Plaqueoff Bones Chicken

Almost nobody brushes their dog's teeth every day. The ones who say they do are usually describing a fortnight that ended some time ago, and the gap between what dental care is supposed to look like and what actually happens in a busy house is the whole reason a chew you can simply hand over exists.

PlaqueOff's active is seaweed — ProDen describe it as 100% natural seaweed and sell it under the name A.N ProDen. Their claim for how it works is the unusual part: it is taken up systemically and reaches the mouth through the saliva, softening plaque and tartar that has already formed, rather than scrubbing at it from the outside. The bone shape then does the mechanical half, scraping at the softened deposits as the animal chews. They are chicken and pumpkin flavoured, hypoallergenic, grain free, and carry omega 3 and 6.

• 13 large bones per pack
• Chicken and pumpkin flavour
• Active ingredient is 100% natural seaweed, sold as A.N ProDen
• Grain free, and described by the maker as hypoallergenic
• Contains omega 3 and 6
• ProDen say results are seen in 3 to 8 weeks of daily use

What the label does not tell you. There are no analytical constituents printed on this pack and no calorie figure, so there is no way to fit a daily bone into an animal's food allowance except by eye. The makers file it under cat, and the seaweed and the flavour suit either species, but 13 large bones reads as a dog-sized product and no bodyweight guidance has been supplied at all. The 3 to 8 week window is ProDen's own number, not anything checked here — and a mouth that already has hard tartar, a sore gum or a broken tooth needs your vet looking at it, because no chew undoes that.

Who it's for: owners who have quietly given up on the toothbrush and want a daily habit they will actually keep, and anyone with a pet whose plaque comes back faster than they can stay on top of it.