# Cleaning dog's teeth



## HeatherChloe (Oct 18, 2009)

I was wondering how many of you dog owners clean your dog's teeth?

Chloe has hers cleaned every night, and we have recently changed toothpaste to an enzymatic one, as it seems to get the plaque off better.

She has her own brush at home and another one in the van. 

I just wondered who else does it?


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## moblee (Dec 31, 2006)

Sorry but No Heather :!: 

We have enough trouble getting the KIDS to do it :!: 


Sparkling canines in the canine :? :lol: :lol:

We just give ours those Denta sticks things.


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## mikeyv (May 23, 2007)

I've had dogs for most of my life, four in all.

Not one has had any dental problems despite surviving in to their teens without any dental care on my part.

I would leave nature to do it's work, intervening only in case of a problem.


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## duxdeluxe (Sep 2, 2007)

We use dentastix and similar things, but Mrs Deluxe (as an ex vet nurse) does get them done as the opportunity arises. Two out of our three dogs have low maintenance teeth, mainly due to being exercised on double glazing/solar panel salesmen which keeps them clean. The jack Russell has 'orrible teeth and it is usually a sedative job at the vets to get them done properly


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## Jezport (Jun 19, 2008)

Luckily parrots dont have teeth so its a job I don't need to do. Even if they did I am sure I could teach her to do it her self, She is learning the skateboard at the moment.


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## Jented (Jan 12, 2010)

Hi.
After "Wilfy the Wolf",tried to remove a thumb and two fingers from my hand,while i was trying to get a piece of stick that had got stuck between his teeth,i suddenly began to value the said digits,so,NO!.
Does this answer your question,LOL. Although he has long gone to the kennel in the sky through old age,would i have him back....YES!.
Gearjammer


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## Hezbez (Feb 7, 2009)

Dog - not once in 16 years, and never appeared to have any tooth problems.

Cat - once, at the age of 23 years when the vet gave her an anesthetic and took out two teeth and cleaned the rest of them. Said it was the oldest cat he'd ever anethatised.

How would you know if a dog has toothache?


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## wooly (Oct 3, 2007)

No never, Love him dearly and he has his daily Dentistik, but I also love my fingers JRx - Michael


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## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

Give the dog a bone on a regular basis.

That is the best way to keep them clean. They love chewing on them and it keeps them occupied for ages.


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## thieawin (Jun 7, 2006)

I second bones, regularly and denta sticks occasionally.

Was staying a Rolle on Lac Leman, Suisse, many years ago (1969) and some yanks in a RV on a 6 months "doing Europe" with their dog, brushed its teeth, and theirs, using bottled water and only drank bottled water, both humans and dog. Their only compaint at the time about their trip was that it had been hard to find bottled water in the UK. You can imagine how we laughed behind their backs.

At that time water in Switzerland was probably better than in UK or IOM, and ceratinly better than in mosty of US, but they had been told European water was not safe!

I have drunk water all over Europe, from taps and springs and wells and rivers and galcier melt, for 50+ years with no problems (avoiding the agua non potabile signed ones of course)

Sometimes i think some owners forget that their pets are not children.


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## peaky (Jul 15, 2009)

i brush our yorkies teeth whenever i can but the vet has given me a spray that keeps her breath fresh (important when that first "kiss" of the day in bed ) and keeps the stains and plaque at bay. yorkies are known for their bad teeth so im doing it whilst young hopefully to prevent too many probs later in life.


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## CliffyP (Dec 19, 2008)

I find one Jehovah's witness a month does the trick :wink: ,
I have to be careful though because they usualy come in two's, and if they have to many they pester us to death.


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## masie123 (Nov 9, 2010)

one of our pugs got really bad breath ucckk so started to gently clean them with brush..
didn't make much difference so poor murphy to vets the other day and he has to have op to have em cleaned and some are loose and have to be removed..
been told he has to lose weight before because pugs are in danger under anisetic..apparently its the dry food that causes the tooth problems so changing slowly to chappie as instructed..
feel for my baby because they cant say i have toothache or headache there just like babies and that goes for any animal i think..
as far has parrots are concerned we have an African gray she may not have teeth but been bit me a few times :? 
my OH can do anything with her even sometimes puts her head in his mouth she loves it wouldn't mind but i feed and clean her with caution talk about bite the hand that feeds you 
my OH says she is just playing with me and she could take my fingers off if she wanted to ..so i says i know that but doesn't make me feel any better when she draws blood.. only had oscarina ( was oscar but changed name after finding out she was a girlywhen she was 7 ) 21years dont think shes gonna change now.. :lol:


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## masie123 (Nov 9, 2010)

cliff thats sooo funny


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## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

masie123 said:


> one of our pugs got really bad breath ucckk so started to gently clean them with brush..
> didn't make much difference so poor murphy to vets the other day and he has to have op to have em cleaned and some are loose and have to be removed..
> been told he has to lose weight before because pugs are in danger under anisetic..apparently its the dry food that causes the tooth problems so changing slowly to chappie as instructed..
> feel for my baby because they cant say i have toothache or headache there just like babies and that goes for any animal i think..
> ...


Ask your vet to get you some Slentrol for the Pug. It is a weight loss system that works by suppressing the appetite. We have the same problem with one of our Pugs. She does not eat too much food and walks a couple of miles every day but is still obese. This Slentrol does get the weight off her and she turns from a little sluggish porker into a lively little dog again.


