I need to brush my dog%26#039;s teeth but every time I try I have to tackle her and put her in a head lock...then she spits it out on my clothes and the carpet! I give her beef flavor toothpaste and she still hates it!
She has disgusting teeth and the WORST fish breath ever!
Her teeth look like this, (this isn%26#039;t her, but teeth look the same)
http://www3.telus.net/bonorlea/a6a09566/...
So...tell me, what do I do? We don%26#039;t really want to pay to take her to a vet%26#039;s, but if it%26#039;s serious, then we will!
Dog won%26#039;t let me brush teeth!?
If she has tarter built up on her teeth than brushing them won%26#039;t get it off. It needs to be scraped off by the vet - which is one of the things they do during a dental. Brushing her teeth is good - it helps prevent tarter from forming, but once it%26#039;s there you can%26#039;t brush it off. The longer you wait to take her to the vet the more expensive it will be. If her teeth start to rot or get cavities then she%26#039;ll need to have some of them pulled, and that%26#039;s not cheap.
As far as brushing techniques go, there are a few. I like the finger brush. It fits right over your finger and gives you a little more control over the brushing. You can also use a regular tooth brush which keeps your hand away from the teeth - that%26#039;s better if you dog tends to bite the brush (better the brush than your finger). Some dogs actually like electric tooth brushes. If your dog tolerates one it%26#039;s actually easier because the brush does most of the work for you. Also there are several different flavors of doggie toothpaste you might want to experiment with.
Good Luck!!
Reply:A vet is probably the best place to start anyways! They can perform a really thorough dental cleaning under anesthesia, and get rid of a lot of the crud and build-up.
This in turn will make it a lot easier for you to keep up with daily maintenance rather than trying to fix the problem. Even daily brushing won%26#039;t get rid of hardened tartar and calculus.
As for getting your dog to let you brush, it%26#039;s going to take time. You might want to try some different flavored toothpastes. The paste is actually more for the dog%26#039;s sake than the cleaning process -- you could brush with just water and pretty much get the same effect. Just take it slow, brush a tooth for a few seconds and offer a very small treat. Increase the time you brush a little bit more each day. Use a reward system and hopefully after a few weeks your dog will associate being good for the brushing with getting a reward afterwards!
The goal with brushing is to remove food debris and bacteria, so trying to brush off years of tartar is going to be impossible.
Reply:you need to pay to take her to the vet. good for you for trying to brush her teeth, but no amount of brushing at this point is going to make the teeth look better. you need to have the vet do a dental cleaning. even with toothbrushing dog%26#039;s still need to have a professional dental every so often. just like humans do. if you don%26#039;t have the tarter and bacteria removed that has already built up it can eventually lead to other problems, such as heart, kidney and liver failure. if you have never tried to brush her teeth and all of a sudden showed up one day put her into a head lock and pinned her to the ground and shoved a stick in her mouth, beef flavore or not she%26#039;s not going to like it. start slowly. get her accustomed to you messing with her mouth. start off by doing a muzzle massage for a few mins each day. then move onto lifting up her lip and touching the teeth and gums. only for a few moments. once you can do that for a longer period of time, try getting a finger brush. one you can put on your finger and put the dog toothpaste on and rub it on her gums and teeth. if you get her used to it slowly and don%26#039;t just pull WWE moves on her she%26#039;ll be better about it. but start at the vet. get those teeth cleaned and free of tarter and bacteria and you%26#039;ll have a fresh start. but also plan on that she%26#039;ll probably need another dental cleaning in a few years. but the brushing will greatly reduce the amount of tarter and bacteria that is on her teeth during that time.
sometimes that nasty smell is just the bacteria and tarter. other times it%26#039;s an infected or abcessed tooth. which left untreated by a vet can cause serious damage. so start at the vet. it will be the best option.
Reply:Sounds to me like you are going at it all wrong.. Head lock, and tackle... Don%26#039;t sound like teeth cleaning procedure to me.. You might want to slowly get her used to the tooth brush and all involved.. If the only way you can go at things is with a tackle.. I would think about letting the vet have a go at it.
Reply:First of all, you REALLY should take her to the vet. You will never get that off with brushing alone. What if your teeth looked like that, what would your dentist say?
As far as brushing. It sounds like she not only doesn%26#039;t like the technique, but also the toothpaste. If she is spitting it out, she probably doesn%26#039;t like it. Try this. Put a little of the toothpaste on your finger and see if she will lick it off. If she won%26#039;t, then you might have to try a different kind. I use a Poultry flavored one from Petsmart that my dog just ABSOLUTELY loves. I had no trouble getting her to let me brush her teeth even the first time. After only three times now, she will just lie down on her back and let me brush her teeth. She still tries to chew the brush, but at least not as dramatically as she did. I can get the job done now without having to hold her collar.
If she will lick it off your finger, then put a little on the toothbrush and just hold it out to her. See if you can get her to lick or chew it off. Do that for a few days, just let her get comfortable with the brush. After doing that, start moving it back and forth a little when she tastes it. Just doing a few teeth at a time. Over time she will let you do the whole mouth, it just takes work.
Also try to google %26quot;brushing dog%26#039;s teeth%26quot;, I%26#039;ve seen many sites that will give you techniques. If this one does not work, there are others out there.
Good luck. I hope this helps.
Reply:I would approach it a totally different way. It%26#039;ll take time, and in the meantime, you may want to take her to the vet.
First, start out by every night massaging her face. If she seems uncomfortable, do it only to give her a treat. (Massage and say %26quot;good girl%26quot; and put a treat in her mouth.) Slowly work up to her lips, and then her gums (over about a week.) Continue massaging her gums each night, and then slowly work the toothpaste into the mix. For a while, you may need to just use your fingers, and then work up to a toothbrush.
If the dog is scared, you want to ease her mind, so be calm, say soothing words, and praise her for good behavior.
It may take some time, but before too long, you%26#039;ll be able to brush her teeth no problem!
Reply:If her teeth are that bad she is probably in alot of pain. She should have her teeth cleaned by a vet. Having clean teeth is very important to a dogs health. It can poison her whole system.
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