My Cooper is 27months old and has never had his teeth cleaned by me or the vet or groomer. Do any of you clean your own dog's teeth? His teeth and gums look really great to me but last time he had his shots (early May) vet said next year at the same time he should have his teeth cleaned. Here (USA) they anesthetize them to clean their teeth and I am not too sure I want that for mine. If you do your own dog's teeth, could you give me an idea of how you do it? Thanks so much.
Hi Yvonne, in UK there is a product called Plaqueoff, which was recommended to me when I adopted my two girls, aged 4 next week. I've only been using it for four months, but their teeth are great, white and plaque-free. They came to us with good teeth, to be fair, but I think they've improved. I wasn't going to start using a toothbrush, as they don't much enjoy their mouths being messed around with, so would highly recommend. Am sure it's available in US as well.
Saba has his teeth cleaned before bed. I use a doggy toothpaste and just a small-head toothbrush. He also has a Dentastix after his morning walk, and he has lovely teeth. He's very tolerant of the cleaning; it's something we've done since he was tiny, although now, he doesn't nip as much!
Hi Yvonne, I clean Hattie & Charlie's teeth every day Charlie is a rescue dog and I clicker trained him to let me do this which he does without any problems. Every night I say "teeth time" and they coming running to me with their tails wagging and sit infront of me. It's not only for hygiene reasons, which of course is very important but it is really useful if your dog will allow a vet to examine his mouth and teeth. Much easier to have a cooperative dog
I clean Ripple's teeth every day, I use Logic toothpaste and he loves the taste - I don't know if that is available in the U.S.
In this thread there are a few vids of people cleaning their dog's teeth, and a lot of discussion: http://thelabradorforum.com/threads/charlies-june-training-teeth-cleaning.6321/ Start small, though, by getting your dog used to you touching a lip, then lifting a lip, then touching a tooth. Then try it with the toothbrush, then add a bit of doggy toothpaste. Do this over a number of days, just slowly building it up. And use lots of treats to make it really rewarding for your dog If you do a search on the forum using terms like 'teeth cleaning toothbrush' you should find other threads on this. Using a toothbrush and toothpaste is the best way to keep teeth clean, as it's the best way to get under the gum line. Well done on wanting to get your dog comfortable with this
I brush Dexter's teeth, he does like to lick the doggy toothpaste off the brush so I use two. One is a kiddies toothbrush, the other a small head soft toothbrush.
Hah! Is the Mother Goose and Grimm cartoon in your local paper? At the link it's the Thursday, May 26 one. Take a look. http://www.grimmy.com/ I never cleaned Jet's teeth in all her 14.5 years, nor did the Vet, and they were sparkly and white her whole life. I think it's one reason people often thought she was years younger than she was. I did put the Oxyfresh Oral Hygiene Solution in her drinking water all her life but then got scared off it when I read it contained benzene. I'm not sure now it does or if in harmful amounts. Our Vet recommended it. OUr cats drank the same water and they did not need teeth cleaning either, unusual for cats. https://well.ca/products/oxyfresh-p...g5emSskcxov24V7vsiHyTO2CYcRV0s6PoKRoCdTbw_wcB
Thank you, Snowshoe!! Cooper's teeth look wonderful.....sort of scary though when vet says he should have teeth cleaned next May!!! Still, if there was plaque on them right now...why would she want to wait until next May???!!! I know it's expensive plus they go under....I dont like that. One thing is if they need surgery but another is for clean teeth!!! Specially when I can do the cleaning.....thanks for all your responses. I have already ordered PlaqueOff from Amazon and see how that works.....I noticed under reviews for the product that you add it to their food....what could be easier. So, hope it works for me, too!
Does anyone who feeds their dog raw meaty bones clean their dog's teeth? I've never seen the need to clean Snowie's teeth, he's 4.5 years old and they're as white as white -- although I do think we should've persevered handling his teeth in case he needs them seen to by a vet. He's comfortable with handling all other body parts, but his teeth, well, if you try to open his mouth it seems he instinctively shuts it. I can lift his lips and touch the outside-facing teeth, but really difficult to get him to keep his mouth wide open to see inside.
I don't feed a raw diet but my dogs do get consumable meaty bones sometimes. I think teeth stay white for a while but it's the plaque/tartar buildup that causes disease which can also cause other health problems not just dental. My rescue dog Charlie is 5 1/2 years old and he has beautiful white teeth but I still brush them to keep them like that for as long as possible and to help avoid any gum disease or dental issues
We use dentastix, but sometimes clean her teeth with a brush. Before we moved house our vet got us some chicken flavoured toothpaste for our last dog. She really liked it, which made cleaning teeth much easier.
I gave up a few years ago using Dentastix not only due to the cost and they didn't touch the sides for more than 20 seconds so no teeth cleaning do you know they have a lot of sugar in them, so I am told, I haven't checked the packet though?
We feed Obi raw meaty bones but still brush his teeth. I think he still needs the brushing as the bones don't do a thorough job of his front teeth, for him anyway. It probably also depends a bit on how your dog actually chews the bone and on the type of bone (things that the dog has to slice through are best and bones that have a more porous looking structure are best - basically that means bird bones or bones other than mammal leg bones). I would look at it the way we look at our own teeth. I don't eat raw meaty bones or put teeth-cleany stuff in my water but I suspect that even if I did that wouldn't be enough to make sure I kept my teeth in good shape for a lifetime. Might not be the best analogy but it's how I look at it. Plus my dog dentist recommended brushing as the most effective thing to do.
I don't really understand not cleaning a dog's teeth....humans didn't used to clean their teeth and had really rubbish teeth as a result! Even though they chewed stuff. So, why wouldn't you clean your dog's teeth? Sure, 'wild' animals don't clean their teeth - they probably have rubbish teeth. And, anyway, your dog isn't wild. He can benefit from tooth hygiene just like 'not wild' humans.
You just add it to the food... it's got seaweed in it, apparently. However, whilst I'll still use it, because I think it's very good, I must admit that it's made me think that perhaps I should see if my two will allow me to clean their teeth. Having only had them for a few months I have no knowledge of their background, but their teeth were good when they arrived, so it may be that they've always had their teeth cleaned and are missing it! There's a thought!
My girls are fed a raw diet with raw meaty bones, and I don't clean their teeth, but, having read such wise words from experienced labrador owners, I now realise that my approach may be a bit naive. I'm going to give it a go!
Thanks,Nicky....I am also going to clean his teeth PLUS add the Plaqueoff to his water. He let's me put my fingers in his mouth and check his teeth.....not happily, but he "allows" it.I do have a toothbrush that the vet gave me but have to go and buy toothpaste for dogs. The vet had told me to get a tissue and work my fingers across his teeth every day and I've tried that too. He is not totally OK with that because he really wants the tissue! But I agree with all the pro's here on this Forum that teeth cleaning is a must. I certainly don't want to harm my dog because I don't clean his teeth.....so thank you all for your answers and advice. Well done! I think a lot of us have learned a very important lesson.
Homer has a Denastix every evening after dinner, sometimes he gets two, if hubby feeds him before I get home then he demands I give him one too and I always give in. We have a toothbrush than goes onto the end of your finger and delicious toothpaste but that's quite hard because he licks off all the tooth past before the tooth brush has a chance of getting near his teeth.