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## masie123 (Nov 9, 2010)

thanks for that info 747 i will ask vet but because he has to go on crash diet the vet told me for now just give him 2 table spoons of chappie a day..
this also applies to bella pug since i had her nurtured 5yrs ago she has just piled the weight on i have also 2 pups to murphy and bella who are just 5 but are tiny so no problem there.
.i also have frenchie beryl and rottie teddy and they are ok too so its just mum and dad pugs and there not happy pappys at the mo..dreading murhy going under anesthetic though..
i dont know..our kids leave home and still have 7 with parrot aww and 8 with OH cos he is worse then the lot of them put together even tried him with a spoon of chappie but wasn't having any of that he prefers chum :lol: masie


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## HurricaneSmith (Jul 13, 2007)

We wouldn't dream of cleaning our dog's teeth.

Sensible food and chew sticks keep dental problems away.


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## HeatherChloe (Oct 18, 2009)

Intriguing how many of you say you that you use Dentastix

These are the ingredients:

Rice Flour, Wheat Starch, Glycerin, Gelatin, Gum Arabic, Calcium Carbonate, Natural Poultry Flavor, Powdered Cellulose, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Salt (Iodized), Potassium Chloride, Vitamins (Choline Chloride, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate [source of Vitamin C], Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin, D-calcium Pantothenate, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin [Vitamin B2], Pyridoxine Hydrochloride [Vitamin B6], Dl-alpha Tocopherol Acetate [source of Vitamin E], Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1]), Potassium Sorbate (a Preservative), Smoke Flavor, Zinc Sulphate, Green Tea Extract, Turmeric, Iron Oxide, Copper Sulfate.

My Chloe is allergic to rice and has an intolerance to wheat (according to the allergy testing I had done) so they're obviously a no go to her. I'm not allergic to rice or wheat, but I must say, I wouldn't fancy eating those ingredients (well apart from the turmeric).

Interestingly, the Dentastix website says that what you should do to look after your dog's teeth is -

"1 Feed one DENTASTIX® Treat a day. They taste great and their patented X-shape design helps clean down to the gum line. 
2 Brush your dog's teeth regularly and check your dog's mouth for signs of gum disease-like bad breath-or red, swollen gums. Notify your vet if you notice these symptoms. 
3 Take your dog to the vet on a regular basis-this is imperative for your dog's oral health. Your vet will look for signs of gum disease, provide treatments, and recommend ways to help manage or prevent oral disease "

So even if you give them Dentastix once a day, Dentastix still recommend that you should brush your dog's teeth.

My vet says that she often judges a dog's age by the quality of its teeth. My 3 year old Chloe she says has excellent teeth. No Dentastix but daily brushing. Chloe also has no breath smell at all - she could breathe on my all she likes, and it's extremely pleasant.

Of course, I know she's totally spoilt. And to the person who mentioned bottled water - Chloe's favourite is rain water, then Evian, then tap water! She tends to drink out of the pond rather than her water bowl if she can.

Anyway... looking forward to the results of the poll and interested in more views.


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## Hezbez (Feb 7, 2009)

For some reason my dogs beverage of choice was always the muddiest puddle she could find - after she had jumped about in it and stirred it all up!


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

All our past dogs have used rawhide chews to keep their teeth in good order.

Apart from that I just chuck their dentures in the glass with mine and a drop of Parazone.


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## masie123 (Nov 9, 2010)

many vets recommend brushing dogs teeth we never really have only in murphys case because his breath started to wiff a bit..
even the vet said it was a good idea but because he found a couple of his teeth loose ask me not to brush until he has had the op in three weeks time..
you can even buy a finger toothbrush for dogs..
as for dentasitx out of six dogs only my frenchie will entertain these..
and i am afraid to give them these rawhide chews now because a few times they have nearly choked on them when they go soft..masie


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## masie123 (Nov 9, 2010)

Spacerunner said:


> All our past dogs have used rawhide chews to keep their teeth in good order.
> 
> Apart from that I just chuck their dentures in the glass with mine and a drop of Parazone.


 funny :lol:


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## The-Cookies (Nov 28, 2010)

never have , last old boy was 18 and only lost 2 teeth in his life , don't think its necessary if they eat the right things, they look odd with a smile like the Osmonds anyway :lol:


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## thieawin (Jun 7, 2006)

I think that is the clue, too many house and twon dogs fed on too much dried food and sloppy mush from cans or packets.

We deliberately acquire and feed bones, raw or cooked. We always colect a doggy bag of bones from any restaurant we go to. They get bones at least twice per week, often three times. Our last dog, who lived to 17 years old had two teeth removed at 16. The existing three, aged 9, 7 and 2 have perfect teeth according to the vet


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## Rosbotham (May 4, 2008)

I agree with you about the tinned food, but not the dried.

In our household we have 2 dogs, 2 cats. Each of the dogs is the same age (4), as is each of the two cats (17).

One dog we've had since he was a pup, never had anything but good quality biscuits (Bakers Meaty Meats). Teeth perfectly clean. The other we acquired as a rescue, been fed wet tinned food. Teeth covered in plaque, Dentistix are helping but we're going to have to get her teeth cleaned under sedation.

We've had both cats since kittens. One had urinary tract issues a few years ago so was put on a specialist dry food, while the other - until last year - was on good quality wet pouches (Felix/Kitekat) combined with biscuits every now & again. The one on dry food has perfect teeth. The one who had wet food needed to be put under to have her teeth cleaned, and ultimately ended up with half of them being taken out.

Empirical evidence that's good enough for me. Other than as an occasional treat, I won't give our pets wet food.


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## brianamelia (Mar 17, 2008)

*reply*

If look here on you tube you can see a demonstration from a top dental vet how to brush your dogs teeth 



 He has a practice which you can see on
www.dentalvets.co.uk He is world famous also operating on wild animals.
You can also learn how to check your dogs mouth here






Ive had the pleasure of meeting him before when he operated on my dog.Believe me when he shows you what is inside a dogs mouth it makes interesting viewing 
Bri


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