our new discovery! One delicious daily treat = no plaque and healthy oral hygiene!

(Update: Follow along with Lexi's photo updates. 4/26/25-7/26/25 approximately, and beyond .... at bottom of this blog).

We are so excited about a new product that we had to share it with a blog post in hopes others will enjoy the same success we've had.

It's one tasty chew (we give it with some other food) which the pugs actually like and will eat as a treat (natural bacon flavoring) daily. No daily brushing of teeth, no yucky water additives, no dental chews that are often filled with things like corn, sugar, wheat, soy and other ingredients which can trigger allergies. Best of all, our vet might just have to admit with their next checkups that there is no need for an expensive and scary dental!

Instead, just a yummy treat for your pug each day. (And, yes, all of our pugs -- even finicky Lilibeth -- loves these.) It's that simple! Seconds in the mouth, and 24 hours of fighting plaque.

We will look at before and after photos plus delve into the science behind this revolutionary product that veterinarians and animal nutritionists developed, but if you are busy and just want to go ahead and order now, here is the link - Pawtree Plaque Control Chews.  (Remember, pawTree offers a 90 day money back guarantee so there is no risk.) But, read on if you have the time because you'll want to understand why this product is so effective.

So why do pet owners need to deal with oral hygiene? Why not just let your vet pull a bunch of your pug's teeth in a few years. Why not just pretend that you love that nasty smell of your pug's nasty breath when he pants and sneezes in your face?

Because lots of bad things can result from bad oral hygiene. If the plaque and tartar is not removed, your pug might end up with gum disease (which causes overall discomfort, bleeding gums, loss of teeth, organ damage – liver, kidney, heart disease – decreased appetite because it’s painful to eat, bad breath, bone infections, blood infections like sepsis which is deadly, diabetes.)

Pugs as a breed are notorious for having horrible teeth. (In fact, all brachy breeds of dogs and cats can deal with dental challenges). Pugs' teeth are crowded or rotated -- there is simply less room for all the 42 teeth a dog should have. When teeth are crowded there is no space for gum between the teeth and each root has less support from the bone in the jaw. The lack of space between the teeth makes it easier for plaque and bacteria to accumulate and it is more difficult to keep the teeth clean. That, plus the little bone support, tends to lead to inflammation and loss of teeth. Additionally, a pug's underbite can cause abnormal contacts of teeth to other teeth and/or to tissue in the mouth. Compare this palate of an Australian Shepherd (on left) with a pug's (on right):

Plaque is a soft, sticky film of bacteria, food particles, and saliva, and it develops within hours after your pet eats. If you brush your pug's teeth after every meal or anytime he has snacks it's not that hard to remove. But, tartar will form within 24-72 hours if plaque has not been removed. Tartar is hardened plaque that becomes calcified and firmly attached to teeth. Often professional cleaning (the dentals under anesthesia at your vet) is required to remove tartar.

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80% of all dogs (and cats) show signs of poor dental health by the time they are 3 years old. 95% of pet dental health is left untreated.

Said a different way, only 5% of pet parents have compliance in the dental health of their pets because there aren’t a lot of good, easy methods available and they are too costly.

These statistics are not surprising given the fact that pet owners have not had many effective options available .... at least not until now.

• Brushing teeth? Well, this only works if you do it every single day. And that's assuming you can actually get your pug to cooperate and that you can reach those teeth to truly clean them. Honestly, we've never had success with this over 3 decades of owning pugs .... plus, we have multiple pugs. It's not realistic.

• Dentals? Yes, dental surgeries at your vet work, but they are expensive and, well, scary. There is always a risk of death when brachy breeds go under anesthesia. When you look at these photos of a "routine dental" you realize why pug owners are always so relieved to get that phone call from the vet's office saying "all went well."

There is no denying that anesthesia can be risky with brachycephalic breeds, like English Bulldogs and pugs, who have a higher overall perianesthetic mortality rate than other breeds. You can read more in this article, but studies have shown that brachycephalic dogs may have a higher risk of death compared to non-brachycephalic dogs, according to BMC Veterinary Research and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  We are blessed to have a vet who is an expert with brachy breeds but, even then, we know there is always a possibility of complications anytime any of our pugs -- young or old -- undergo a surgery.

• Water additives? These sound like a great idea! But, our pugs at least just turn their nose up and won't drink the water. These additives are also messy and leave the water bowl slimy. Even if your pug was to drink the water, these additives are often ineffective. Our vet for Pickwick Pugs concurs. If you are going to try this route, you need to make sure to  leave a SECOND bowl of water which is fresh and plain (with no additives added) so that your pug can quench his thirst.
• Chew Bones? Many don't work and most contain ingredients we don't approve of for our pugs -- corn, sugar, wheat, soy etc. The pug breed in general can be prone to allergies, so why tempt fate. Unfortunately, our pugs do not like those few healthy ones out there -- the ones which do not contain these allergy-tempting-ingredients,  (But they LOVED these plaque control chews! Even Lilibeth, our finicky pug!)
  

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As soon as PawTree came out with these plaque control chews we ordered some. We have been using them (yes, on all our pugs) over the past several months. After about 2.5 weeks we started noticing fresher breath. After about 90 days we started noticing whiter teeth and pinker gums (reduced plaque and tartar). There is no bleeding of the gums with our old senior (with the few teeth he has left ha!) which we were starting to see around Christmas time.  Similar results from other pet owners (dogs and cats) are pouring in. Here are some real life before and after photos . . .

