Hi Everyone

I have a situation on my hands, I have an 8 yr old Yorkie and I have a dental problem.

This is something new, her teeth are nasty. She is on a Raw diet so this is very unusual.

I am looking for anyone who has used a natural product to brush dogs teeth and that worked.

She is holistic and I do not want chemicals.

I can not give her raw bones to chew on cause all she wants to do is bury them in my bed or anywhere outside.

I buy flossies and other chew things and all she does is play with them and they last forever she really never gets around to eating them so that has not worked either,

I am having a gentle teeth cleaning done in August (first available appointment) but I am trying to get some of this tarter off first before they recommend an anesthetic cleaning. Yorkies are prone to dental problems. I guess I am lucky that she made it to 8 without any problems.

She is not a micro or "teacup" she is a standard size Yorkie 10 lbs

Any thought I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks

Berta & Zoeie

Boynton Beach Fl

Hi Berta!

Zoeie looks great in her vacation pictures!

I can't get Eli's teeth cleaned because he has a heart defect, and I refuse to pay for another ECHO to test his heart. None of the vets here will use anesthesia without it, and there are no clinics that do anesthesia free cleanings in my area.  Zukes Z Ridge Mini's may help. They are small, and come in different flavors that Zoeie may like. I also give munchy sticks, Texas Toothpicks(probably too big for Z), Twistix(available at Drs Foster and Smith. Wheat, corn, and grain free). Some smaller Bully Stix are helpful, and I also use Proden Plaque Off, from ONP. It is a blend of kelp, and has made a difference in Eli and Dixie's teeth. There is another product available at ONP. It's called Petz Alive Dental Care, also at ONP. It has grain alcohol as the second ingredient, so I don't use it, but it supposedly works great.

Have you attempted to brush her teeth with a soft tooth brush? With a bit of doggie tooth paste, this may be all she needs.

Hi Susie,

I could have just crawled under the tile when the vet gave me a "Good Look" at her back teeth her front ones look great it's the back ones that are bad. How embarrassing.

I bought a child stage two tooth brush today takes two of us to get it somewhat done. We just used water today just to see how she is going to handle it.

She has bully sticks, pigs ears, flossies, etc and all she does is throw them around or play fetch with them she does not eat em. Go figure.

I use Plaque off and I have been for some time now.

However went back to Volhard Nutrition and found the article on Figaria, I have some here. I had made for Zoeie and never used it, Well I started trying it today. I have heard great results on it form a number of people and thought I would finally try it. So we shall see in 10 days. I will let you know. If it does will be the answer to my prayers.

Going to try and find a toothpaste to use 3x a week and just got ONP catalog and that has a new gel in it for teeth. So going to try that. I am so afraid that she is going to be toothless like so many other Yorkie's I see. (freaking out

We have a what they call a gentle cleaning here no anesthetics are used or any sedatives at all.

Berta

I recommend PetzLife Oral Care Dental Products - The reviews are great.  Comes in spray or gel.  I've used the spray with both my dogs.  It resolved a swollen gum issue with my small dog when we thought we might be headed for an extraction procedure.  And it got the plaque off my 8 year old shepherd's teeth - even the lower molars.  (And he also gets raw, meaty bones) They both like the taste, and I really like the ingredients.  Great product!

Yeah, but, the second ingredient on the list is grain alcohol. I can't see giving my pet a product like that, even if it DOES work.....

Hi Berta,

My dog had a plaque on his teeth(yellow and brown), because I didn't give him bones for a while. I used "PetzLife" - oral care gel. It is 100% natural, the ingredients are as listed :distilled water, grain alcohol, grapefruit seed extract, properietary blend of herbs and natural oils. You suppost to use it for 1 month every day(once a day) and then a few times a week for maintenance. I did use it for about 20-25 days and the plaque started to pill. I continued to use it for 31 days and pilled the rest of the plaque with human grade  tooth scaler. He hated brushing his teeth with a brush and toothpaste, but he didn't mind "PetzLife", actually I think he even liked it.  I'm gonna use it  on my 2 cats , it seems they like the taste/smell, too!

You can find it on www.petedge.com for about 16-17 buck, in pets store it is double price! Also on www.onlynaturalpetstore.com and www.carealotpets.com, also on www.petzlife.com.  It is available also as a spray, but I used the gel. If you're use it for 30 days, you will see results! Good luck with your yorkie!

Do you think it's better to put the animal under? Unless it is the new gentle cleaning. I guess it is expensive?

Is the grain alcohol so bad? What it causes?

I remember as a college student, me and my friends driving across county lines to buy grain alcohol on a Sunday. Why? So we could get drunk. Grain alcohol is like 100 proof. If it is the second ingredient in Petzlife, what is the actual percentage of alcohol in the product? Would you give your child a product that was mostly alcohol? I wouldn't.

I have put in a call to the Petzlife folks to get a further explanation of the alcohol content.

I have tasted and used the Petzlife spray myself, and I detect only a small amount of alcohol - much less than in some of the Animal Apawthecary remedies or even some of the homeopathics we carry at Only Natural Pet.  I believe the alcohol is simply being used as a preservative.

I will let you all know what I find out.

