# How many of you brush your dog's teeth?



## Matt Grosch (Jul 4, 2009)

I am seeing a little discoloration in the back, and since im planning on having him for a long time, Ive been giving this some thought.


Any tips/insight/suggestions?


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## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

More raw meaty bones and some bleach trays.....LOL 

My dogs would never accept teeth brushing!!


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## Martine Loots (Dec 28, 2009)

Raw food and yr problems are gone


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## Deborah Vigil (Jul 20, 2009)

I use RAW Bones also but I also brush my dogs teeth about every two weeks 

I use the following stuff 

- Baby Finger Tooth Brush
- Toms Tooth Paste w/o Floride
- Flossing sticks

Process 

- Floss back teeth (both sides / upper & lower)
- Floss front teeth (upper & lower)
- Brush back teeth (both sides / upper & lower)
- Brush front teeth (upper & lower

Took me a little to get them to allow me but I practiced with the finger brush every night and then I 
was able to get them to allow me, even my Mal who I got him at the age of 3 and he had a little tartar on his teeth now he has NONE 

Dogs naturally will get staining 

Hope this helped you a little 

Deb


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## Kristen Cabe (Mar 27, 2006)

Deborah Vigil said:


> I use RAW Bones also but I also brush my dogs teeth about every two weeks
> 
> I use the following stuff
> 
> ...



You've got to be kidding. :-o


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## Tammy St. Louis (Feb 17, 2010)

I HAVE 9 DOGS and brush all of thier teeth at least once a week , they also get quite a bit of chew stuff, none have tartar and my 13 yr old schipperke has amazing teeth for her age , my vet always comments that you never see little dogs with good teeth as they get older, 
Teeth brushing is very important ( to me ) in my dogs health, its part of being a good dog owner , and part of general maintience such as nail trimming and nutrition and exercise, 
not all dogs take to it right away but that would be the day i would say my dog wont let me do ANYTHING ,,lol , 
my husky and i have had many problems with me brushing her teeth when i first started , including her biting me and atempting to bite me many times throughout 
she no longer does this 
we worked it through 
i use a electric toothbrush on them , they all accept it , and i use PETZLIFE toothpaste as it is supposed to help take tartar off, not sure how well it works i just know i have no tartar on my guys and they are almost all over 7 yrs old


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## Matt Grosch (Jul 4, 2009)

only problem with raw, it gives my dog the poops, cant even do raw chicken although I had luck with it for a while


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## Matt Grosch (Jul 4, 2009)

maybe I need to put a craiglist ad up, 'looking for hot chick to brush my dog's teeth'


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## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

Matt Grosch said:


> maybe I need to put a craiglist ad up, 'looking for hot chick to brush my dog's teeth'



Howard would probably do it for you....LOL

Tamara....I am sure I could make them let me do it, but I really have no inclination to teach my dogs this trick at all :-o

IMHO, they are dogs, not toddlers. :smile::smile:


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

One of mine has a tooth that kind of crosses over another one and creates a pocket where crud accumulates. 

I do brush his teeth with a finger-tip brush, and I consider it a lot more pleasant than paying for dental work. :-o

I brushed the teeth of a past dog, too, who had low saliva production and very fast tartar buildup on the outside back surfaces.

They're all raw-fed. As great for teeth as it is, it's not a cure-all for every dog. 

The training was pretty quick. The toothpaste is meat-flavored. :lol: I think it tickled at first, from the shivery-type reaction of the past one, so I do it firmly and quickly now.


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## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

This is totally meant in jest....

But, how the heck did dogs ever survive without us to do all this for them, wolves should be extinct by now with no dental care plans????


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Carol Boche said:


> This is totally meant in jest....
> 
> But, how the heck did dogs ever survive without us to do all this for them, wolves should be extinct by now with no dental care plans????


They broke teeth, cracked them, otherwise damaged them, got dental caries on surfaces that were misshapen, etc., and they suffered quietly.

Same as dogs with rotten teeth and no care for them -- they live with the pain.

Like a wolf with a broken leg or an injured eyeball or whatever -- they suffered, and they got along (or not) as well as they could.

I recall a very old post Jeff made about a wolf with a broken jaw -- what would that wolf do? He would suffer, and then he'd starve to death.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

By the way, the shrimp and chicken toothpaste may not be up there with green tripe for grossness, but it's pretty darned blech. :lol:

Dogs seem to like it a lot.


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## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

Connie Sutherland said:


> They broke teeth, cracked them, otherwise damaged them, got dental caries on surfaces that were misshapen, etc., and they suffered quietly.
> 
> Same as dogs with rotten teeth and no care -- they live in pain.
> 
> ...


Thanks for blowing that joke outta the water. 

Anyhoo....I don't brush the dogs teeth. They eat raw 98% of the time, are slow chewers on Rec Bones and if I see something I don't like (and yes I look) they go in for a check up.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Carol Boche said:


> Thanks for blowing that joke outta the water .... if I see something I don't like (and yes I look) they go in for a check up.



