WebMD has a pet section which includes an age chart and some additional information. The part I found interesting is:
By 8 weeks: All baby teeth are in.
By 7 months: All permanent teeth are in and are white and clean.
By 1-2 years: Teeth are duller and the back teeth may have some yellowing.
By 3-5 years: All teeth may have tartar build-up and some tooth wear.
By 5-10 years: Teeth show more wear and signs of disease.
By 10-15 years: Teeth are worn, and heavy tartar build-up is likely with the possibility of some teeth missing.
According to this chart, going only based on teeth, my dogs are both somewhere between 7 months and a year old, since they have all their permanent teeth in and they are white and clean. Since Koira is 3 1/2 and Pallo is 2, I'm pretty proud of their teeth. I'm thinking of asking my vet, next time we go in for an appointment, what age she would guess on the dogs based only on their teeth.
I even had someone ask me this summer, at a lure coursing practice, if I feed raw, because my dog's teeth are amazing. It may be just one benefit of raw feeding, but it is a benefit that I very much appreciate. Back in the days of kibble, I did try to brush my dogs' teeth. It never happened regularly and never seemed to do much good. But now, at about 7 months into raw feeding, my dog's teeth sparkle a gleaming white.
Even my 8-9 year old cat, who has missing teeth (they were missing when I picked her up from a garage sale where they were giving her away) has had a major improvement in her teeth. Obviously the missing ones are still missing, but her remaining teeth are much whiter and cleaner, and believe me, that never would have happened with brushing her teeth!
As far as the dog age to human age translation, Pallo is 24 years old and Koira is 28. I wonder if I should be worried about my baby girl being rated as older than me.
so interesting! everyone comments that our puppy's teeth are so white and now i know why!
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I think genetics must play a part, too, as well as chewing habits. Steve is my raw fed dog and his teeth are icky. He's not even three. It's very annoying, honestly.
ReplyDeleteThe bullies are kibble fed, but they are both heavy recreational chewers. Luce does have a little bit of tartar on her back teeth, but Mushroom has none. They both have worn teeth and Mushroom is missing an incisor (lost it to an excessively vigorous tug game with Luce), but they're almost nine.