Raw food texture for Shih Tzus with plaque problems

Raw feeding done well can be excellent — but done badly it creates nutritional gaps that cause real harm over time, and the difference is balance and sourcing. You've already spotted one of the texture traps: minced raw is essentially paste, and paste offers zero mechanical abrasion on teeth. For small breeds like Shih Tzus, which are already prone to dental problems, that can make plaque noticeably worse. Before I point you toward something better, tell me — is your dog currently on minced raw only, or are you mixing it with anything else? And roughly how heavy is she?

Eight months of mince with no texture — that does explain the buildup. The vet is right to flag it. Here's the issue: a Shih Tzu's jaw still benefits from working against something firm, but they can't manage the big bone-in chunks a larger breed handles. What you need is a raw food that contains small, naturally occurring pieces — cartilage, connective tissue, finely ground bone — rather than a smooth paste. That mechanical variety is what keeps the gum line cleaner. Has she had any digestive issues on raw so far, or has the gut side of things been fine?

Good — a settled gut means the transition to a different texture should be straightforward. My recommendation is Natural Instinct Pure Chicken. It's a complete raw food, but it's made with coarsely ground chicken including bone and cartilage rather than smooth mince, so the texture is genuinely different in the bowl. For a 6kg Shih Tzu you'd be feeding roughly 90–100g a day split across two meals. The bone content also means it's nutritionally balanced without you needing to add anything. It's widely available on Amazon UK in 1kg frozen packs, which suits a small dog well because you're not defrosting a large block for a tiny portion. The coarser grind won't resolve existing tartar — that needs a vet scale — but it will stop the problem accelerating the way smooth mince does. Worth pairing with a weekly raw meaty bone like a chicken neck, which Shih Tzus can usually manage and which adds the most abrasive action of all.

It's a fair concern and one worth taking seriously. The rule with raw bones is: raw only, never cooked — cooked bones splinter dangerously, raw ones are pliable and digest well. Chicken necks are one of the safest options for small dogs because they're soft enough that a Shih Tzu can crush them rather than swallow large shards. Supervise the first few times to see how she approaches it — most small dogs chew carefully once they understand what they're dealing with. If she's a gulper who tries to swallow things whole, move to chicken wings instead, which are harder to swallow without chewing. Start with one neck a week alongside the Natural Instinct Pure Chicken as her main meal and see how she gets on.

You're in a good position — her digestion is solid, she's young, and you've caught the dental issue early enough to course-correct before it becomes a real problem. Get the vet to scale the existing tartar when you can, then the improved texture and the bones should keep things much cleaner going forward. Good luck with her.