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I saw a message in another thread about bad breath…one of the replies from a member was that they didn’t beleive in brushing a pet’s teeth becuase it can irritate the gum? Personally I brush my dogs teeth…It prevents bad breath and gingervitis and other gum diseases. Some dogs do have sensitive gums just like people, however, most tolerate it well. And done properly and with the right tools It shouldn’t bother them too much. Don’t forget a dog’s teeth also double as their hands so they are even undermore stress…What do you think?
I think whoever thinks it’s a bad idea to brush a dogs teeth should try NOT brushing their own teeth for say……12 years and see what they feel like!
ddmom…the original reply was under the heading of "bad breath" in the cat section. So I started this one..
I will be honest. I am a fairly new cat owner and I bought the toothbrush and the tooth paste but have not yet used it. I know I need too, but I can already tell is will be next to impossible to do it. I wouldn’t mind some ideas on how to make it as easy as possible.
How old is the new cat? If it is a kitten it should be easy to teach them by just beginning to use a little toothpaste on you finder. Also try to find a flavor of paste that the cat likes. it will make it easier if they think it is a treat.
She is probably about 1 1/2 or 2. She moved into my house after deciding she didn’t like living with her previosu family who are my neighbors. I have no idea if they brushed her teeth or not. I guess I will give it a shot this weekend and let you know what happens!
I had my dogs teeth professionally cleaned when he was 8 yrs and that’s it. His teeth are fine and I don’t want to hear from my vet that at the age of 12 he needs his teeth cleaned, we had a shih tzu who had that done and a few months later she had problems (keep in mind she was 14) and we had to put her down, same thing with a clients dog. I think when it comes to elderly dogs just leave it alone and in general I don’t think it’s a priority, dogs that live in the wild don’t get their teeth brushed and they do just fine. I get my dogs teeth done in full once and that’s it. 🙂
Dogs that live in the wild don’t live to be 14 either -so their teeth don’t need to last as long. You need to see some of the nasty mouths I see then you might start brushing your dog’s teeth. I feel so bad for the old dogs who come in with pus oozing from their gums and teeth literally just wiggling around in their head. Then you can’t pull the teeth because if you do, the jaw is so rotted from infection that you may easily break the jaw. And you wonder why your 14 yo dog had problems after a dental. – perhaps you should have had something done prior to age 14.
My vet never said anything until she was 14, and yes they won’t live that long in the wild but I don’t see it being a priority, I see dog teeth all the time and none of them are as bad as oozing puss and just gross in general and most of my clients don’t brush their dogs teeth and everything is just fine, I still say it needs to be professionally done at least once though.
I’m a vet tech and I see dogs teeth that are oozing pus around the gums more than once a week literally.
i can kida see both you points..just like people…some dogs have good teeth and some do not. I havea pup that never lets me do her teeth, but at least she chews on toys andbones and it keeps her teeth pretty clean. However on the flip side. My lab (RIP) had horrible teeth When I adopted him at 6 years old they were already shot. Apparently his other owners, in addition to beating him, feed in alpo wet food and didn’t provide any kind of chew to help his teeth. I had his teeth done twice and then realized that he had gingervitis so horribly that any further work would be tourture (vet’s word) and just to provide good chews as long as he wanted them, whith a good quality dry food and for the last year of his life I had to soften everything he ate. I think this would have been preventable with a little basic dental care. I brush my dogs teeth once a week..it does help a little
Are there any other ideas on what to do if ytour pet puts up a huge fight at dental care?
When my dad took his daschund to get his teeth cleaned professionally by a vet, they gave him a sedative so he wouldn’t get stressed and he slept through it. Is that standard procedure?
Pretty much since I don’t any dog woth like to hear those whirrring sound of dental equipment. They should have sused the same type of stuff they use on people so imagine the terror we all we when it’s time for or dentist visit..wouldn’t you want to sleep through it? LOL
Dentists and needles and all that stuff doesn’t really bother me. It’s also my understanding that professional cleaning should be done at least once a year, or is it needed more frequently?
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