[onapap1]

Does anyone have current info about greenies ? I know very little that is current.
I have just started using them. Mine like them and I have not had any problem. I cannot find a current review.

• This topic was modified 2 years, 11 months ago by Mike Sagman. Reason: Fix Duplicate Topic Title

[pugmomsandy]

Greenies have been known to break apart and cause blockages. That’s all I’ve “heard”. But I don’t like the ingredients in it either. I use to use it and did not have any problems. For teeth cleaning I now use bully sticks, marrow bones, cow hoof, rib bones.

[Hound Dog Mom]

I agree with Sandy. Unfortunately, the ingredients in greenies are really really bad – giving your dog a greenie would be about the equivalent of giving your kid a candy bar. 🙁

I give my dogs raw meaty bones daily (turkey necks, chicken backs, pork necks, etc.) and natural chews (bully sticks, pig ears, dried tracheas, etc.) for dental health. I also brush their teeth. Most “dental chews” on the market are full of unhealthy ingredients.

[Gemma60537]

Last summer I went to a meeting to join my local AKC club and I managed to attend the one night that they had a rep for Nutro foods out to speak…there I sat politely not telling him to take his products and go away as I was brand new to the club. He went on and on about Greenies and seemed a little surprised when I declined a handful of free ones or the free t-shirt that he was giving away. Mine chew on moose antlers, deer antlers and get their teeth brushed a few times a week.

I opted not to join the club. 🙂

[maggy6577]

Hi All,
I wanting to know what poultry digest is? My vet recommended a treat with this ingredient. As far as I can figure out this is any fowl part bowled up except for hair. Am I right?

maggy6577

[onapap1]

I quit using them and went back to what I was giving. Sad shame but as they say nothing worthwhile is free. I can get all the greenies I want free.
It is just not worth my dogs health so they are gone.
onapap1

[Sydney]

We still moisten the kibble for our 8-month old puppy, so we decided to try Greenies to keep her teeth clean. Never again. After first turning her nose up at it, she finally managed to slowly polish off one stick. She eats virtually everything, so we thought it was odd that she didn’t show her usual avid interest. Later that day, she became rather lethargic and laid down rather than eat dinner. That’s when we knew something was wrong. Normally, she plays and plays during the day, and when dinner time arrives, she dives in head first. We noticed that her heart rate was much higher than normal, and she was panting… not because of excess play or hot weather. It was winter with snow on the ground. Her body temperature also seemed elevated, although we didn’t have a rectal thermometer to take her temperature. She refused to eat yogurt or her favorite carrots, and we thought about taking her to the vet, but decided to let her rest until morning. The next day, she was her usual self: hyperactive, hungry, and happy. She had 3 large bowel movements before noon, and after that was even happier! Current information on Greenies suggests that they are hard to chew into small pieces and often break off in large clumps, which may cause pancreatitis and esophageal or intestinal obstruction. They are only about 85% digestible if chewed completely, even after a reformulation of this product by the manufacturer. Chewing them completely can result in stringy diarrhea and/or vomiting for many dogs and cats. Although there is a negligible amount of vitamins and minerals, Greenies consist of mostly pork gelatin, wheat, and glycerin–not exactly what makes for a healthy pet. We are thankful that our puppy didn’t suffer more serious consequences from her first (and last) experience with Greenies. Rather than donate the unused portion of the bag we purchased to our local animal shelter, it has instead been donated to the local landfill.

[kvee]

I do not like the ingredients on greenies, I rather giving Susie some mint to chew on to freshen up her stinky breath. But, I do my best to brush my sharkface’s teeth every night.

[Dori]

I had a friend that had the sweetest Papillon ever. He was just adorable. Anyway he gave him a greenie jumped in the shower and when he came out Spenser was dead. Right outside the bathroom door. He suffocated on a chunk of the green it all happened very quickly. It wasn’t a small piece of one it was a whole new one he had just given him. This was about seven years ago. They claim they have changed the formula since then but I wouldn’t chance it.

[Naturella]

I never used Greenies per se, but I have used the Nylabone green puppy chew things. Bruno liked them, but we are not getting any more. Ever. I am happy he never had a problem, but I would much rather give RMBs, brush his teeth, and give antlers, hooves, and bully sticks/ears/tracheae/natural and digestible stuff for dental health.

My friend, however, used to use Greenies every day with no problems. She also used bully sticks, but she wanted a long-lasting chew, and eventually they failed, so she stopped getting them. She is now on DentaStiX for her 2 dogs, but thankfully she is stopping soon. Her next trial will be water additive for fresher breath and with a joint supplement. Hopefully that works better. She will be using Tropiclean. Any thoughts on that?

