When Your Dog Hates Getting Its Teeth Brushed

More often than not, Cookie and Gigi (pictured above) are tolerant of getting their teeth brushed. Cookie is reluctant sometimes but considering she's accumulated quite a bit of tartar since her last dental cleaning, she still is a good sport. I have to get in the habit of doing it more frequently, because the longer you go between teeth cleanings, the more potential there is for bleeding. It's really not much different than humans.

Gigi tends to be a little afraid, but will come around when push comes to shove. Luckily, she doesn't have much tartar, so I don't spend as much time on her teeth as I do Cookie's.

The true rebel of the bunch is Homer (pictured right). For some reason, when he hears the drawer opening and the sound of the toothbrush being pulled out, he can't run and hide fast enough. He thinks that I am out to get him. If he's approached with a toothbrush in hand, he takes off for shelter.

Today, when I went to brush the dogs' teeth, Homer found his safety zone quickly enough like always. So I waited a while and then decided I would try again. I slowly opened the drawer. Instead of removing the dreaded red toothbrush, I took the tube of toothpaste and squeezed a dab of toothpaste onto my index finger. When I approached Homer, he barked and growled because I startled him. When he was looking at me, I extended my index finger so he could smell and lick the toothpaste. This was progress as far as I was concerned, because he didn't run.

Here are some tips to make your toothbrush time successful:

• Be Consistent! Dogs will start to be become more desensitized to having their teeth brush with consistency. When you slack off, the dogs will think that having their teeth brushed isn't so important. If you brush your dog's teeth, a few times a week, it will benefit them in the long run.
• Be Gentle! I always tend to do something in full force, but there are times that shouldn't be the case. Tooth time for dogs falls into that category.
• Be Patient. Some dogs aren't accustomed to having their mouths touched by their owners. Every little step gets you one step closer to building that trust between master and dog.

Let's Discuss!

How do you deal with tough dogs when it comes to clean teeth time?

It's All Related!

Greenies Dental Hygiene For Dogs A New Way To Make Teeth Sparkle

A New Way To Make Teeth Sparkle

*Photo from Morgue File

A New Discovery

There is a new product from Petrodex, the makers of dog teeth cleaning products. It is a gel that removes tartar and kills bacteria. It was invented by a pediatric dentist when he thought about the soldiers and how it would be hard to brush their teeth if there is no clean water nearby. Since this was created for pets, it eliminates the need for a toothbrush.

It's best to have your pet's teeth professionally cleaned first. Still, if you've been uncomfortable with picking up a brush, you may want to try this when it comes out in April.

Say Cheese!

Also, if your dog has a super smile, Petrodex will be having a photo contest where the winner gets a cameo in a national commercial. They will also be giving away teeth cleaning products as well. For more information, check out the Sentry Pet Care website.

For more information about this gel for pets visit this website.

Let's Discuss!

What do you think of this product? How do you keep your pet's teeth clean?

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Dental Hygiene
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An Extraction for Gigi

Gigi After Dental Surgery

Hello Everyone! Just wanted to let you know that Gigi turned out to be a real trooper. Everything went ok. We still don't know what caused the tooth to crack but did learn that her tooth was like this for quite some time.

I will bringing her in for a follow up visit because the area that the tooth was removed from was large and she needed sutures. I also will be administering pain medication and antibiotics until the prescription runs out. Now that the initial medication has worn off, Gigi is feeling the soreness from the extraction. Still, even after all that, it was well worth it, and the peace of mind knowing she'll be more herself now is priceless.

Thanks again for stopping by. Have a great day.

An Extraction for Gigi

Last week, I was brushing the dogs' teeth. While I was working on Gigi, I was spot cleaning an area with the brush. I heard a click that sounded like something cracked. As it turned out, she did have a small crack in her teeth. I immediately called the doctor and set up an appointment.

