Brushing teeth

[dereksbicycles]

Have you ever tried to brush your dog or cat's teeth? If so, what was the result? Did they tell you they would rather have bad breath than being brushed again? Did they smile and look forward to being brushed? Share your stories .

 

[Bottesini]

I have never had a dog that enjoyed teeth brushing. I give my dogs dental chews so they clean their own teeth while having fun.

We always get compliments from the veterinarian on how great our dogs teeth are.

 

[Lau2046]

I didn't. I don't think my dogs would have appreciated it and I know my cats would have bitten my fingers off for effort....I can't even trim their nails....

Laura

 

[caz12]

i brush my friends dog teeth last week his breath was minging nope smile was not his expression.i want clean my cats two theeth he got left but he hates my guts(all women)vet said needs be done.you clean cats teeth then post what happens

 

[VamPyroX]

Every pet responds differently to having their teeth brushed. Some enjoy it. Some don't enjoy it.

You may have to experiment on different approaches to see which is easier for your pet.

I've never brushed any pets' teeth. When I have my own pet, I will probably brush its teeth whenever I can.

They do have special chew toys that cleans teeth.

My uncle and aunt used to have a schnauzer that had horrible breath. So, they bought a special breath mint thing where one drop is enough to make your breath smell very good. They just hold the bottle upside down and the dog will take a lick. One lick gives him one drop and he enjoys it... and everyone else enjoys the fresh clean smell.

 

[dereksbicycles]

I was in a pet store that sold toothbrushes.

 

[SeanB]

Once after my lab was rummaging through a friend's trash. My lab didn''t like the brushing, but he sure licked it up! I rinsed his mouth and had him drink water afterwards. Then he looks at me as if this was some kind of punishment. Those puppy eyes get to ya, so the tube hasn't been used since. Using dental chews (as Bottesini mentioned) and ice cubes keeps their overall teeth and breath clean, but keep them out of garbage.
The result is lord have mercy! LOL

 

[cdmeggers]

I didn't feel like the dental chews did much for my dog's teeth. I do brush his teeth from time to time, mostly to help combat the nasty breath he has at times.

 

[dogmom]

I brushed my very first Rottie's teeth because she has medical issues and couldn't eat raw <dog> food and bones. I never brushed my Lab's teeth who was alive during that same period and did outlive my first beloved girl. My Lab got raw bones and he never had a dental.
You can train a dog to tolerate or accept teeth brushing but it takes daily practice from puppyhood with very high-value treats so the puppy associates the tooth brush and the mouth handling with goodies. Most dogs will learn to tolerate brushing eventually if started this way and IF you avoid punishment and drama with it.
But it will usually not ever be something the dog really likes.

"Dry food cleans teeth" is a marketing myth.
Dental chew products may or may not work for any given dog.

Nails....same way... it's taken us a year and and half to get my youngest Rottie to accept us doing her nails and at first we couldn't even do more than one nail. Originally as a baby puppy I would hold a raw turkey neck for her to be pre-occupied with and hubby would dremel, but she quickly got too strong for the turkey neck thing to work.
But we still made a game out of it using very yummy treats like fish and cheese and hot dogs and every couple of days we'd take out the dremel and one person would treat and one would dremel- sometimes we didn't even get through one nail. One nail touch with dremel, or one actual dremel trim of a nail - she gets a goodie. Try to end before she struggles or pulls away.
Sometimes we went back over the same nail or didn't get them all over several days, but the biggest thing was that she was learning that the whole thing was harmless.

So it's taken us til this point actually, to get to using something like cut-up apple cubes and carrot pieces - which are not as automatically valued as something meaty and stinky - and we can actually do a whole set of nails with her including dews. But the trick of it was pretty much every other day, we tried, if only for a minute, and made it a game and tried to end happily or at least neutrally. We didn't yell, or hold her down.

Now both dogs really like when we get the dremel tool out and will go zooming over to the couch and bounce up onto it to start the nail game!

 

[Mimsy]

I brush my dog's teeth every Saturday morning. I've seen dogs with gum disease from the built-up tartar and it can cause serious problems. Dental bones and hard food aren't reliable to clean their teeth properly. If your dog has tartar-free teeth and you don't brush them, consider yourself lucky. I learned in school that bacterial infections that started as gum disease kills many dogs. The bacteria from ill gums can enter the bloodstream and affect the dog's heart and kidneys.

The best thing to do is start when the dog is a puppy with the finger brush. You put it on your finger and use your other hand to made sure he doesn't bite down. After a few times, the dog gets used to it, especially if you combine it with a nice fur brushing afterwards.

Older dogs who will no way in hell let you brush their teeth should have a yearly cleaning from the vet to prevent gum disease.

Also, dogs can get cavities just like humans. It can be painful to the dog who might be suffering, and it is a difficult thing to determine if your dog has a cavity since he can't tell you where it's hurting him. Brushing the teeth can help prevent that.

Cats? They're a WHOLE different story. Same teeth problems, but good luck getting them to ever let you brush their teeth. lol

 

[dogmom]

Mimsy, it's great that you brush your dog's teeth so routinely!
I forgot about those finger brushes - yeah, they're a good intro. I think we may have even had one some years ago.