[Shasta220]

Greenies around here aren’t liked too much, I’ll admit. And I will agree with everyone else – they stink, have gross ingredients, and really don’t clean as well as they say.

Try getting on a routine of brushing daily (or at least weekly if you have a difficult pooch), and you can use raw bones as well as other natural chews. I also went to the extremes of a water additive for my oldest girl, but I don’t think that’s nessicary.

I do, however, love Zuke’s Z-ridge bones. The textur is similar to greenies, but they are made of better ingredients like potatoes, fruits, and natural breath help from plants. Plus they seemed to actually work. I broke a big one in half and gave a piece to two of my dogs – by the time they were done, they have /really/ good breath. Greenies? Not so much. I’m not sure how good they are ever since Purina bought them though :/ all I know is the packaging has already changed (I miss the old packages) and prices have skyrocketed… Ugh!

[Naturella]

Yeah, I think brushing and RMBs/natural chews would be the way to go for Bruno. I have also tried the Blue Buffalo dental bones (once), and it gave him serious tummy troubles… So none of those anymore. I trust(ed?) Zuke’s more, I have used their training treats with no problems, so we’ll see.

I have used a water additive too, he had to have 2 canine teeth extracted because the puppy ones wouldn’t fall and the adult ones had come in, so he was a little shark with 4 sharp canines (the long ones). So after the extraction I used water additive in his water, more for antiseptic purposes.

I have read that apple cider vinegar is good to put in their water, so I got some with the mother in it, but Bruno really dislikes his water with it and barely drinks it… I put one teaspoon, maybe I should put less? I don’t know…

[Catherine T]

I use the deer antlers which my french bulldog loves and chews on for long periods..
All I do know is not to use anything from China!!!
Nylabones my dog likes too
as far as soft treat I use kong soft treat, chewy no wheat, corn or soy

[Shasta220]

I’m not sure how big your water bowl is, Aleksandra, to know how much ACV should go in there. I love using it as a supplement for it’s anti fungal/bacterial properties, but I’ve never tried to put it in water. I honestly wouldn’t blame him for not wanting to drink much, that stuff stinks lol! I’m lucky my dogs don’t care… I accidentally poured about 2tbsp instead of just 1 over my lab’s food, and she didn’t care at all! She gobbled all of it up just the same. I could probably put a handful of dirt over her food and she’d still eat it, though.
(Sorry if it’s a dumb question: what does RMB stand for?) Edit: never mind…. Figured it out, LOL! Raw meaty bone. *does a face-desk*

• This reply was modified 10 years, 8 months ago by Shasta220.

[Naturella]

Shasta,

His bowl is pretty small… I think one cup at most. So maybe 1tsp is too much? I always fill it up all the way. I can try putting it on his food and see if that works any better… I can use some canned as a topper to try to hide it maybe, lol

[Shasta220]

About 1tsp (or even 1/2tsp) daily should be plenty for a 13lb doggie. The best way to hide it would probably be thoroughly mixing it into the food, yes. Definitely start with a tiny bit (like 1/4tsp), and if he doesn’t notice it, then you can slowly increase it.

[Naturella]

I will do that for sure, I will hide it in food. 🙂 Thanks!

[Bobby dog]

Hey Aleksandra:
Time to put those coupons to good use and get some toppers to hide the ACV in Brunos food lol. I put 1/4 t of ACV with 2 Tablespoons of H2O in my dogs food morning and night to help with the indigestion issues he had. TheBCnut suggests 1/2 teaspoon of ACV mixed with at least double the amount of H2O (so you don’t damage the enamel on your dog’s teeth) per cup of kibble.

I also use ACV when I have reflux. Thanks to TheBCnut I learned I was brushing my teeth too soon after using it and was possibly damaging the enamel of my teeth, thank you BCnut!

[Shasta220]

Ah I guess I haven’t thought of that, Bobby. I’d imagine an easy way to do that is to just take an empty bottle and fill it 3/4 w water, 1/4 w ACV – then use about 2-4 times as much.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Shasta:
I have to write, I had to build my dog, who pretty much eats anything, up to the 1/4 teaspoon in his food. I threw it in the first time and he tasted it, looked at me, tasted it, looked back up, it took him a couple minutes to finish his food but he did. So the next feeding I started with just a splash and built it up from there. I don’t think he’d go for it in his water bowl either. I love the taste of it so when I have reflux taking a small spoonful is nothing to me.

[Shasta220]

Bobby, that’s great! We are honestly the opposite, LOL! All three of my dogs (even my super slow picky eater) didn’t mind it at all when I added it. I, on the other hand, can’t stand it. I added about a tablespoon into some water, as well as a tablespoon of raw sugar water. Ahhhhh I couldn’t even finish it! I suppose it’ll be an acquired taste for me.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Shasta:
Too funny, I don’t know if you will ever acquire a taste for it! Bobby is used to it now and does not seem to notice it in his food. When I do use ACV I only need about a ¼ teaspoon myself so I don’t bother mixing it with anything.

