oral health

jaye, have you ever tried cow hooves? 

Sticks are not a great thing to let dogs chew on.  They can easily splinter and become imbedded in their mouths/throats.  A friend's dog chewed on sticks and ended up with an abcess in his head (!!) from a piece of a stick that splintered off.  True story and it was gross!

is that a grocery store or a pet store thing?

Jaye, I think kennel keeper is right, follow your heart.  If you have a gut feeling about something, go with it.
I too feed Bubblegum raw egg everyday, I give her raw bones once in a while. I do cook her meat that I put on her kibble though.  I don't particularly think she is going to get sick from the raw meat, but I know she can, its not worth it to me, so I cook it. Sometimes I give her some raw meat when I'm cutting some up for a dish to make, and I give her the raw heart, gizzard and neck of a turkey or chicken with I make them.....but I always get a bit nervous about it.   
Your right there is a risk with just about everything, you must choose your battles!

jaye, have you ever tried cow hooves?

 
 " is that a grocery store or a pet store thing? "
 
   You find them at stores like PetsMart and feed stores but be advised that dogs have broken teeth chewing on them. You said there was another disease your vet warned you about besides salmonella and e-coli when feeding raw meat; was it toxoplasmosis? The parasite that causes the disease is in 8% of beef and 20% of lamb and pork. In order for the cysts to be destroyed, the meat has to be kept in a freezer that is 10 degrees farenheit or lower.
 
         [linkhttp://www.crvetcenter.com/images/Newsletters/crvcnewsletterDec02p1.pdf]http://www.crvetcenter.com/images/Newsletters/crvcnewsletterDec02p1.pdf[/link]
 
  I agree with kennel_keeper, follow your heart and do what you feel comfortable with. What about putting peanut butter in a kong ball and putting the kong ball in the freezer? That will last your dog for hours and is very safe. I don't feed raw but I give Jessie a raw soupbone once a week. Never leave your dog unsupervised with a bone, rawhide, bullystick, etc., even if they break off small pieces and chew them like Jessie does.

well i just got back from the store and the butcher section was closed but there was a girl there cleaning up and she said the butcher will save bones for my dog i just have go in tomorrow and ask him to save them.  im gonna go ahead and give her raw bones but im not going to feed her raw meat, maybe the ocassional like dyan said she does but im definately not going to make a point of it.

yeah she doesnt have a kong yet but i plan on getting her one, i got her one of those snack dispensing balls but i dont think emma really likes that.  now a kong is good fun for her to chew on and get a snack out of but it doesnt prevent tartar build up and stuff does it?

   No, I don't think it does. The only reason I give Jessie a raw bone once a week is to remove any tartar that brushing her teeth doesn't get. I used to give her rawhides but had to stop giving those to her when she was on a food elimination diet to test for food allergies, so I gave her raw soup bones instead because she had never had those. Now she won't chew rawhides anymore, loves the soup bones. She will also chew bullysticks. Kong makes a product called "Dental Stick" to help remove tarter. You fill it with "Stuff'n Paste" to get the dog to chew on it.  I've been thinking about trying one.

I've got a dental stick and I haven't been all that impressed. Actually, I may have thrown it away. It has those little ridges, and Emma used her front teeth to pick the ridges off of the stick, effectively destroying the toy in a matter of a few minutes. 

Well, I know I'm a little late and you've already made your decision. 
 
But, I've had good luck with Chew & Brush bones, the turkey & rice Edible Nylabone and they also made a potato and cheese one now that I like to use. 
 
I've also tried something called N-Bone, they have one flavor called Pearly Whites.  Willow doesn't like it but it's good and they have a couple of other flavors.  She liked the peanut butter one.  
 
I do use Bully Sticks on occasion but I find I need to be careful with them, she sometimes gets diarrhea, depending on the size of the stick and how dark it is. 
 
Anyway, I'm not against raw but since I can't feed it I've got lots of alternatives. 

a kong isn't going to do anything for teeth cleaning. It's all about risk and managing risk. Here are your options:
1) do nothing. Your dog will then need regular teeth cleanings at the vet, which are done under general anesthesia. Very risky. A certain % of dogs die under general anesthesia every year (depends on breed, individual dog). In between cleanings, the dog's teeth will be filthy, which promotes ill-health. Dog will most likely chew on things he finds, like chairlegs and shoes, since dogs have a strong need to chew.
2) brush dog's teeth. This sort of works. You will need fewer teeth cleanings. See option 1) about the risks involved in teeth cleanings and dog finding his own sources of chewing.
3) rawhides, greenies, other store bought dog chewies all seem to work about as well as brushing dog's teeth. Dogs have died from choking/bowel obstructions from these items. The ingredients are NOT healthy. Rawhides and smoked bones and preserved pig ears and cow hooves contain carcinogens. 
3) raw recreational bones. These are things like hard marrow bones. Do an ok job of cleaning teeth. Slight risk of breaking a tooth.
4) raw meaty bones. These are things like raw chicken wings. Excellent for cleaning teeth, and good for the dog's overall health. Slight risk of choking.
 
So many dogs have failed to contract diseases like salmonella from eating raw meat that I have to categorize the risk as close to zero. Not something to even worry about. 

   You summed it up fairly well mudpuppy.[]  I haven't got to the point where I'll give my dog chicken wings or other raw meaty bones that she can consume yet, don't know if I ever will, but I wouldn't have given her raw soup bones or beef shank bones six months ago.

well i got two packs of beef knuckle bones so that should last her for a while.  now how can i train her to only chew on them in one spot

well, she seems to really like chewing on the bone once she gets all the meat off of it.  she is so cute when shes chewing on it.  and it lasts so much longer than fake ones!
 
oh and i went to get a kong today but they were all out of x-large size.  but now im thinking she probly doesnt even need one.

I was nervous about giving my puppy raw bones but after some guidance from Glenda, I'm so glad I'm doing this.  Ruby absolutely loves them, they're inexpensive, and they help clean those sharp little teeth. Her obedience trainer recommended a book called Raw Meaty Bones Promote Health by Tom Lonsdale.  I haven't read it yet but have put it on hold at the library.  Trainer says it's got some great information it it so I'll give it a try.