Recreation bones are NOT bones that your dog ingests as part of her diet but simply a specific group of bones that your dog can enjoy gnawing, grinding & nibbling for pure instinctual pleasure and entertainment.
These bones are excellent natural teeth cleaners. I go into more detail about RB in this article titled Dog Teeth Cleaning for the Modern Dog.

Halle & Charlie both get marrow bones every other week. Keeps their teeth healthy and white :)

It’s tough to say when it comes to dog food!
IMO canned food is not necessarily better than kibbles because it all depends on the type & quality of canned food and weather it’s best suited for your particular dog.
Some dogs don’t do well on canned food whereas others can tolerate it on occasion.
It really all depends on what’s best for you and your dog at the very moment.

Hope this helps.

I’ve noticed that dextrose is a common ingredient in many canine toothpastes. As far as I understand, dextrose is a form of glucose which is a simple sugar, right? Wouldn’t a toothpaste with straight sugar in it be actually contributing to tooth decay?

I began brushing our dog’s teeth as soon as we adopted her, and I usually use an inexpensive enzymatic toothpaste. Since I brush her teeth daily, I decided I need to make sure that none of the ingredients would be harmful long term. I have found very little information about dextrose in my research and was wondering if anyone knew whether or not this should be avoided. I thought, maybe it’s in such a small amount and it’s sort of “canceled out” because this toothpaste is enzymatic and continues working after brushing. At the same time, though, it’s sugar! Any thoughts??

I took matter into my own hands after great frustration with vets. He is CLEARLY improving, but it is still a battle. The cytology at the last vet appointment showed it was yeast. So I discovered that many dogs with recurring yeast infections in the ear get them from allergies — food or air allergies. And also the natural balance between yeast and bacteria can become unbalanced by anti-biotics. My dog (Rocky) had lyme disease a few years ago, which was treated by antibiotics successfully. But it is my theory that the antiobiotic treatment for the lyme disease triggered the yeast/good bacteria imbalance. And the potato starch in a kibble diet fed the yeast and made it get out of control.

I am using malacetic otic to clean his ears when symptoms arise, like head tilting, head shaking, etc. It works better than anything the vet gave me or any other cleaner I’ve experimented with. But I feel bad that I still have to resort to using an ear cleaner any more often than once per week, and try not to use more than I have to. The Stella and Chewy’s freeze dried raw comes with a great assortment of probiotics that will help him get the good bacterisa in him to combat the yeast overgrowth. I give him at least one FULL meal of the Stella and Chewy’s each day. Yes, it is expensive, but I’d rather spend money on healthy food than on prednisone, meds, and other vet bills. (I spent almost $2,000 last year on vet bills between his ears and dental surgery). I also have a good air filter for the bedroom, but have had one for many years.

My vet never mentioned raw food or homecooked food, just hydrolisized protien type of food, which included potato starch, by the way, and would have fed the yeast and been of inferior quality to the kibble I was using — Orijen Six Fresh Fish, Insitinc Rabbit, and Orijen Adult (turkey and chicken).

The raw food is working. I started feedin a little raw occasionally two months ago, while he was till getting kibbles and canned food, and now he gets one full Stella and Chewy’s raw meal every day. He has not had kibble since August 9, so this is still not enough time to see the results of the raw food, but already there is improvement. My next step might be to even drop the canned Insitnct food and replace it with either raw meal or homecooked meals. He likes baked wild salmon. ( I know salmon has to be cooked.) I invented a recipie of egg shell and baked salmon fillet to give him twice a week — the egg shell to replace the calcium that would have been in the bones.

I feel like I am on the right track. I am continuing to dialogue with people like you online, am contuing to read about nutrition, trusting my judgements. And his next vet will be a holistic vet — not one who sells mostly corn and wheat filled dental nuggets and starchy kibbles and seems to not know the least thing about safe raw foods (like ones that I have discovered that have been pathogen free by hydro high pressure treatment) or more natural approaches to cures.

We are very happy to hear that you’ve made such big time changes with your dog’s diet. You really sound like a compassionate responsible, dog owner. Four paws way up Greg!!!!

