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Depends on your dog and your vet…a dog that chews and has a human to help take care of his teeth may not need to be cleaned as frequently as a dog who doesn;t chew or who only eats wet food. Your dogs diet does have an impact of his teeth…my little girl needs her’s done for the first time and she just turned 5
Surely just giving them bones will do that? Im sure they didnt have toothbrushes in the wild, and you may make them more sensitive.
Brushing your pets teeth is a good idea if you can get them to. Otherwise bones and chews and regular vet teeth cleanings would be good. And a pets teeth are like people’s, if you don’t clean them they will have periodontal disease too which can have an effect on the body as a whole. If you see bleeding in their gums, just like in human gums- it means there is an active infection present and the bacteria needs to be removed to have complete healing. It does not mean don’t touch the area because it may bleed just like when people don’t floss because "it makes their gums bleed". It’s bleeding because of the bacteria they have allowed to build up causing the infection- same as in dogs and cats and other animals. I know this because I’m a dental hygienist.
Very nice tgaddy…and dogs do not live in the wild anymore…they would also not live to be 10, 12, or 14 years old if they were fereal. Good dental hygiene is very import if your want your pet;s teeth to last as long as the rest of his body.
Okay you guys, my dogs are 2 and 4 and they get dry dog food. My vet says they need their teeth cleaned. I thought I would try to brush their teeth myself. Should I get a child’s soft toothbrush? What toothpaste should I use? Please, give me some tips.
They make toothpaste specifically for dogs, and you can find it at most large pet stores.
Thanks holtho. I will get the toothpaste. Didn’t even think of getting it there. My brain must be in overdrive, or underdrive. Something!!!!!!!!!
My mom had a dog growing up, and she never had to brush it’s teeth, and nothing bad happened….so im not sure….
zbug, the thing of it is we had dogs growing up too and I don’t think the vet ever told our parents or us that their teeth needed care or if the vets did, the pet owners didn’t do anything about it. At least I don’t remember my folks talking about it or even brushing our dogs teeth. But ignorance is no excuse so I will try to brush them. I hope they tolerate the brushing. I am sure they already have a lot of tartar on their teeth, even though their teeth look good to me. Will give it a try.
You know it pretty much depends on the dog and like I said wild dogs don’t get their teeth brushed, it’s like wolves in zoos don’t get their teeth brushed, things need to be a little more natural. We’ve had a few dogs over time and not one of them had teeth problems. I just don’t believe they need it done everyday and my dogs have treats that’s good for their teeth and they do just fine, so I think these dogs who come in with bad teeth don’t get bones or treats or possibly have a poor diet but I don’t believe it’s from not brushing. 🙂
I look at it this way..can it hurt to be able to brush your pets teeth and hable thier mouth? I don’t think so. and yes while years ago no one really thought about pets teeth, I’ll use phoenix as a example: Phoenix was 6 years old when I got him from the shelter. by seven his teether were shot..he lived to be almost 17 years old. However his teeth were horrible, the last years of his life I had to moisten almost everything he ate…and yes he did have professional cleanings and bones and chews, but since they were so horrible nothing really helps…and that was a shame.
I brush my dogs teeth every other day- he loves it- we got him a soft brush & doggie toothpaste- his teeth are whiter than mine!! Good work! slakars@comcast.net
🙂OMG I totally forgot about flossing. That’s really better than brushing. A dentist would tell you it’s better to floss if you have to do one or the other. So I will ask my vet what they have available for flossing. Since I am taking my dogs in for their spring shots, I will ask them to show me how to do it. I have gentle dogs, but don’t know if I will need help with this project. Probably cost a fortune if I get it from my vet. What a job!!!!!!!!!!!
Loveanimals, that person is a troll. You do not need to floss a dog’s teeth.
Oh, thanks and I fell for it. I wish these trolls would get off line forever.
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