Myth: Dry Kibble Helps Clean My Dog’s Teeth

False.

Disclaimer: This is, in no way, knocking kibble or your ability or inability to feed it due to finances or ease of use.

Kibble is not good for your dog’s teeth.

Kibble is a multi-extruded substance that (with the exception of very few kibble options) is very high in starchy carbohydrates.

To make a human comparison, this would be equivalent to making the argument that cereal or potato chips are good for our teeth. We not only know that’s false, but it, in fact, leaves residue on our teeth that contributes to plaque.

In addition to this, dog’s do not produce amylase in their saliva, which is the enzyme needed to begin the process of carbohydrate digestion (they do produce it, to varying degrees, via their pancreas as an evolutionary adaption to coexisting with humans - how cool is that!, but I digress). So all of those carbs are not washed away by the saliva with the same ease as the human digestive process.

‘Okay, but I have to still feed my dog’

A way to upgrade this is to rehydrate your dog’s kibble before consumption. Dog food is very low in moisture (so most kibble-fed dogs also struggle to stay hydrated) and the synthetic vitamins that give the dog the nutrients needed, are sprayed on top of the kibble after the processing. This means many can get lost before digestion even begins.

A cheap way to do this is to scoop your dog’s food into the bowl and put enough water in to cover the kibble. Let sit for 15 minutes. You will likely be shocked at how much it increases in size and volume.

This will give the food more bioavailablity and better hydration.

If your dog needs to work on their dental health, give them a raw meaty bone! (More info on that in a future newsletter :-))