Keeping Teeth Clean

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Fasb's Owner

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Fasb had a teeth cleaning yesterday. Could be the last teeth cleaning he has in his life, due to age and various medical issues. His teeth weren't quite as bad as I thought. Most of the tartar came off, so his teeth are whitish, if not gleaming white. He did have to have two incisors pulled, but I feel like that was a small price to pay. I thought he might lose many more than that.

What can I do for him to keep his teeth in decent shape? Take-home instructions from the vet mentioned Greenie bones and rawhide chews. He already gets a Greenie bone daily. I bought rawhides for him when we first got him, but heard a lot of negative/conflicting info about them, and stopped giving them to him.

Dental water?

I don't think he'll let us brush his teeth. He fights us over things like that and tends to get fairy aggressive if we persist. Based on past experience. trying to brush his teeth regularly will either scare him or lead to him being defensive and aggressive. Not worth it.

I am going to ask the vet what else he recommends. When I picked Fasb up last night, the doctor was busy and it wasn't worth waiting around. We have an appt tomorrow afternoon for Fasb to get an Adequan shot, so I figured I'll just talk to him then.
 
If he'll play tug, get him to do it with a thick cotton sock. You can even take the sock and run in back and forth over his back teeth. It's like a toothbrush specially designed for a dog.
 
I brush teeth, although you said he may not like that. If I get the toothpaste that suits their tastebuds....they LOVE it. If I buy a toothpaste they hate....it is a war. So maybe try a couple toothpastes and see if he thinks it is a treat? I actually use their toothbrushing as a reward now after toenail trims and brushings....and they can't wait! (Only if I get yummy toothpaste though....none with a mint flavor - peanut butter and chicken flavors are the hit) They have it done every other day.

We have lots of chews - CET dental chews, Greenies, Antlers, etc - I rotate weekly so they don't get bored. They get a treat to chew a day.

Also we use the water additive as well.

Never had to have a dental cleaning or procedure on any of my dogs except Willow, who had teeth that never rooted correctly and had to have some pulled. Olive is 9 years old at my oldest and the vet is always so impressed with a 4 pound chihuahua her age who has all her teeth still!
 
Tried to brush teeth last night. Going to just kinda go through the motions at first to get him used to what I'm doing, but he got angry pretty quickly. He's very gentle and good natured, but he doesn't like being poked and prodded and will get rough with me (not so much with other people). I don't have any reason to think he's going to tolerate it much and I'm not going to force him if he really hates it as much as I expect him to. At some point, I'll try the toothpaste as treat thing.

Can someone give me a rundown on dental water? All I know is it's something you add to their drinking water. Worth giving a go. Am I looking for a certain brand or just go to the pet store and look at what's on the shelves?

Thanks.
 
I use dog::ESSENTIAL healthymouth

I have to order it online, but some vets carry it, just not in my rural area. It is okay for both dogs and cats - so that is something I have to look for as I have both in my household. I know I have looked at some that said do not use in cats.

I have tried a few others,and some my dogs hated the water (it smelled minty and I don't think they liked it!)
 
What size Greenie's do you buy for your shelties?

I ask because I've always bought the "Regular" size, which is advertised for 25-50 pound dogs (Fasb weights about 30 lbs.). In conversation yesterday, it comes up and the vet tells me he recommends the larger size - maybe even two sizes up. He feels the regular and petite size bones aren't strong enough and dogs end up eating them instead of gnawing on them. Which is what often happens with Fasb (he breaks them up and eats them too quickly).

I found this interesting. Wish it had occurred to me before.
 
I buy the petitie for the chihuahuas (one size above what they should have as they are all 4-5 pounds each)
I buy the regular for Angus - but he is only 14 pounds. So one size larger for him.

When I buy the CET chews I also buy the medium chews that are bigger than what any of mine would fall into (petite sizes would cover Angus in their weight range)
 
Have you tried brushing without the toothpaste? Honey I think, doesn't like the texture and if I dare put any on her toothbrushes she'll shun them for the next couple of months.

Also, have you tried letting your dog chew on the toothbrush? When brushing honey's teeth I let her pull the brush into her mouth herself and than I tug it a little, sneakily making sure it rubs against the teeth. It takes longer, and two sessions the toothbrush is trashed, but it gets even the back inside of the teeth brushed well so we don't have to do it as often, and she thinks we're playing and enjoys it.

Whenever my husband or I have to switch out toothbrushes I toss the old one's in her drawer and use them. Honey also loves to chase my hands under towels so when we're doing that I'll let her grab my hand and use my fingers to rub the front teeth for a quick cleaning much like the sock suggested above.
 
Try Proden Plaqueff. It's a powder you add to the food. It does help... but generally it takes around a month to notice a difference.
 
JacqueZ said:
Whenever my husband or I have to switch out toothbrushes I toss the old one's in her drawer and use them.
Click to expand...

Good tip - now why didn't I think of that! We use electric tooth brushes and the tips are smaller so would fit her mouth really well.
 
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