Dogs love to chew hard objects. Bones, wood, furniture, stones – it doesn’t matter, they all make your pooch equally delighted. Unfortunately, she may be so delighted that she doesn’t realize when she’s broken a tooth from overzealous gnawing.
If you notice a crack or chip in one of her teeth, take a closer look. Simply breaking the enamel of the tooth won’t cause any major problems and can be left alone. But if the break goes deeper
into the pulp of the tooth where nerves and blood are stored, she’ll end up in a fair amount of
pain. If the break is, in fact, deep enough that the inner portions of the tooth are exposed, she may require a root canal or extraction.
To help prevent such major breaks, stick with dental toys or hard plastic bones. If you can’t bear the thought of depriving your dog the pleasure of a real bone, keep the chewing sessions to 10 minutes or less and never play catch with a bone.