is the brand name)Other chews for dogs can have several negatives. One is more and more vets are recommending against harder chews as potentially damaging teeth. This includes hard things like bone and antler, as well as some artificial substances and hard rawhide chews. Rawhide chews also present a choking hazard.Another negative of some chews is soft products that are mostly made of carbohydrates. We all know that carbs are a major cause of human tooth decay by feeding bacteria. It only makes sense to me that the same would apply to the bacteria in a dog's mouth. As I understand it not being a vet, bacteria cause gingivitis, bone and tooth decay. Dogs are evolved even less than humans to eat a lot of carbohydrates. This is just my own non-vet conclusion based on common sense.Finally the UK recommends against feeding babies rice products, because of the elevated arsenic content. The story of high arsenic in rice is interesting in itself. In any case, I avoid any food products with rice for my dog for that reason, as well as avoiding carbs.I am still working on getting her to accept daily brushing. I don't force her. Slowly it is getting closer to every day. I started with just touching her teeth, then using my finger, then a finger brush. Working up to a tooth brush.The next step is to apply this gel which reviews and doctor recommendations should help a lot with gingivitis. I predict much less resistance than brushing. After a lot of research I decided this gel would be the most effective and have the least side effects of similar products, since the product is applied directly the site of possible infections.I also give her distilled baby water with flouride, to help strengthen her enamel. I also add this to the water:"DermaZoo - TrisDent Dental Line Water Additive 16oz Bottle Individual"from the same company, again based on medical reviews.I feed my dog grain-free foods and treats, on the theory however speculative that carbohydrates are not natural to dogs and cause bacterial bloom the same as they do for humans (why wouldn't they?).I am giving this particular five stars due to research on and my expectations for the product... whose effectiveness i have no way to gauge myself. :) She does like them and, unlike many other dental chew products, they don't have possible harm to teeth as far as I can tell, and so I deem the mess of tiny fragments worth the clean-up.Altogether i am taking these steps to prevent loosing teeth. I have not found medical research supporting all these methods as being effective, but I am doing everything that might help.1) grain-free diet2) chemical free brittle anti-plaque dog chews3) daily teeth brushing4) anti-gingivitis gum gel5) anti-bacterial drinking water additive6) fluoridated distilled drinking water7) yearly deep tooth cleaning under anesthesia - (when doctors can also find and remove infected teeth and give a report on gum health. I use a small, vet owned clinic since IMO corporate clinics are corrupt, misleading and focused on getting you to buy as much stuff as they can, necessary or not. Vet owned clinics also tend to be much less expensive in my experience.)

Not sure what is in these but our dog loves them, grabs it out of our hands and racex over to her “safe spot” to enjoy it. Our vet recommended them.

The vet recommended them for my dog!

My dachshund had horrible tartar and some gum disease. These seem to have cleared them up.

These really work!!! Even the vet is impressed by how clean her teeth are staying. She is 5 yrs. old and does not need her teeth cleaned, as of yet. We give her 1/2 a bone every 2 days for a nightly treat and she loves them.

Pup loves these logs. Kids do too.

Soft rawhide chews r very good snacks for dogs. My dog is about 7-8 pounds & I cut one snack on two & she gets one half in the morning after meal & second half after dinner. This rawhide is very gentle for gums & a good quality. I’m using it for a while now & my dog never had any issues, like she used to have with other snacks. I can definitely recommend this tips of snacks to my friends dogs or to my family members pets

These were recommended to me by my veterinarian because they are one of only a few brands of dental chews certified by veterinary councils (specifically the VOHC - Veterinary Oral Health Council) to clinically (i.e, through dog clinical trials) reduce tartar and plaque and keep it away. My dogs (both about 3 years old) like them and my friend's dog (10 years old, digestive issues) does as well. We have seen an improvement in the old dog's teeth because of these, and there is NO way he would tolerate someone brushing his teeth. He's way too old and cranky. Great product.

Recommended by our vet. Our twleve-year old pug doesn't have a lot of teeth, but can still make short work of one of these, and be so happy doing it!