Why Does Your Dog Stare at You?
January 29, 2025
Highlights: You love your dog, but why are they always looking at you? Dogs may stare at their humans for attention, food, or other reasons. Learning what they need when
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This topic is more complex than many dog owners might suspect. Some treats are very good, and other treats possess questionable attributes. So, please read on to learn questions to ask and attributes to seek in a good dog treat to support dental care.
First, we need to delineate two types of treats based on regulatory definitions. According to the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), chews and treats are quite different, although most dog owners are likely not familiar with these definitions.
A chew is defined as having no appreciable nutrition; this would include antlers and bones without marrow or other substances that deliver nutrition. On the other hand, a treat, by definition, is required to provide nutrition for the dog.
Chews are often provided merely for occupancy—a chew gives a dog something to chew on and pass the time of day. In addition, a dog owner should be aware that the hardness of a chew or a treat is important to consider.
A chew or a treat with a Rockwell Hardness much above 70 can cause a weak tooth to break or split, requiring dental attention. It can allow ‘bad guy’ organisms into the blood system, which can travel to vital organs and cause damage. A chew or treat that is too soft, under a hardness of about 45, is too soft to scrape off tartar, which can house bacteria and plaque.
We call this the interstate rule of hardness for treats: 45 is often the minimum speed allowed on Interstate Highways, and 70 is often the maximum. Use this to remember the upper (too hard) and lower (too soft) hardnesses for treats and chews to perform oral care maintenance.
Good dental treats are very good for dogs. If dogs love the taste and the product deters tartar and plaque buildup and freshens their breath, that is good. Studies document that 80% of dogs over the age of three (that’s 53 million US dogs) suffer from gum disease, which can damage vital organs.
Dental treats come in many varieties from very simple to quite complex even to the status of ‘Hybrid Wellness’ for dogs; the latter being where two or more elements are combined to gain improved performance.
Dental treats can help manage plaque and tartar; some are even proven to remove these precursors to harmful gum disease. Peridontal disease is often a major cause of halitosis—stinky bad breath!
When gum disease becomes sufficiently severe to cause the gums to swell and/or bleed, this allows ‘bad guy’ organisms to enter the bloodstream; the ‘bad guys’ can then enter the circulatory system and use it as a ‘race track’ to vital organs where they inflict harm to vital organs—and that is not good news!
So, treats that document that they deter plaque and/or tartar are good. For example, Yummy Combs® have been clinically proven in two 60-day trials to remove over 25% of tartar accumulation on teeth and also improve breath.
Yummy Combs® are the only patented treat that flosses and scrubs 360° around teeth to the gum line. It also has up to 200 scraping surfaces to clean teeth of tartar with a hardness in the 45 to 70 range.
The Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) Seal is another form of validation that the treat deters plaque and/or tartar. Dental treats can improve the health and wellness of dogs’; Yummy Combs have earned this Seal.
Dental issues such as gum disease can be detected simply by the dog owner raising the lips of their dog to examine their dog’s teeth for tartar buildup and smelling foul odors resulting from bacteria, plaque, and tartar.
Effective dental treats should be designed and formulated to allow your dog to live a healthier, safer, happier, and extended life. Carefully check out the claims on a treat bag and the associated website. If neither provides quantitative validation, you should likely check more closely before purchasing, in my opinion.
Do not settle for a product that merely has some form of ‘dental’ on the package. Better manufacturers of superior treats typically provide results of clinical studies, the VOHC Seal, or patents to validate claims or rational of how the product performs to deter plaque and/or tartar; this is a very important check to help determine if a dog treat benefits your dog!
Many dog treats carry a label stating to treat daily. However, this depends on the dog; beware of the nutrition of the treats, safety issues, and the overall benefits.
For example, back in the late 1980s, there was a national program designed for children called the ‘Couch Potato Kids,’ Too many kids were sitting on couches watching TV or playing early computer games,e eating potato chips, drinking soft drinks, and not exercising. They were becoming overweight.
