How to care for your dogs teeth!

I bet you brush your teeth daily? I know I do! And we all know that by brushing our teeth, you can keep those horrible, expensive trips to the dentist down to a minimum! This is the same with our doggy friends, we need to keep an eye on their dental hygiene to reduce the chances of infections, pain and discomfort and bad breath! We thought it would be a great idea to share some tips and tricks for how you can do this.

By far the best method for keeping your dogs teeth clean is by brushing them twice daily. There are range of brushes and dog toothpastes specially formulated for our dogs, especially important as the toothpaste we use contains chemicals that can be toxic to dogs.

Dental chews can be a great way to help keep on top of your dogs dental hygiene too though you need to make sure that the chew itself is the right size for your dog, giving your dog a chew too small can be a choking hazard. Some chews are also high in calories so it is also important to adjust how much you feed your dog, check the packet or ask instore for help if needed!

So if brushing is the best method for keeping on top of your dogs dental hygiene, how do you brush a dogs teeth! It is hard enough on a toddler!

Making sure your dog is comfortable with having their teeth clean from a young age is our first bit of advice, making sure to give them a positive reward will help greatly in building up trust. When starting out training, start slow at a time your dog is usually calm and relaxed. Keep your sessions short and stop before your dog gets aggitated, this is to reduce the chance of teaching your dog they can get out of brushing their teeth by wriggling! Here are a few more tips:

• Start by stroking your dogs cheek for a few days to help them get used to your hand being by their mouth.
• Introduce their toothpaste on your finger and allowing your dog to lick it from your finger, only a small amount remember! This will help them get used to the taste.
• Once you know your dog is enjoying his or her toothpaste, start running your finger on the inside of their mouth along the gum line, do this for a few more days till you know your dog is comfortable.
• Introduce the toothbrush and allow them to lick the toothpaste from the toothbrush, do not brush just yet!
• Once they are comfrtable with licking the toothbrush after a few days, start to gently brush their teeth in small round motions stopping regularly so that they can lick the toothbrush as a reward. Start with the front teeth and move slowly backwards over a few days.

After about 2 to 3 weeks, you should be able to brush your dogs teeth with very little fuss, ideally brushing on the gum line for best dental hygiene. Older dogs may take slightly longer so do not panic if it is a longer process!

By brushing daily, you can also take good note of your dogs teeth, being able to notice anything that maybe adrift or wrong, enabling you to sort it with proper professional help where needed, reducing the chance of discomfort and pain.

So there it is, our guide to keeping your dogs teeth clean.