So we have found that you need to use these chews for at least 90 days and be consistent and administer daily. (Again, pawTree recommends offering them along with some food -- a treat, snack, or meal). This supplement is now going to be an ongoing staple for our pugs. Doing the math, even with the amount of pugs we have, it is still much more cost effective than yearly dentals. It is so worth the investment. I regret not having taken before shots. But, we have not given these chews to our big rescue dogs, so I think we will start these Lexi and share the photos periodically, updating this blog post. Thankfully, other pet owners have been taking regular photos, however, so let's look at some of these before and after shots:

While the pugs think it's a "treat", it is actually controlling plaque and tarter. Scientifically, it works from the inside out through the bloodstream via their saliva.

Easy peasy! They chew it. They ingest it. Then it works from the inside out! Seconds in the mouth …. then it works for hours! Basically, seconds in the mouth for 24-hours of cleaning.

Yesterday I attended a zoom conference call with executives and experts from PawTree and I learned a lot about why this product has helped our pug's teeth. I want to share some of these specifics with you.

The key ingredient is 100% organic kelp. Pawtree searched high and low for the right product and ingredient because sourcing is key. The kelp in the PawTree plaque control chew is sustainably sourced from the pristine waters of Scandinavia. Kelp is rich in iodine and other minerals. Kelp supports oral health and overall health in our pets. (Incidentally, did you know that kelp can also help the pigment to develop and darken on the pug's mask and ears? We have given puppies who seem to be lighter -- some develop pigment more slowly, while others are basically born with it -- kelp as a supplement for years now.)

I took the time to write this blog post because I know pet owners (and especially pug owners) needed to know about this product. Once again, order now at http://pawtree.com/pickwickpugs

I was honestly reluctant to order these plaque chews initially because I figured they would be just like all the other brands we’ve tried in the past. I figured the pugs would turn their “noses” up at them, not eat, and that it would be a waste of money. Or, that they simply would not work. But, I felt like I should try them since I believe in all their other products so much. I am glad I did.

Many pet owners think that because they feed kibble, their pet will “clean its teeth” through the chewing. They think ‘the kibble is hard, and it will scrape the teeth, so I don’t need anything to control plaque and tartar.’. This is a fallacy, however, and perhaps why 95% of pets have poor oral hygiene. Does chewing cereal help you clean tartar off your own teeth? No. Neither does your dog chewing kibble.

Thinking your dog eating kibble will clean his teeth is like me telling you, “hey, don’t brush your teeth … just eat pretzels everyday … they’re hard and crunchy … they’ll scrape and clean your teeth.!”

Well, I hope you wouldn’t believe me if I said that. Don’t go out and buy Costco sizes of pretzels. It won’t work.

However, IF your pet uses the PawTree plaque control, the hard crunchy kibble (or raw bones or ?) that he’s eating will then help remove the plaque and tartar, because the plaque and tartar softens and it will start to break off.

Using Pawtree Plaque Control makes plaque and tartar easier to remove through everyday chewing.

Once again, these chews contain no corn, wheat, soy, artificial flavors, fillers, or preservatives.

It is made in the USA, developed by Veterinarians and Animal Nutritionists for both dogs and cats.
Before we close, let’s look at one more before and after set of photos (there are hundreds of these).

This product is quite simply a game changer and amazing. You have to allow it time to work. If you think about weight gain … it took 9 months to get the weight on, so you aren’t going to lose it in one week. The same with the tartar build-up. But if you are consistent and give it a few months, you will be thankful you added this into your daily routine. Your vet might not like it … he will be losing money … not just with the dentals, but with treatment and meds for all the diseases caused from gum disease and poor oral hygiene (liver, kidney, heart, bone infections, blood infections, sepsis, and diabetes.)

You get 90 small chews per jar. There’s a one sized jar which is for both dogs and cats. The directions and ingredients are on the bottle and on the website as well.

It's soft, so our senior pugs have no issues chewing it.

NOTE: We do not have any pugs with hyperthyroidism but, if we did, the iodine in the kelp would not be good for that pug.

Order now at http://pawtree.com/pickwickpugs.com 

I do have one favor. If you have time to take photos and document the results -- or any feedback at all -- I would love it if you could share and email.  The only reason I became a PawTree petpro is because I believe so strongly in their products and I see the positive results. We feed pawTree (kibble plus freeze-dried raw, and treats) each day. Our dogs also use many of their supplements daily (and have tried all of them). If I didn't believe in these products 100% I would not be feeding them and using them on our pugs (we also regularly use the Shed Shampoo/Conditioner, the Fresh Cotton Spray, the Flea/Tick Spray, the ear cleaner, and the supplements, with specific dogs: Gastroplus probiotic, aches away, bladder health, joint support, chillax, CBD, and feed pawTree kibble + pawTree freeze-dried raw, fish oil, treats daily, and broth and pawPairings seasonings on occasion.)

It makes me happy to hear when others have fabulous experiences as well. Thank you for considering pawTree for your pugs. Recently, the owner of one of the pugs we bred mentioned how healthy his boy is doing at 18 months. He feeds pawTree and follows our suggestions. He attributed his boy's health and athletic build and shiny coat to this nutrition plan -- plus some nice magic in the genetics ;) (thank you Mother Nature).

I took the time to write this blog post because I know pug owners needed to know about this product. With their 90 day money back guarantee, there is no risk to order! http://pawtree.com/pickwickpugs

Since I didn't get photos of the pugs' improvement, I will start taking regular photos of my big dog rescue, Lexi so folks can follow along with the progress. I will update this blog adding photos below regularly. Again, 90 days is the goal to really notice the difference. I will not be changing anything else in her diet. (kibble, fish oil, daily vitamin powder, and misc treats, and chews like occasional dehydrated chicken paws etc.) Here she is gobbling it up. It's no wonder the pugs eat it ... the "natural flavoring" is bacon flavoring!

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