42 sparkly reasons to include seaweed in your chihuahua’s diet
We have written about how hard it can be to keep your chihuahua’s teeth clean. Brushing is best, but chihuahuas being chihuahuas, brushing is not always an option. Chihuahuas are prone to tooth decay and gum problems because their mouths are so small and crowded food gets stuck between their teeth. This can cause tartar build-up.
Toothache is very painful for your dog. But dogs are hardwired not to show pain as it makes them weaker in the pack. So, by the time you get to notice that your chihuahua has tooth decay the problem is probably more advanced. According pets.webmd.com sure signs that your dog has toothache are.
- Red or bleeding gums.
- Blood on a chew toy.
- Vocalizing when they yawn or eat.
- Loose teeth.
- Bad breath.
- Lumps or bumps in the mouth.
- Ropey or bloody saliva.
- Head shyness (your pet not wanting you to touch their head
Prevention is better than cure
Like many things in life, prevention is better than cure and in the case of dog dental work at the vets, considerably cheaper. The average cost of one dental clean under sedation is around £280 to £350, plus you have the actual risk to your dog of the sedation itself.
If you comfort yourself by buying expensive dry kibble that claims to help with teeth cleaning, research has shown these to be of little value unless you are the person selling them. Likewise many of the hard chews that contain dubious ingredients.
So, if I could tell you about one supplement that could help keep your chihuahua’s teeth clean, prevent tartar build up and tooth decay you would be delighted, wouldn’t you?
Prepare to be delighted
A simple addition of a seaweed to your dog’s diet will break down tartar and plaque and could save both you and your chihuahua a world of pain.
Seaweed works from the inside rather than being applied to the teeth. Always good news with a chihuahua! Compounds in the seaweed kill the bacteria that causes plaque and over time it will reduce the tartar that has built up. It will just fall off and be digested.
There are several seaweed supplements available, a simple search will reveal several to choose from. We use A-OK9 which is available from their website: https://a-ok9.com/products/plaque-k9?ref=QjiXuA8_fAM-V
Things to think about are;
If your dog has hyperthyroid disease then talk to your vet first as the Iodine in seaweed can aggravate it.
If you do nothing about keeping your chihuahua’s teeth clean (and you should be) do this one simple thing. But good teeth hygiene is essential you can read about other ways to keep your chihuahua’s teeth clean here.
These are not affiliate links. I have recommended these products because we use them ourselves.