It’s funny how sometimes certain situations will happen, such as yours with your dogs teeth and all, that help us realize that we might need to make a shift in our habits.

Great to hear your weaning him off the kibbles. I think it’s going to be the best decision you’ll ever make in your dog’s entire life, trust me!!

Have you seen any changes in your dog so far since the diet switch? From what I understand, it could take up to 8 weeks before you can start seeing some changes, but when they come, they are dramatical healthy changes.

Healthy home made dog food is really the best option for your dog’s ultimate health and happiness, I’m so happy that you’re really devoted to your furry beast’s wellness :)

Great work on the cross country running, he must totally love that!

From our experience your best bet when it comes to recreational bones is to try it out with your dog and monitor his chewing. Like you said, your dog isn’t an aggressive chewer then you should have no problems, but always monitored :)

Yes, like you said, recreational dog bones are great for the teeth – plus the activity sure makes your dog feel like a dog.

I’m not completely certain that giving it to him frozen is ideal … just thinking that wild dogs don’t have access to frozen bones. I dunno.

We just give it to Halle after it’s been in the over for a couple of minutes, she cleans it up and she chews on it for days. Once she’s worn it down a bit we toss it and give her another one. It’s perfectly safe.

You mentioned that your dog’s been fighting an ear yeast infection, how long has it been going on?
Has it occurred suddenly after the food switch?

But my dog is fighting a yeast infection in his ear, and I have read that sorbitol should be forbidden while fighing a yeast infection in the ear. So I think that I will just stick with the recreational bones.

I stopped feeding any kibble to him a month ago. (He was on the grain free kibbles like Orijen and Nature’s Variety Instinct.) I am feeding him Stella and Chewy’s freeze dried raw and one large can of Insinct per day. I am reading a lot about raw diets and raw meaty bones to hopefully transition him to that, to help his teeth. He will not eat any of the frozen raw patties, but he eats meat off the recreational bones, so maybe he will take to some RMBs to help his teeth too. I don’t know yet.

He is extremly active and looks great. We run abput 50 – 70 miles per week together (cross country running).

I keep reading mixed things about recreational bones – that they can break teeth or wear teeth down. But he is NOT an aggesive chewer. I use them as directed, give them to him frozen, and I just let him have the boens for a few hours while I read in hte back yard with him. My feeling is that they are good for his teeth and if used as directed are positive for his oral health. But I should probalby give them to him a little less often, maybe one per week

I guess you can tell how much I love my dog by me trying to learn and do all I can for him.

The amount of sorbitol (plant-based sugar alcohol food additive) found in many dog toothpaste formulas is very small so the side-effects if any are minimal resulting in mostly diarrhea or upset stomachs. However, if your dog seems to be having adverse reactions to the toothpaste, discontinue it’s use immediately. The key is to monitor your dog.

Other sugar alcohols such as sorbitol and mannitol have little to no effect on blood glucose concentrations or insulin secretion in dogs, although overingestion
may result in an osmotic diarrhea.

For more information check out this report.

Xylitol is another artificial sweetner. In my Toxic Foods for Dogs article I discuss about the dangers of Xylitol.

Xylitol is a sugar substitute sweetener. Here are some products that may contain Xylitol: sugar-free gums, mints, jellies, chewable vitamins (Flinstones for kids), jams, certain candy, baked goods like cake mixes and sugar-free sweeteners. A good example of products that contain Xylitol are Orbit and Trident brand gums. Keep in mind, all Crest White Strips and the majority of toothpaste also contain this sweetener. If consumed by your dog in very high dosage (500 to 1000 mg/kg per kilogram of bodyweight), it can result in a seizure and death in as little as 30 minutes. Keep your dogs out of the medicine cabinets and purses guys! Plus don’t let your dog lick or pick up used gum on the sidewalk. Stay alert for that when walking your dog.

How are your dog’s teeth in general? What’s your breed and how old is your dog?
You don’t need to be doing both, bones and brushing.

IMO yes, generally the recreational bones will do the trick, that would be your #1 option.
I always recommend “giving your dog a bone” and if he likes it, that’s great!