We all know the importance of dental health; and choosing to feed your dog plant-based is one step to ensuring that they have both healthy teeth and gums.
Any painful gum infections or tartar build up can impact so much on your dog’s overall quality of life, but also on their general health where bacteria in the gums could enter the blood stream if those gums are badly inflamed, and result in heart or kidney disease that may end up irreversible.
I see it time and time again in elderly pets with sore, red gums and smelly tartar-coated teeth from years of eating scraps and licking the plates of owners at the end of meals that are full of sugar-laden sauces and foods (yes, we are as guilty of this as any family!)
A simple solution to preventing this, is to feed plant-based and brush their teeth each night. We do it with Ruff, as being a stray, he had very bad teeth (photo showing his ‘sore’ side before having a dental and going plant-based).
He does not particularly like having his teeth brushed – we use logic gel (contains enzymes and is flavoured but no animal proteins in it) and a soft toothbrush, but we make it into such a fun game that he sits patiently and then gets SO excited about his reward – a vegan dental chew!
We have reviewed the main plant-based dental chews available that we recommend that are affordable and as ‘natural’ as they can be (for a treat!) as well as effective to help clean the teeth in our PLANT-BASED DOG NUTRITION COURSE.
There are some that we do not recommend too and to see the full list, sign up to our PLANT-BASED DOG NUTRITION COURSE
16 year old Border Terrier Nancy’s owner noticed an amazing result after transitioning her from meat-based to a wholesome plant-based diet:
Her teeth have self-cleaned! Since being very young, Nancy has had a tartar problem. We have tried brushing and other solutions, but we realised one day that (after transitioning) something about the diet seemed to be cleaning up her teeth!
Will a vegan dog food diet affect my dog’s behaviour?
Owners of dogs on plant-based diets do report that their pets appear happier and calmer
Vet Reflections Of 2020
They say that to be truly happy, you need to have gratitude and I have to end the year with thanks to these wonderful people (and dogs)
Wispy’s guilty pleasures
We live in a zero carbon house. Wispy seriously offsets our carbon savings!
Wonderful David Attenborough
When our future seems so precarious, we finally have hope for our fragile natural world with the very wise and passionate words of Sir David Attenborough
Never use the word VEGAN!
Only by convincing vets that it is the way forward, will we together have any success as plant-based feeders of ensuring that it becomes a very viable and superior option to feeding our dogs
*The Top 10 Zoonoses In Your Home*
There are cases of dry food or treats (especially the raw hide treats and chews) causing transmission of diseases to people
Fireworks tips for our plant-based dogs
None of us want our dogs to be stressed – there is nothing worse than seeing them anxious and unhappy
Evidence Based Medicine
The meat-based fed control group showed 11 deficiencies while the long-term vegan fed category presented only two deficiencies
Race Against Time
As a vet and a mother and a dog lover, I am passionate about feeding dogs a plant-based diet to support our future
The most common allergen in dogs
We discuss the most common allergen in itchy dogs and what can be done about it
Confessions of a vegan vet
David Attenborough makes a stark warning on extinction and I felt it would be too upsetting to watch!
How life has changed for vets since the pandemic
Here is a day in my life to share what it is like to be a vet coping with the changes of how the pandemic has shaped a new way of being a small animal vet