The same can occur with your dog—beware because studies validate that over 50% of dogs over the age of two are overweight today! Is yours? Other studies show that being overweight can sacrifice two or more years of a dog’s life!
There are some dogs, the more sedentary types, that have more tendency to gain weight. So, if you have one of the following breeds, I suggest you monitor feeding and weight particularly closely, even though a dog of any breed can become overweight with too many calories, particularly from starch, and not enough exercise.
Starch and proteins are rated similar in calories, but excess starch converts to fat while protein is used to build and maintain muscles, including vital organs. The list of the top 10 breeds of dogs for being overweight includes Beagles, Pugs, Labs, Rottweilers, Basset Hounds, Dachshunds, and Bulldogs.
Other breeds are more prone to dental disease, such as those with short faces. Numerous dog treats are recommended as a daily maintenance program for teeth and gums. One Yummy Combs® per day is recommended for oral care, encouraging doggie-powered flossing, scrubbing, and scraping to deter plaque, remove tartar, and improve breath.
One veterinarian in Florida told Pet’s Best Life that he includes an appropriate-sized package of Yummy Combs® in the cost of every professional cleaning done in his office to extend the maintenance time between professional cleanings.
Small breeds and those with Brachycephalic faces (short faces) are most prone to dental disorders, including gum disease. Examples of small breeds that are inclined to have gum disease include Yorkshire Terriers, Pugs, Maltese, Chihuahuas, Toy Poodles, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, and other toy breeds, particularly due to their overcrowded teeth in small mouths.
In addition, brachycephalic breeds are at high risk like Bulldogs, French Bulldogs, and Boxers because of their compact facial structure.
Dogs love the taste! Yummy Combs deliver on promises of what the manufacturers say they do. They deter precursors to harmful gum disease.
Shape
The innovative science and unique shape are supported by three patents issued and three pending that provide novel concepts to deliver 360° flossing and scrubbing plus up to 200 cleaning surfaces.
Yummy Combs are clinically documented as the first dental treat that removes tartar (> 25%) and improves breath (>45%). They are also tested for hardness to be hard enough to scrape teeth clean but not so hard as to break or split teeth.
Yummy Combs® also earned the VOHC Seal of Approval. If fed as directed, it is designed to require chewing and deter gulping and blockages. It incorporates four novel concepts to deter gulping and obstructions, which are traumatic, harmful, and costly.
Plus, Yummy Combs® delivers superior nutrition, great taste, and over 100 benefits for a healthier, safer, more nutritious, and extended life for dogs and more and longer enjoyment by owners! Dogs dance and prance, wiggle and waggle, begging for their Yummy Combs®! Love your dog longer!
Really good dental treats are a form of Hybrid Wellness®, where two or more elements produce an improved outcome. Many dog owners do not know that:
If you love your dog and want to love them longer, Yummy Combs® by Pet’s Best Life, LLC are manufactured with science, geometry, love, and passion for your dog to deter gum disease. With its other benefits, they support dogs in living a healthier, safer, more nutritious, and extended life.
In addition, Pet’s Best Life, with its focus on innovation, is just launching a new treat, Longevity15, to further extend the lives of dogs; the basic ingredient is a molecule already proven to nearly double the life of dolphins and also impact other mammals; yes, many people fail to recall that dolphins are mammals!
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Highlights: You love your dog, but why are they always looking at you? Dogs may stare at their humans for attention, food, or other reasons. Learning what they need when
Highlights: Dogs may vomit for a variety of reasons, some of which are not indicative of illness. If your dog regularly throws up after eating, there is an underlying reason
Highlights: Dogs pant for various reasons, most of which are not cause for alarm. When your dog’s panting changes significantly or they show other signs of distress, a trip to
Always feed the right treat size for your dog’s weight category. Always supervise your dog when feeding treats. This product is an adult only dog treat. Always provide ample fresh water for your dog.
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