I would like to know how much the alcohol is in Petzife, too. It doesn't mean, just because it's the second ingredient it's a lot. When I used it on my dog, I also almost didn't notice the alcohol. There is no such thing in my area as new "gentle teeth cleaning" and I still think it's much better and safer to use a product as Petzife, then to put your pet to sleep in order to have its teeth cleaning. And once your pet get clean teeth, if the owner cares enough, he should keep them clean by regular brushing.

I aslo bought awhile ago Triple pet Plaque off - for use in drinking water, but didn't use it yet. Does somebody have an experience with this product? Thank you!

Here is the second part I know about grain alcohol. It DOESN'T have any taste! Or smell, for that matter. That's what makes it so great! Add it to anything you want! I would be VERY interested to know the actual alcohol content of the product. If it is low, I may consider it, but, I just don't think that is the case.

Eli and Dixie are on a raw diet with Sojos and meat. They get raw meaty bones twice a week. In addition, they get greenies, Zukes Z Ridge, or Pedigree Dentastix(don't like the wheat content). They also get bullwrinkles, texas toothpicks, munchy stix, and just about everything else you can think of. I don't brush their teeth. At Eli's last vet visit, it was announced he DID NOT need a dental. He is almost 8 years old.  Both dogs teeth look great!

Do I believe in anesthesia for a dental? If the no anesthesia dental was available in my area, I'd do it. E can't have anesthesia, which is why I try everything else I can(except Petz Life). I don't think I am doing too badly.....

Sarah, I can't wait to hear what you find out.

Here is what I found out so far:

The following is a response I found on another community forum in which a participant questioned Petzlife about the alcohol content of the product. You'll notice the respondant doesn't go into the exact alcohol content of the product, but defends it's use.  In another website, the author reports that the alcohol content is as much as 25%. For general purposes, Nyquil, mentioned in Mr. Bunkholt's response, is 10% alcohol. A typical beer is 5-7% alcohol. I just don't see giving my pets something that has that high an alcohol content. Also, alcohol dries the mucus membranes in the mouth, and makes them more susceptable to breakdown and infection.

   Grain alcohol is the same product that is used in the food and liquor industry and  it is a government controlled substance.  It is often used in the medical    fields as an activator. Many oral medications, both over the counter as well as prescriptions have small or trace amounts if alcohol in them to activate certain chemicals, herbs, etc. For example cough syrups, nyquil, mouthwash, and medicated rinses contain small amounts of grain alcohol which is made through a very pure distillation process. This should not be confused with rubbing alcohol or industrial  alcohol. In oriental medicine, grain alcohol is used to extract out certain properties from herbs, berries, bark, antler, tubers, and roots. We have sold over 200,000 bottles through pet stores, groomers, kennels, and vets, with out harming any animals, and now we have many dentists looking for us to make a human product which we now have under the name "F'rst Defenz".

  As far as palatability goes, if your dog or cat doesn't like the taste of the peppermint oil in the original formula or the salmon oil gel, I recommend putting a smear of peanut butter on his dish and put the gel over the top. It probably will not mix well with a tooth past, because of the consistency. Our gel is made to melt at body temperature and mix with the saliva to coat the teeth easily, with or without the use of a toothbrush.

 

Sincerely,

Clarence Bunkholt

 

Clarence's Corner

Petzlife

http://itchmoforums.com/write-a-pet-product-review/petzlife-plaque-and-tartar-remover-gel-or-spray-for-cats-and-dogs-t748.30.html
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Hey Susie and All,

Petzlife responded to me immediately after my inquiry.  I've been away from my computer, but am back, so here is the response I received from the Petzlife folks (similar to info Susie found):

The actual percentage of the alcohol in the formula is less than 15%.  It is a key ingredient for killing the bacteria in the mouth on contact and actually holds all the oils and extracts in suspension helping make the solution work.

In regard to product safety, long term use, and clinical studies, we asked Dr. Maier if she could make a statement about the safety of our ingredients especially grain alcohol, long term use, and how important Clinical Studies are to her.

Dr. Maier has been using PetzLife Oral Care for over 3 years in her clinic.

"I'm not really one for research data, I depend more on experience. This product has been available for more than long enough to establish an incredible safety record. I have dispensed this product to patients with diabetes, heart disease, cushing's disease, Inflammatory bowel disease, etc. I have yet to see a problem in any of my patients that have used any of the Petzlife Products. I have however in the majority of cases seen a remarkable improvement in their dental health."

I have found Petzlife spray to be very effective with no side effects, and I recommend it for both dogs and cats.

There is a stronger formula that is being used by veterinarians in their offices that has twice the alcohol content.

Other information from Petzlife:

Dr. Michael Fox is now promoting PetzLife Oral care in his columns and books-- He is the Guru in the Holistic field--syndicated writer including the Washington Post!

--We have a perfect record with over 1,000,000 bottles now sold world-wide--not one reported case of death and not one substantiated case of injury!!!

if the same # of dogs and cats went through the anesthesia procedure --statistics prove that 3,000 would have died-- and at least 72,000 would have experienced injury!!

I hope this information is helpful!

Talk with you all later...

Sarah

Hi Sarah!

Thanks for the information! I believe that the product is safe, and according to many people, it works. For my own dogs, I choose not to use it due to the alcohol content, which, for me, is not acceptable. So, I have an unopened bottle if anyone would like me to send it to them!