As it turned out, she had a slab crack. It's a rare occurrence where a dog has a cracked tooth, as in Gigi's case. It's even rarer when the dog is as young as she is (two years old). Tuesday, I'll be taking her in for a teeth cleaning, where part of the process is putting the dog under anesthesia. As part of the preparation, I have to give her 1.5 tablets of Clavamox (amoxicillin trihydrate clavulante potassium is the scientific name) two times a day with food.

It turns out that smaller breeds such as the Chinese Crested, Poodles are prone to having bad teeth. Hairless dogs like Chinese Crested and Xoloitzcuintle have a gene mutation that causes them to be hairless. It's that same gene mutation that causes their teeth to be weak. With smaller breeds like Lhasas and poodles, which Gigi is a mix of both, it seems that it's due to the teeth being spaced more closely together and as a result, plaque builds up in greater amounts.

Strange as it may seem, Greyhounds are also prone to having bad teeth. Many Greyhounds are given soft food as their meal during their racing days. As a result, they are going to have more plaque and future teeth problems. When they retire, some of them will have weakened teeth.

For those of you who may want to learn more about oral hygiene for canines, you may want to check out:

Dental Hygiene
Greenies

Thank you all for stopping by. I will write a follow-up post to let you all know how Gigi's surgery/cleaning goes. Bye for now.

Greenies

Some of you may already have heard of Greenies. For those of you who haven't, Greenies are a snack that came because the creator's dog Ivan basically had bad breat and tartar. These were formulated as soft chews that look like toothbrushes. Owned by the Nutro Products Corporation.

The products have a devoted following. The downside is that they tend to be pricey but if it's impossible to brush your dog's teeth, this may be a good alternative. (My cat, Kat will not let me anywhere near her teeth so I think this product may be the right thing.) Also, the website offers you a free sample of the product. Find the samples here. I will be having a batch of them coming in and will let you know how they work for my dogs and Kat.

I would love to hear if any of you guys have tried these for your dog (or cat). I hope you all are having a good week. I'm off to school now. Thanks for stopping in and if you would like to read more about dental hygiene, check out this post

Dental Hygiene

Hi All,

Today I am going to tackle a subject that some may consider disgusting, but necessary. Yes, that's right--brushing a dog's teeth.

I always in the past, would laugh off brushing a dog's teeth, until I took Blackie, my dog from my college days to the vet. His teeth were so badly damaged from tooth decay, that he had to have at least three of them extracted. That act itself was incomprehensible to me. Worse yet, dogs are similar to humans and dental infections can adversely affect other parts of the body such as the heart or other vital organs.

Ever since then, I hit the toothbrush aisle in the local pet store and haven't looked back. They carry toothbrushes, toothpaste and dental sets, specially geared for pets. You should see the toothpastes. Petrodex makes a special beef toothpaste as well as a chicken flavored one. Just giving the dogs a taste is a great way to start.

Cookie is not fond of this, but she'll let me do it. She's been pretty good over the years and the results have been well worth it. She hasn't had one tooth extracted and we are entering our sixth year of owning her. Gigi, is new to this and is more laid-back about it. Since I've bought the type of toothbrush that has one big brush and a little brush on the other side, I find the smaller brush works better for Gigi since her mouth is pretty small.

If you're really on a mission to be tartar-free, a scraper works great, but the noise can tend to be stressful for the dog. The vet does offer teeth-cleaning as well but at about $300 USD, which includes putting your dog under anesthesia, it may be a little high for your wallet. I've done it a couple of times, and the end result is well worth it. The last time I had it done, the vet told me that she hadn't seen a dog with such great teeth for a dog Cookie's age.

My cat will not let me near her with a 10 foot pole so I'm lucky if I can put some toothpaste on her chin and have her clean herself. Cats are probably handled best by the veternarians.

Anyhow, if you've always been on the fence about this topic, and you can handle a few minutes of squeamishness, there is nothing better for improving your pet's quality of life and it's great for building up the bond you have with your dog.

Below you will find some more information on this topic:

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/how-to-brush-your-dog-s-teeth/page1.aspx
http://www.suite101.com/blog/charladawson/how_to_brush_your_dogs_teeth
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=3687099n


Have a great day all!