Post Punk Kitchen Forum

My dogs are seven and have beautifully clean molars. Their front, canine teeth have some plaque buildup. I think the backs stay clean from them chewing on things where the fronts dont get much chewing action, obviously. Anyways, Ive had two vets now tell me that I need to be brushing.

I bought doggy tooth paste a long time ago and TRIED to brush and they wont have any of it. They will let me play around in their mouths with my hands but the minute they see a device such as a toothbrush (or the nail clipper when its time to trim their nails.) They book it.

Im just wondering if anyone has any tips. Worse case scenario I suppose I will get Daddy in on the fun and have him hold them down while I brush until they discover toothbrushes dont hurt. We did that with nail clippings for a bit and they actually go to the point of staying still to let me clip them without being held down. (We have to reacclimate them to that too cus we havent done it since Ive been preg and now they are scared of the clippers again.)

I had good luck with the Petzlife product that creep recommended here: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=25770

Here it is on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/PetzLife-Peppermi ... e+oral+gel

I can't recommend it highly enough. I've been using it regularly and the difference it makes is amazing. No brushing, just a squirt on either side.

Finger toothbrush and delicious toothpaste.

I have a finger toothbrush but I can't fit it between Penny's face and her teeth and I don't want to shove it in there and hurt her! Plus the vet told me to do it everyday and at £12 a tube of toothpaste I sure as hell can't afford that! Do you all brush every day?

I put a dollop of the gel I posted about on my finger into Cuddles' mouth every day, and the effects have been amazing. No shoving and no chance of injury. Its $20 a bottle, but honestly you don't use a ton.

I ended up buying a children's toothbrush and use that to get the outsides of his teeth. Unfortunately the finger brush was too huge to slide between teeth and cheek. And I have started brushing his teeth while he's in the tub getting his bath because it's the only time he's cowed enough to not bite my hand off. That means I'm only brushing once a week but it's better than nothing! I have doggie toothpaste but I have no idea if it's actually getting on the teeth or just getting swallowed.

My vet suggested wrapping guaze around your finger and putting doggie toothpaste on that, instead of a toothbrush. My boys tolerate that much better than the brush.

Also, we've had really really good results with this product:
http://www.amazon.com/Proden-PlaqueOff-Dental-Care-Dogs/dp/B0047VWPNI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368628979&sr=8-1&keywords=dog+plaque

My big guy's back teeth were in such awful shape, brown and yellow and covered in tartar, I was afraid he'd have to have them pulled. But he's been using this for almost a month now and they look sooo much better, even the vet commented how much better his teeth look. And I was brushing my little guy's teeth regularly, but still couldn't get rid of the buildup on his back teeth. A couple weeks of adding this stuff to his food, and they're looking much whiter!

Reporting back with updates!

We have been using the Proden PlaqueOff and the PetzLife and are brushing once/week. The little toothbrush is making it a lot easier to reach those back molars and he is getting more and more comfortable with me rooting around back there. I can actually see white patches on his back teeth now! The gum line is still being pretty stubborn, but hopefully I will be able to scrub that better too. I keep forgetting to apply the PetzLife gel at night before bed, but I have been pretty good at sprinkling the seaweed stuff on his food.

You know how there's a freaky baby thread? I think we need a freaky companion animal one, too. Rhodie is super in love with that seaweed stuff. Like, he gets really really excited every morning when he sees me pull the bottle out and starts whining for it. He will lick it off his food and then ignore the food. What a weirdo!