Turkey Necks - Natural Dog Toothbrushes

Many people battle with bad breathe and tarter buildup on their dogs teeth. This is especially true with the larger breed dogs - Fido runs up, goes to give you a kiss, and one exhale of his doggy breathe just about knocks you out. You worry about what visitors might think and wonder if you'll ever be able to snuggle close to your stinky friend again. If you've ever had your dog have a dental, depending on where you live, you've probably been shocked by the $300+ price tag. I mean, human teeth cleanings don't even cost that much!

I have two large breed dogs (greyhounds) Greyhounds, as well as many breeds of dogs, are prone to bad teeth.. We've tried tooth brushing, we've tried mouth rinsing, we've tried special diets and special vet recommended chews. Some of them made a little impact, others made none at all. One thing we kept hearing time and time again from other greyhound people was that turkey necks did wonders. We ignored this advice at first because necks of turkeys? It's not like they were sold at Wal-mart and how could something like THAT make that big of a difference?

Finally, one day we were at the natural pet store and discovered in their freezer of raw dog foods the long thought about turkey necks. Sold in individual necks, we decided to make the few dollar investment and check it out. We gave each dog a turkey neck on a blanket, still frozen. They both sniffed tentatively and went to town on their new treat. Over half an hour later, one dog had lost interest and the other dog was still chewing away. I packed up the remainder of uninterested dogs neck and let the other dog continue eating. Another ten minutes went by and then she was done too (and the neck was gone!)

I gave them a few minutes to get a drink and realize there decadent treat was gone and then checked out their teeth. The difference was amazing!! The chewing and scraping the bone had done on their teeth as they tried to eat it at many different angles had scraped away a huge amount of plaque! Their teeth looked about 75% better than they did an hour earlier before they ate the bones!

We continue to feed turkey necks about once every 1-2 weeks and supplement it with a tooth brushing a few times a week. One would never guess that one of the two dogs was expected to lose 2-3 teeth in the next year - diagnosed by the vet who did his dental in April 2006 because now his teeth are white and shiny and his breath is great!! The other dog, turkey necks allow us to maintain her decent looking teeth and whenever the "doggy breath" smell comes back, out comes a turkey neck snack. Not only does it keep their teeth clean and healthy and satisfy their instinct to chew, it is always a GREAT way to keep them occupied for a good 45 minutes when you're entertaining guests or don't want them underfoot! (As with any bone, they should be eaten with mild supervision so that the risk of choking and fights is minimized)

Turkey necks can often be found at the grocery store in the meat section, can be requested from the local butcher, and can also be purchased at high end pet stores that sell high quality natural pet foods. They range anywhere from less than 80 cents a pound to a couple of dollars a neck, depending on where you buy them and how many you buy. Either way, they are much cheaper than yearly dog dentals! I feel like turkey necks saved our dogs' teeth and our pocket books and I would love other people to be able to experience the benefit of this wonderful little known doggy treat secret.