toothpaste for dogs?

[morethanyoubargainfor]

I have been told that i need to start brushing my loopy lurchers teeth.

Do i have to use special doogy toothbrushing stuff or is there a cheaper alternative?

somebody must know something about this!

I took my dog for her annual check up yesterday and was also told she has a slight build up on her teeth and to either give her daily those denta stick chews or to have a go at brushing. Vet said a normal Childs toothbrush should be fine but not human toothpaste as they aren't keen on the taste. Apparently you can buy chicken or other meat flavours doggy toothpaste from pet shops but I haven't looked into getting any yet.

We were given a special doggy toothbrush, which slips onto your finger. They gave us a sample of special toothpaste, but can you imagine sticking your finger into a puppy's mouth and massaging his teeth? One attempt was all we gave it! He just chewed my husband's finger and tried to get the thing off. He would have swallowed the "brush" if it had come off. We haven't bothered since, but do give him the occasional dentastick, or similar.

ok thanks, my dog already has a denta stick thing everyday but apparently not enough! i will look into the other stuff for him, i am sure it will be fun trying to brush his teeth

Denta sticks are rubbish IMO. They don't exactly take much chewing, do they?

Raw bones are the way to go to get your dogs teeth as clean as possible, it really does work and makes their breath smell much better too. They will spend hours chewing them.

I have never cleaned my dog's teeth and they do get raw bones to chew on, as well as othber chew toys, kongs etc. The vet always comments on how good their teeth are.

well this is the thing you see, he is treated in exactly the same way as the other dog who is older and his teeth are perfect. So i just think it is luck of the draw really.

They have sticks like dentasticks but they are the joint care ones, so principele is still the same.

what about Nylabones, my loopy lurcher loves his.

Definitely the luck of the draw. Greyhounds and lurchers seem to be prone to tartar build up.

If he'll let you brush his teeth, great. You do need special doggy toothpaste, as human stuff isn't good for dogs (tend to swallow it rather than spit it out!) and they're not keen on minty fresh (shame!)

If you can't brush his teeth, you can get a gel (called Logic gel) from your vets. It contains enzymes that help to reduce tartar build up. Not as good as brushing, but better than nothing. Hth

My greyhound had foul breath when he first got him - a little work with a toothbrush and some doggy toothpaste (called Dog a dent) and it's much better.

Dentastix are no use for cleaning, he inhales them .