Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I bought these on the recommendation of my vet. I have a 6 lb Pomeranian, and Poms traditionally have issues with extreme tartar buildup, and his mouth is so tiny that it's hard to get even a tiny doggy toothbrush in his mouth! I had been using gauze wrapped around my finger soaked in a white vinegar and water solution, but even my finger is too big! So I was looking forward to trying these. I bought the XS ones, and first tried 1 of the chews per day, and within days, he was horribly constipated and what came out was exceptionally sticky! It really stuck to his fur! So we cut them in half, so each half had equal parts of everything. After switching to had an XS chew per day, he stopped eating and drinking altogether and was walking funny less than a week later. I realized the problem had to be related to the Oravet chews, so I called the maker, Merial Pharmaceuticals, which has a number specifically for problems with anything they make. (Like if a toddler eats several...the parents would need immediate help! But not on that day! If anyone else had problems that day, they were out of luck! No poison control center could reach them either! Yet those chews have a chemical additives that REQUIRE their pharmaceutical makers to have an emergency line. That number was BUSY all day long! In this day and age? I called my vet and they said my dog needed to be seen, and because they were closing, they sent me to a 24 hour emergency vet. Walking in the door cost $220, and another $300 for an xray, which showed nothing but air in his gut, but at least assured the vet that he wasn't in immediate danger. He was in such severe pain that the vet gave him buprophenine, which kills pain, but doesn't constipate. It zonked him out for the night, at least. I took him to my own vet the next day, and he had an idea of what it could be, sent him home with meds, and said he should be much better the next day. He was! That constipation caused a massive yeast infection in his gut! Between that and the bloating, that's why he was in such pain! He recovered so quickly! That very next day, he was practically back to normal. I'm grateful that I have such an amazing vet!!!!! He apologized profusely for recommending the Oravet chews, and swore he'd never recommend them again, thank goodness! I had to pay the SPCA pet poison control center for help (it's not a free service) to try to find help from Merial! The next day, after their phone had been busy all day, the previous day, and it was working again. I was told they had phone problems. Not having access to their supposed 24/7 emergency line cost me over $600, plus the cost of meds and the SPCA Poison Control center (and it turns out that they could not reach Merial Pharmaceuticals either). I'm a senior on a fixed income, so paying that kind of money to help my service dog (yes, a 6 lb dog can tell me when my blood sugar drops too low, since I'm diabetic) was a neccesity, but will be very hard on me for months. I cannot believe that this even happened, but am horrified that the phone line designated for emergencies caused by Merial products was BUSY all day, and remained that way the ENTIRE DAY!!! They couldn't get the calls forwarded to a working number? So would I recommend these chews? NO WAY!!!!!!!!!! They made my dog horribly sick and in tremendous pain! I was scared he could die! And when I reached out to the Merial Pharmaceuticals for help, their EMERGENCY phone line was down all day long, costing me hundred of dollars. These chews are DANGEROUS, and their makers let an emergency number remain down the ENTIRE day!!!!!!! If you're going to try these, keep in mind that if a problem does arise, it's a crapshoot whether Merial will be accessible. BTW, even their website said to call that phone number for emergencies! It's not worth the risk of trying them when you cannot be sure their phone number for pharmaceutical emergencies as a result of the use of that product is going to be working on the day you have that emergency.