I like to give my boy a dental chew a couple times a week and I was wondering of getting him a bigger one. Is it bad if I give him a dental chew that says it's for dogs 50lbs and up? I've been giving him the ones for 25lbs dogs and he's currently 16lbs.

I think the weight suggestions refer mostly to the amount of calories in the item, for example when a kibble is labeled "large breed."

That said, whatever food item it is needs to be calculated in your dog's total daily intake. If you do it that way, you can get an objective view of what your dog is taking in verses your dog's lifestyle and activity level.

The general rule for treats is they should make up no more than 10% of a dogs daily diet. The weight suggestions are for two reasons, the first, like Jeff said, would be for calorie intake. If you are feeding a 16lb dog with 50lb plus treats its probably more than 10% of their daily diet. The second reason is for choking hazards which is more for large dogs eating smaller treats. Big dogs can often try to swallow smaller treats whole which can cause problems. If you want to feed multiple treats every day you could look into some low calorie treats like biscuits. Based on your dogs age, I'm guessing that he just got his adult teeth in. If you were using the dental treats to help with mouth hygiene, try using split antlers instead. They are low calorie, keep them busy for days, and clean the teeth better than something like a Greenie. With a growing puppy you want to make sure they get the nutrition they need, the more treats they get, the less they will want to eat their dinner, which is the nutritious part of their diet. Hope that helps.

Hey I am just thinking to start giving Green energy drinks to my boy. It’ll help him in maintaining weight and will improve immunity system. Isn’t that a good ideas friend?

What are green energy drinks? Are your REALLY sure you want to give energy drinks to a husky

David,
dental chews i think would be a little different then a regular treat. besides the texture to clean teeth do they not have other herbs/oils or what not in them that help clean the teeth as well? those added things given in a larger amount may upset his tummy? i only give mine those every now and then and know the ones i feed have a strong mint smell.

what would the reason for feeding a larger one be in your mind?

Old post but I decided to not give dental chews to Mylo at all anymore. Back then in Feb I got him a bigger one for fun (stupid) and his tummy did get upset and then months later (recently) since I saw his top back tooth getting kinda brownish..I got him some greenies, after four days of greenies..we noticed he didn't want to eat and seemed a bit off, maybe it was coincidence? then after two days of not giving him a greenie he seemed back to normal.

So now I think I should steer this thread to dental care! Mylo's teeth look great, I supply him with split elk antlers that individually last him about two months. He loves them of course and I know antlers do some good to teeth. The only concern is his tooth all the way to the back in top like I said earlier (both left and right). I've never tried brushing his teeth but now I wish I tried earlier as a younger pup. I remember reading something here about something that can be put in the drinking water but I dont remember.

I use this stuff in there food at night, and sorry did not catch it was an older thread

Proden PlaqueOff Dental Care for Dogs and Cats, 60gm
http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0047VWPNI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00