?

9/25/2009 4:42:57 PM

i do, but not on a regular basis.

i am changing him over to a dog food made by canidae that will supposedly eliminate the need for me to brush his teeth.

he's a tiny chihuahua with terrible breath.

he had his teeth professionally cleaned at the vet abt 1 year ago. i wouldn't recommend that as it requires anesthesia and it's expensive and the plaque comes right back.

k that's all

9/25/2009 4:46:36 PM

occasionally, yes.

9/25/2009 4:48:09 PM

no, but i probably should

9/25/2009 4:49:44 PM

No, because it aggravates his retainer

9/25/2009 4:50:47 PM

hehehe

9/25/2009 4:51:41 PM

I don't, but the groomer does.

I know it's silly that my Puggle sees a groomer regularly, but I just can't trim her nails. I've never had a dog who wouldn't let me until her. I get a package deal with the nail grinding, bath, tooth brushing, etc.

9/25/2009 6:56:39 PM

i take my chihuahua to the groomer to get his nails ground too.
he acts like i'm hurting him if i do it, and i'm scared i'll hurt his tongue because he always starts licking in the direction of the grinder, clippers, etc.

9/25/2009 7:01:27 PM

to those of you that brush your dogs' teeth: do you feed your dog crunchy food or wet food?

I have always fed my dogs crunchy food and given them plenty of hard bones to chew on. I have never had to brush any of my dogs' teeth, and they have never had problems.

9/25/2009 7:29:20 PM

my dog eats mainly kibble, but he also eats a little bite of what ever i am eating, thus his stinky breath/plaque ridden teeth

9/25/2009 7:31:20 PM

feeding from the table = major no no

shit, my dog is 5 and his teeth are whiter than mine

9/25/2009 7:34:31 PM

i know im a bad dog mom

9/25/2009 7:39:46 PM

my dog has weird teeth..theyre like little nubs. except for the canine teeth that hang out of her mouth lol

9/25/2009 7:45:38 PM

Yup

9/25/2009 8:11:25 PM

Quote :

"I have always fed my dogs crunchy food and given them plenty of hard bones to chew on. I have never had to brush any of my dogs' teeth, and they have never had problems."

same here. My boxer is 7 years old and has never had his teeth brushed.

9/25/2009 8:20:52 PM

every day

9/25/2009 8:55:11 PM

No, but then again I don't have a dog

I do have two cats though, they get dental cleanings by the vet every couple of years, and they eat dry hard food on a regular basis so that helps a little too. To keep their weight under control they've never really had treats, & have been discouraged from eating anything but cat food, as a result they have no idea what I'm trying to do when I put a greenie or other dental treat in front of them.

[Edited on September 25, 2009 at 9:28 PM. Reason : cats]

9/25/2009 9:27:23 PM

I think it depends on the breed. Some breeds need it more than others, or so I've heard. My family has two shelties and the breeder we got them from told us adamantly that they have to be brushed every so often. We've still never done it, but I suppose that's beside the point.

9/25/2009 10:03:01 PM

I brush mine occasionally, like once a month. I'm going to try to remember to do it at least once a week. Both dogs teeth are fine, they are fed Purina One dry and love to chew on rawhides and nylabones.

9/26/2009 12:04:14 AM

I don't brush my baby's teeth as much as I should. His breath isn't as horrible as it could be though.

My vet suggested this poultry flavored tooth paste, and he loves it! She also told me that you don't actually have to sit there and scrub their teeth like us humans do. You can just kind of put the brush at their back teeth and move it around some so that the toothpaste gets on their teeth some.

9/26/2009 12:28:11 PM

My parents have the dog's teeth cleaned at the vet every once in a while

9/26/2009 8:05:34 PM

how do you do this? regular toothbrush/toothpaste?

9/26/2009 11:26:34 PM

doggie toothbrush and toothpaste. but just like you brush your teeth.

9/26/2009 11:48:37 PM

getting it done by a vet is expensive.
use a nice dog food like canidae or california natural.
I brush the teeth like once a week

9/27/2009 10:22:51 PM

When Kota was on raw, I only brushed her teeth maybe twice a year. Some dogs are just a little more prone to buildup (just like people), but for the most part her food kept her teeth nice and sparkly.

I've had her back on kibble (unfortunately) for the last 4 months or so due to some medicine she was taking that had to be administered with food 3 times a day. At any rate, she has more buildup in the last 4 months then she did when she was on raw, and I've already brushed her teeth once.

Marykathryn mentioned breath...Dakota has no doggy smell and perfect breath when on raw. She does get death burps (haha) but only every so often. When she's on kibble, she has what most people would probably consider "dog breath" but I hate it. She just doesn't smell on raw. And as a side note, her #2s dont stink on raw either. On kibble, oh they could knock down an elephant.

9/28/2009 8:02:16 AM

[NO]

9/28/2009 8:39:16 AM

every now and then, but she just eats the beef flavored toothpaste (funniest dog expression ever). a friend told me to get the brush you attach to your finger. i may try it.

9/28/2009 9:04:35 AM

Yes I do... but probably only once every few weeks (at the same time I bathe him because that toothpaste gets EVERYWHERE!)

When I got Mo, his teeth were not good (covered w/ plaque) and the vet assumes he got a vaccine when he was a puppy that weakened his enamel.

I had his teeth cleaned at the vets office 4 months ago or so and they looked amazing! I hated having to put him under though. We use doggy toothpaste and he NEVER has people food. Only IAMS (for small dogs) and special dog treats. Never wet food.



Doggie smile!

[Edited on September 28, 2009 at 9:21 AM. Reason : ]

9/28/2009 9:21:07 AM

No... My dogs are fed dry dog food and I give them rawhide bones and those big cow bones to grind their teeth on. Jinzo got a dental when he was 4 and his teeth are still pretty clean. Jaeda is just a puppy and wont receive a dental until she is 4 or her teeth start to look nasty. The redness and gunk around their teeth is a good indication that its time for a cleaning. If they have periodontal disease, it can cause organ failure through out the body.

I use to do these dentals on dogs all the time and some of them had the nastiest crap on their teeth :-(

9/28/2009 12:58:15 PM

Quote :

"every now and then, but she just eats the beef flavored toothpaste (funniest dog expression ever). a friend told me to get the brush you attach to your finger. i may try it. "

Reminds me of my little dog! He loves his poultry-flavored dog toothpaste. This thread reminds me that I need to do that. Oh yea, and I bought a kit from PetSmart that includes both the regular toothbrush & the finger brush, and both worth pretty well. You can kind of maneuver around the dog's teeth a lil' easier with the finger brush.

9/28/2009 6:51:43 PM