[Dailydrool] Re Plaque on Teeth

[Rosemary Ryan]

Shirley,

It's been a while since I posted on the drool, but I happened to see 
your post about plaque and thought I'd share my experience with kelp.

I had a couple of dogs who had terrible plaque. Their teeth had to be 
cleaned twice a year.  Then I tried ProDen Plaque Off, 1/8th tsp 
sprinkled over their food twice a day. Worked great, but it was very 
expensive. It's a kelp (ascophylum nodosum). The dogs gobble down their 
food as though it weren't there. It won't remove really heavy plaque, 
but it keeps the teeth clean after the dental. If the plaque is light, 
it does take it off slowly.

I went looking for an alternative and had two concerns about safety: 
finding a source that was free of heavy metal contamination and not 
over-stimulating the thyroid because of the kelp's high iodine content. 
This happened to a friend's basset, who experienced hair loss, 
agitation, and bulging eyes. Fortunately, the symptoms resolved a couple 
of weeks after her person stopped feeding the kelp.

I talked to my vet about it. He tested the thyroid of one of my dogs 
after 3 years on the kelp and it was fine. He reviewed the literature 
and said as long as you keep to a low dose, most dogs will do fine. 
Those studies in which dogs developed problems involved doses that were 
much higher the amount I feed.

I buy dried kelp in bulk and grind it. If you (or anyone else) would 
like to try it, write me off line and I'll send you some.

Rosemary Ryan
HeavenScent Bassets
Seattle