My vet advised me to give the dogs these rawhide chewy bones to maintain their teeth better. So I bought two yesterday - about 6-7 inches long and quite thick, looking like a real big bone, and they are almost through with them after one day Last night I took them away after half an hour, and gave them again this morning with the result that they are almost gone now. Can this be healthy I wonder? Do they get digested easily? How often should/can a dog eat those things?
I don't use rawhides, as I have heard they can cause blockages. I do get some chopped and pressed rawhide as a treat and just because they love them...they don't do anything for the teeth.
I don't know if it's available to you, but there are doggy tooth brushes and toothpastes being sold here. Some people advocate raw meaty bones (not cooked) for keeping teeth clean.
One Vet gave me toothpaste, another gave me something called Oral Cleansing Gel, which you use daily and is supposed to prevent tarter...if you remember to use it....
I don't give them anymore. My vet discourages it. I used to give the thinner rawhide chips but then Crystal was swallowing them whole. I also found that they made her incredibly thirsty and she would drink a bowl of water afterwards.
I give her baby carrots now.
in addition to all the posts above, i might add one item...Spayed a standard poodle one day and of course had told the owner no food or water after 6 pm but ice cubes were ok....Made the mistake of adding no rawhide bones...so the dog spent the night chewing on her rawhide all night... next am i asked to be sure of no food or water----absolutly none....syaped said dog, put her in a cange, saw a couple patients came back to cage room and dog was dead, kaput, no longer with us...on checking i found she had thrown up and inhaled a big piece og raw hide bone...no one was happy about that...Raw hides do very little about helping the teeth...to get somethin to help clean the teeth the something must be of such coimposition that the tooth can penetrate so the substance will rub up against the surface of the teeth all the way up to the gum line.....i know of nothing that will do that except one or two types of kibbles...best thing is to clean the teeth with a tooth brush or an old washcloth with baking soda (unless dog has kidney problem0...My sassie has never haad her teeth cleaned and they look as good as when she was a pupply...As in humans it is the composition of the Saliva that causes and/or prevents tooth scale...its in the genes....
Davet, what are the kibbles that you feel clean the teeth. I know there are some that claim they do, but I am suspicious about that. Winnie is on an RX diet, so I can't do much about that, but the other 2 dogs could change.
I need to take Sammie to get his teeth checked and cleaned...I hope they do not need to remove his fangs...he has not wanted to eat much hard foods lately, and the other day, we did give him a rawhide to chew on, but within five minutes it was quite bloody...*sighs*...
I checked his mouth and both of his fangs are fairly brown/yellow up to the gums...
But I want to get him an appointment with the vet in the city, because I am sure the local one here would just pull them for sure...
dogs teeth can be filled but very rarely is it ever done or needed....and i cant remember the kibble that supposedly cleans the teeth..it made a big splash years ago and never heard of it again..maybe the whole thing fell through...but with the baking soda ( if the dog oes not have a kidney proble) can be used just by putting some on an old wash cloth and rubbing it..tooth brushes are fine but old beat up wash cloths are good also
Last night I took them away after half an hour, and gave them again this morning with the result that they are almost gone now. 
Can this be healthy I wonder? Do they get digested easily? How often should/can a dog eat those things?