I am not sure if you want to use ACV regularly for yourself, but if you do I just found out, thanks to Sandy, that they make ACV capsules and Bragg’s makes ACV drinks. As TheBCNut wrote in a DFA comment section, the capsules probably wouldn’t be of benefit for acid reflux because you need the ACV delivered to the top of your stomach, but the capsules would be good for all the other ACV benefits. Here’s a link for the capsule info:
http://www.swansonvitamins.com/q?kw=apple+cider+vinegar

[Shasta220]

Ah, very interesting about the capsule. ACV helps acid reflux, which has symptoms of heartburn, correct? I may have to try getting myself to down it more often, as I have to take Prilosec daily and still keep Zantac 150 around :/

Love it for my hair though, hahahaha!!! I’m sure I’ll get adventurous again and try it…..definitely smaller amount of ACV tho. Maybe a drop or two? (Okay, a little more…..)

And I love Swanson btw!!!! One of my fave sites!

[Shasta220]

Back to the subject of dental chews, I guess I do use them on occasion. Here is the ingredients of the ones I sometimes buy:

Potato flour, rice flour, glycerine, water, natural flavor, gelatin, canola oil, titanium dioxide (color), monoglycerides of edible fatty acids, flaxseed oil, citric acid, magnesium stearate, tetrasodium pyrophosphate

They’re called Checkups, sold at Costco. The size is prob medium (easy to split in half), great size for a 30+lb dog. Not the best ingredients, but I like how there are under 20…

Plus the price is hard to beat. 24 for $11…. Greenies and other dental chews are around 1-3$ for a similar sized chew.

Usually I give them to my older girl as she dislikes bully sticks, and bones are too hard on her since she has a chipped molar on one side, and no molar on the other.

[Naturella]

Shasta, I have fed those, a friend gave me a few of them! Bruno liked them, but I feel that they smelled kind of “chemically” and I wasn’t too sure about them. But I’m glad I tried them! I will try Whimzees, and then decide if I would buy any of those commercial ones regularly or stick to bullies and such, and RMBs. 🙂

[InkedMarie]

I don’t use those types of dental chews but I hope anyone reading, who uses them, pays attention to ingredients, if you have a dog with sensitivities/allergies. I know people who only look at their dogs food; have to pay attention to everything that goes in their mouths.

[Suburban Gal]

“Greenies have been known to break apart and cause blockages.” -pugmomsandy

This is a risk you take with ANY dog chew.

[Chayse L]

I do not recommend Greenies!!

Our dog was given a Greenie 2 days ago and has been throwing up ever since. She has no appetite, seems completely out of it and has severe diarrhea.

TropiClear Water Additives are the way to go. It’s a much safer option, and happens to be more effective than the Greenie bones.

Save your pet(s) the hassle and avoid buying Greenies.

[Kari P]

We use Whimzees, as they are made of all natural ingredients, don’t stain, and appear to be easily digested by our dog. We haven’t had any issues with them, but they are expensive.

I wouldn’t use Greenies based on reports of foam, blockage issues, and questionable ingredients. Dentastix ingredients list is also really long and concerning. Blue Buffalo Dental Bones and Zuke’s Z-Bones are the only other two dental chews I have found that contain natural ingredients, but both are expensive as well. Both have higher protein content than Whimzees though. I personally don’t see any reason to feed a dog a vegetarian product, but both Whimzees and Zuke’s are vegetarian if that matters to you.

Most brands recommend one stick per day, but keep in mind these are extra calories. I prefer to feed dental sticks less frequently because they are so expensive so I tend to give them to our dog on days when he is more active.

[Michael M]

Wow, glad to know this information about Greenies – this is part of the reason why I joined this forum. I’ve gotten them for free and hadn’t paid for them, and I rarely give my dogs any types of treats besides peanut butter. I hadn’t thought too much about the ingredients. Luckily, it was only twice that I’ve given it to mine.

That being said, they definitely didn’t do a great job of cleaning their teeth. I also switched to pig ears – stuff that won’t easily get caught in their throat but provides some good chewing action.

[carol w p]

Generations of our Rhodesian Ridgebacks have been given “regular’ size Greenies as a special treat all their lives. Our vet has been ok with it as long they’re supervised, and never given to a dog that tends to gulp or swallow things whole. The regular size isn’t very big for a large breed, but it’s enough to lodge in the trachea if not chewed into pieces before dispatch.

The Veterinary Oral Health Council website has lists of approved dental chews and treats: http://www.vohc.org/index.html

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