Need help with teeth brushing

[Valerie K]

I have read that a lot of you actually manage to brush your dog's teeth on a regular basis. Although I attempted this when my shih tzus were puppies, they hated it, fought it, and had so many health issues at the time that I let it go. One of my girls has juvenile kidney disease so I really need to start addressing her teeth as putting her under for a "dental" is not possible. They both seem to like the minty vanilla doggy paste and we have gotten to the point where I can stick my fingers in their mouth with the paste and rub it around, but the brush is another story. The paste ends up on their noses and in their ears and I can't get anywhere near their back teeth. How did you get your dogs to let you do this? BTW, they don't like having their faces messed with at all even though they have learned to let me clean their eyes. Ear cleaning, nail clipping, and regular combing is fine (well, they let me) but moustache maintenance and teeth is a no go....

[heathea]

If they will let you stick your fingers in there I would probably switch to a "finger" toothbrush. I have seen them at various pet stores, it just fits over your finger. My dogs HATE it when I brush their teeth and when I clean their ears, I am able to cut all the nails at one time, but they don't like it. I wish you luck and good for you for trying.
There are also teeth cleaning pads which you use with your hands as well.
Good luck, and with your little dogs, I would give up on using an actual brush.
:)
Heather

[Jesse Cruz]

hi, it is hard to brush those tiny teeth in such a little mouth. i use the fingerbrush because the toothbrush is too much for the little mouths. its really hard to brush but just do the best that you can.

[Valerie K]

Thanks for the replies. I never thought of those finger toothbrushes but I will go out and get one and see if it is any easier. Esmee chews on all kinds of dental bones and stuff, but Zoey has never been much for anything but the tags on her toys and the skirt on the couch....

[Maria Juliano]

I use a 3 sided toothbrush for my tzus, they give me a little resistance but they do like the taste of the natural vanilla flavor toothpaste. Consistency pays off.;)
http://www.petedge.com/images/us//local/products/family_viewlarger/zt20156.jpg

[Rowena Fry]

I am embarrassed to say that I haven't started brushing Gum Gum's teeth yet. I hope it's not too bad considering the fact that she's still in the latter stages of teething right now, just a couple more to go!

My question is, what brand of paste do you use and would recommend? A friend of mine mentioned something about a kind of gel that you just drip onto their teeth but requires no actual brushing. Does anyone use that?

Speaking of mouths, my god, Gum Gum's breath has been stinky recently! We haven't changed her food so it's not that, maybe it's just cos she's maturing or something, but really, it reeks! Will brushing help with that, cos the Greenies don't seem to be working!

[Maria Juliano]

I posted a picture of the toothbrush and toothpaste I use on my shih tzus. They LOVE the taste of the toothpaste!:p

[Rowena Fry]

Oh yeah, Maria! Didn't see that before, for some reason it didn't show up when I viewed the thread before I posted. Not sure whether I can find that out here, we only usually get really big brands, but I will make a note and keep an eye out. Thanks! :D

[Hee Yung Lee]

Hey, that looks like a great toothbrush. I'm going to have to find one of those. The problem I have with brushing Bogart's teeth is that he likes the flavor of the paste too much. He keeps trying to lick the brus which makes gettingto his teeth very difficult.

[Valerie K]

I bought that same toothbrush and paste combo. They love the toothpaste. (Triple Pet all natural vanilla) It is the first one that actually improves the quality of their breath. They were quite fond of the liver flavored paste as well, but it didn't do much for the rest of us.....

As for the three-headed toothbrush, I bow down before you if you can get that thing into a shih tzu's little mouth. Especially one (or two) who don't want it in there to begin with.... I have tried baby toothbrushes, cute little pink ones with bugs bunny, the long two-sided one with the small head especially for puppies, and the above-mentioned three-headed job. Like Bogart, they try to eat the paste off the brush as it comes near their mouths, and when I try to insert the brush, whip their little monster heads around so it ends up in their ears or all over my shirt. Still going to give the finger brush a try.

As for Greenies, well they can make Esmee throw up as she gobbles them down too fast, and my non-chewer Zoey has been working on a petite size one for over 2 months now. (I pick it up after 10 min. because that is all it takes for Esmee to get down half of the next size up one. ) The vet also said they are very fattening and should only be given in moderation. The ingredients are actually not good for my little kidney girl, but at the rate of one per several months, won't do her any harm.

[Grace Erick]

I'm just going through this right now with my chihuahua, because they are notorious for losing teeth. She is 3 and just had her first professional cleaning under anesthesia. She had one old baby tooth pulled and another one that was sticking out a little from the rest, so the vet said those teeth tend to get more tartar and have to be pulled especially since chis have short roots in their teeth that are towards the front.

Back to paste. The vet says to brush their teeth every day. Dog books say one or twice a week. I'm doing every other day. Capri is not real happy about it, but what I do it put the paste on with my finger first and try to brush one side, then put the paste on the other side and brush that side and the front teeth. It is so awkward, between me trying to even find her tiny teeth and her moving around. Petrodex makes a finger brush which is too big for Capri's mouth, so I use the tiny end of the tooth brush which isn't too bad.

What the vet told me is to find toothpaste that says it has enzyme action. That enzyme action is very, very important. Even if you just apply the paste with your finger to their teeth, the enzyme action breaks up the tartar, so even using a finger applying paste every day is very easy. I may do a finger brushing one day and use a brush the next day since the brush is awkward.

My dog sleeps with me, so I give her water, then put her in bed with me and apply the paste, then it's off to sleep. It's much easier to put the paste on the teeth first with your finger than try to open the dog's mouth wide enough to get the paste and brush in. I also tried that at first and it WAS a MESS!!!! Some how some got on her head, don't ask me how:)

Also, there is a product that you can buy in the big pet stores that are thin pads that you put in their mouth to rub against their teeth I suppose. I never tried them. They are a little expensive. If you did try them, look to see that they have the enymatic paste on them. I suppose they come with paste, so you don't buy it separately. My paste by Petrodex is chicken flavored and Capri seems to be okay with it.

[Grace Erick]

Actually, when I do Capri's teeth, I call it her spa evening. I brush the teeth, then massage her a little and brush her. I try to make it a pleasureable experience for her:)

[Sherri]

I use the same 3 sided toothbrush for Baxter and we use a poultry flavored toothpaste. He loves the toothpaste. He doesn't like us using the toothbrush. We figured if we continue to let him get use to the toothbrush, it will work eventually. We fill the brush with paste, and let him chew on the brush as we hold it. The 3 sides will get each tooth that he chews with and we just move it around his mouth so each tooth will get a chance to "chew". This way each tooth is getting paste and a touch with the brush. We figure this is better than nothing and just getting the enzyme toothpaste in his mouth will do the trick as well.

Our trainer at petsmart did tell us that it is important to brush, but not to worry so much about the inside of the teeth as the tounge will help to clean those naturally.