The Knee Cap Rule

Aug 2, 2022

Blog, Miscellaneous

Fractured teeth are a very common finding in pet dogs. In many cases, these teeth have been fractured by the dog’s owners. Not on purpose, mind you. But it is the owners who have given their dogs inappropriately hard things to chew and these hard things break teeth!

Figure 1: Examples of fractured right upper 4th premolar teeth. Both have pulp exposure and so require either root canal treatment or extraction. With the tooth to the left, the damage is restricted to the crown of the tooth and so root canal treatment is likely a viable option. For the tooth to the right, the damage goes up below the gum line and so extraction is likely the only valid option.

Many dogs really love to chew and many owners falsely believe that giving their dog hard things to chew is good for them. Unfortunately, many of the things owners give their dogs to chew are more than hard enough to cause painful damage to the teeth. So please, tell ALL of your dog owners that they should NOT allow their dogs to chew:

Natural Bone (of any kind)
Nylon or hard plastic “bones” and toys
Antlers (which are actually bone)
Large raw-hide bones
Dried Cow Hooves
Dried bull penises (Bully Sticks)
Ice Cubes

Or they could just remember the “Knee-Cap Rule” which states that:

“If your dog would not want me to hit them on the knee cap with it, they should not be allowed to chew on it!”

If your dog has a strong chewing drive, maybe talk to a behavioral consultant about finding more appropriate outlets for their energies. Food puzzles are among the alternatives to consider.

As well, abrasive toys such as tennis balls should be avoided in favour of smooth-surfaced toys. The nylon fuzz on a tennis ball is very abrasive and it retains dirt and grit so chewing on a tennis ball is like chewing on sandpaper.