1. Sorry. :lol:

2. I know you do. _ Of course _I wasn't talking about you, or about any of the people here; this is the kind of board that's populated by owners who are careful with their dog's health.

I was at the vet last week getting bloodwork done on one of my dogs, and she told me about removing more than 20 rotten teeth from the mouth of a dog a client had adopted.

I can't even imagine the pain of a toothache times 20. The dog couldn't eat anything but very soft food, of course, but the pain -- I thought a lot about what pain that dog had to have been enduring.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Matt Grosch said:


> I am seeing a little discoloration in the back, and since im planning on having him for a long time, Ive been giving this some thought.
> 
> Any tips/insight/suggestions?


I'd start getting him accustomed to it. I know it sounds funny, but joking aside, why not? It can't hurt and it's cheap, and dental work can and isn't.


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## Chris McDonald (May 29, 2008)

Deborah Vigil said:


> I use RAW Bones also but I also brush my dogs teeth about every two weeks
> 
> I use the following stuff
> 
> ...


 

At first I didn’t think the question was real, but I think it is? Then I didn’t believe this answer to be real, but I think it is?


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

I totally get it that it can look like a joke to read about dog tooth-brushing.

World-view can change a ton when you've glimpsed the dental bill from Tufts for dental work on a two-year-old working dog whose damaged tooth you decide to save. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Before that, brushing a dog's teeth would have made me burst out laughing too.


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## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

Connie Sutherland said:


> I was at the vet last week getting bloodwork done on one of my dogs, and she told me about removing more than 20 rotten teeth from the mouth of a dog a client had adopted.
> 
> I can't even imagine the pain of a toothache times 20. The dog couldn't eat anything but very soft food, of course, but the pain -- I thought a lot about what pain that dog had to have been enduring.


Oh yikes...now that makes me feel really bad. Poor dog!!!


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Carol Boche said:


> Poor dog!!!



Imagine the smell, and the obviously inability to chew, and how long it was ignored. 

Like I said, the kinds of owners on this board are not the kind who would let something like this happen.


But anyway, I got pretty O.T. 

To the O.P., there is also an enzyme squirty thing that you can direct along the gum line where you know there's a problem. It isn't as good as brushing (either with a finger-tip brush or the handle kind), but it's probably better than nothing. It's made by the same company that makes the chicken toothpaste ... CET, I think.


e.t.a. 
http://www.amazon.com/CET-Oral-Hygiene-Rinse-8oz/dp/B000FULD1A

Also e.t.a.: I find the little fit-over-the-fingertip brush MUCH easier for me and the dog the the handle kind.


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

Matt Grosch said:


> only problem with raw, it gives my dog the poops, cant even do raw chicken although I had luck with it for a while


Matt, you might want to look at the bone to meat ratio along with the fat content and play with what you are feeding him a little bit. And no, I don't brush my dogs teeth.


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## Deborah Vigil (Jul 20, 2009)

Kristen Cabe said:


> You've got to be kidding. :-o


Kristen 

NO I am not kidding and I truly hope you are not being rude about it. 

My 4 year old Presa has white teeth just like my puppy Presa does. 

I have to floss dogs teeth everyday at work when I do dentals so why not train them to do it w/o being under.... 

Deb


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## Don Turnipseed (Oct 8, 2006)

Ah, some brush once a week. some brush once every two weeks. Is this just a feel good thing? Your own teeth would be rotten by your teens if you just brushed once a week. Brush them three times a day if your going to do it. LOL I look at them periodically and give them meaty bones if they have tartar.


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## Tammy St. Louis (Feb 17, 2010)

i dont think its a feel good thing, i do my guys once to 2 times a week, it should be done daily or at least every 2 days , but this works for me, and my dogs get chew stuff a few times a week 
if i had tartar i would deffianlty bump up the brushing, but i dont brush my own teeth 3 X a day so i wouldnt be doing it to them ,


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## Melody Greba (Oct 4, 2007)

A little over one month ago, I had my FEMA K9's upper rear molar removed because it has several stress fractures. 

I would not have known about the fractures for some time if I didn't wipe his teeth off each night. He is very stoic and it would've rotted and could've became infected before the odor would've drawn attention to it. 

I use Davis wipes for dog teeth. Not too difficult to use.


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## Sanda Stankovic (Jan 10, 2009)

I think the need to brush dog's teeth says a lot about the quality of their teeth. Dogs that eat raw or get bones often enough should not require washing. Easily broken teeth, teeth that actually require brushing imo show poor genetics. After all, dog's ancestors have evolved to survive and thrive in the wild without the need for teeth brushing. Not just survive and be sick and to struggle, but to thrive. A dog that is sick because of its poor canines would have infection, fever, poor ability to eat,therefore be weak, etc. etc. so his/hers genes would most likely die with them very early on and not be passed on.

I think there is A LOT to be said for dogs that thrive with minimal assistance by the owners, something that is especially important for breeders to consider.


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## Chris Noxwell (Feb 26, 2010)

I brush maybe 2-3 times a month, but I just use a finger toothbrush and have no problems. I agree that wild animals and dogs survived for years with ever having their teeth brushed, but I feel it can't hurt.


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