brushing teeth

[Margaret J]

in answer to Craig's question on teeth brushing

i brush my dogs teeth about twice a month i have included some pics.....

my advice is to get you dog used to being touched as soon as possible.......i.e. paws mouth stomach this will make your life easier especially when visiting the vet.

for brushing their teeth i start asap opening their mouth and touching their teeth and gums gently ..........always treat after your dog has allowed you to do this......this will help them relate it to a nice event.........

then gradually introduce a baby soft tooth brush (without paste at first) and gently massage the gum area.......then once your dog is comfortable with this you can introduce the paste .........i use baby paste for pups and normal paste same as i use when the dog has adult teeth.......they can froth a little at the mouth.....i only use a tiny drop.

sine your dog is older Craig if he is not used to being handled around the mouth i would start with rubbing something nice like the peanut butter or some jam on my fingers and allowing it to be licked off......not open fingered but like a slack fist so they need to almost have your hand in their mouth......when relaxed i would build up from a gentle rub of the gums, teeth and roof of the mouth until you can introduce the tooth brush..............

HOPE THIS HELPS ................ happy brushing

[Suzanne H]

Im impressed!

We have to have one brushing and one holding the gob open. He doesn't try to escape so I don't think he minds it, but he wont' open his mouth for long.

[Jack]

Mine allow me to do this for them too,albeit briefer than I would like but if I'm insistent upon them having a good clean then it's a good clean they get - whoever said Staffies were uncontrollable savage beasts just haven't met mine.......or maybe I'm just more scary than they are

TIP......dogs shouldn't have their teeth brushed with human toothpaste due to the flouride content....not sure if it's toxic to them or something but anyway these days you CAN get minty smelling and flavoured doggy toothpaste from pretty much any pet store rather than the old fashioned meaty ones
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[Craig/Tracy]

Thanks Margaret and Jack. Good stuff.

[Isabel]

I've heard you shouldn't use human toothpaste on dogs too, think you can get doggy toothpaste.