Brushing your dogs teeth?

[crazypiglady]

So I’ve been told off by the vet today for not brushing my dogs teeth - I’ve never had a dog before & didn’t realise this is something you’re meant to do? Does anyone have any tips and tricks for doing this? I imagine it’s not like brushing children’s teeth at all!

Don't get the meat flavoured toothpaste. It's grim. We had an orangey smelling one once. It was great. Used a toothbrush, opened her mouth and brushed all around! She was a good and placid dog though. It was easy!

We get the groomers to do it, he has his toothbrush and toothpaste there!

Technically, you're meant to do it once a day.

As a vet, the proportion of owners I knew who do this is about 0-1%.
The vast majority will never have brushed their dogs' teeth.

Try a finger toothbrush if your dog doesn't like a regular one.
Start off slow to build their confidence.
The tasty toothpastes are a good idea so they see it more as a treat.

Get a baby’s toothbrush from the supermarket & some flavoured dog toothpaste. Not human toothpaste as they can’t spit though you could use baby one as they can’t spit either.
get some Plaque Off, buy online easily, to add to add to his/ her dinner. It’s only a seaweed concoction but it helps to soften the plaque so it’s easier to remove.
Start gently by just letting him lick a little of the toothpaste off your finger, they usually love the flavoured ones, then gently rub it on his teeth with your finger for a few days till he gets used to you messing with his mouth. Then you can start using the brush. Little & often to begin. It’s really worth doing.

I just use natural chews to keep my dogs' teeth clean.

I get my DH to brush BiteyDogs teeth. It has taken him years to master the art of doing it but it is quick as BiteyDog just tries to eat and lick the toothbrush to 'help' 😁

Oh and he still needed his teeth cleaning under GA by the vet ☹️ despite doing this daily.

I used to do my last Sheltie's teeth with an electric toothbrush, he loved it. The Sheltie I have now hates her teeth doing even with a normal brush - she would collapse if I tried again with an electric toothbrush. I had to have them scaled under anaesthetic a couple of years ago.

we have been doing if for a year or so, she is now 10
she took to it eventually, start with the finger,
she doesnt mind it at all
however today she is having teeth treatment, probable extraction at the vet, who said teeth cleaning is not good enough
can't win

Logic is a really good quality toothpaste. It's comes with a finger brush too so you don't have to buy a separate one.

As pp said, start slowly using some toothpaste on your finger and get your dog used to you moving his/her lips and touching the gums - if teeth haven't been cleaned before the gums might be a bit tender so go gently - and very gradually work your way towards using the brush.

It takes a long time to get most dogs used to having their teeth cleaned, my dog is 12 years old and she still has issues with it, although she does love the flavour and as soon as I say we're going to clean her teeth - I do it each night before she goes to bed - she jumps on the sofa and sits waiting, like the absolutely best girl, for me to attempt to clean them.

The vet says they're looking good so we must be doing something right.

If the dog's teeth are in a bad way though, brushing won't really have much impact and it might be necessary to have a scale and polish under anaesthetic to get them clean before you start cleaning each day.

And to answer your question, no it's nothing like cleaning children's teeth, unfortunately, unless your child enthusiastically waves his/her head around the whole time you're trying to clean their teeth.

I brush my dog's teeth - she even lifts her lip up when she sees me coming with the brush! She doesn't like it but puts up with it as she loves the taste of the Logic toothpaste! I think it depends on the individual dog as to how compliant they will be.

For my two I hope their jaws shut, insert loaded toothbrush at the back of the angle and work my way forward, then repeat for the other side.

Hold, not hope!

Never managed to do it for my rescue dog despite many attempts. So now just feed a raw chicken wing or raw chicken thigh each day as chewing on the bones and raw meat is meant to clean them. Hoping it works

I started a few years ago after a lifetime of owning dogs and not knowing I was supposed to be doing it. Mine tolerate it!

I do it every day and the vet says he has the most lovely teeth! He’s 3 now. He’s been used to it since puppyhood. I use chicken toothpaste (from Amazon) and a special pet toothbrush. It’s the enzyme in the toothpaste which helps so you don’t actually have to brush as much as you do humans teeth - just make sure the toothpaste is spread about with a little brushing which he will tolerate. The cost of treating poor teeth in older age is astronomical so it has to be worth it financially let alone making sure the dog has a clean mouth of pain free teeth for as much as possible of its life.

It's definitely worth trying to find a way- I have an aggressive rescue Pug whose teeth have cost me over the years

Scale polish and removal of 9 teeth (age 4) around £450 6 years ago

Scale and polish and removal of 3 teeth resulting from horrendous breath/gingivitis and tooth abscesses (poor thing) age about 6 - cost approx £500

Now needs his remaining teeth doing again: quote so far for scale and polish and up to 4 extractions - £750. It's getting to be a luxury hobby having a dog these days. She's insured but most policies don't cover dentals.