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Tip For Tooth Brushing Without A Fight Or Bite


elenamarie

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Hi guys!

 

I started trying to use brushes and dog toothpaste on Sarah at ten weeks of age, and supposedly when one starts at that age the dog will accept tooth brushing. Alas, true to her breed, Sarah decided immediately that she wanted no part of that process and I have never been successful using a finger brush or toothbrush on her.

 

I do worry about keeping her teeth healthy, and came up with a plan that has worked well. At her most recent annual exam her vet says her teeth are perfect and praised me for my attention to oral health. When I told him that she won't allow me to brush her teeth he was stunned that her teeth and gums are in such good shape until I revealed my trick.

 

Take an appropriately sized greenie or other textured treat that your dog loves and smear a pea-size amount of dog toothpaste on the rough surface, being sure to get the toothpaste down in the cracks and crevices. The toothpaste contains an enzyme that detatches plaque from the tooth surface, and as the dog chews on the greenie/whatnot, the loosened plaque is removed from the surface of the tooth, taking the bad bacterial load with it. I like using the larger greenies because it requires Sarah to use her back teeth, which are most susceptible to plaque buildup and concurrent damage.

 

I do this once a week, sometimes one every two weeks if I forget a week. According to the vet, her teeth look like they belong to a year-old pup, not a four year old adult.

 

So if your Sibe won't accept tooth brushing this trick might help keep your dog's teeth in good shape. I hope it works as well for your dog as it has for Sarah.

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Awesome advice

 

Is this what you mean by a "Greenie" ??

 

 

Kinda. Whatever you use, it needs to have grooves and such. Otherwise the dog can lick the toothpaste off and then eat the treat, which defeats the plan. This is what I use. I get the toothpaste deep into the grooves at the one end so Sarah has to really bite into it to get to the chicken-flavor toothpaste.

 

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Julius my Siberian Husky has learned to come right up to the sink to get his teeth brushed. He loves the taste of the toothpaste that helps.

 

I am totally impressed! Sarah has never tolerated any kind of toothbrush, from day one. She'll eat an entire tube of doggie toothpaste but forget brushing. That's the only time she's intentionally bitten me, not hard of course but a real "I'm not playing around" use of the teeth.

 

Kudos to Julius!

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