Brushing Teeth
Starting to brush your puppy’s teeth at a young age can be a pleasant and fun experience. You should aim to brush their teeth daily (ideally!) because by the time dogs reach the age of 3, 80% of them will have some degree of dental disease. The extent of dental disease depends on different factors such as their diet (dry food is better for teeth than wet food), whether they chew their food or not (the action of chewing allows for cleaning of teeth), their breed (small dogs are especially prone to dental disease), whether they are on dental-specific food (such as Hills t/d), and more! Routine cleaning is available through us, but preventive care through brushing and dental food, is most important.
As mentioned before, you should start brushing your puppy’s teeth as soon as possible so they can get used to the sensation and hopefully learn to enjoy it. You can use the dual-end toothbrushes available here or a regular toothbrush but the toothpaste should be enzymatic dog- safe toothpaste (that is also yummy!). Do not use a human toothpaste as it can be toxic to your dog.
How to Brush Your Pet’s Teeth
Before you start with brushing your pets teeth you should start slowly and make it a positive experience. This is ideally a life long habit so there is no rush.
Pick a consistent time and place to use. Pet’s are creature of habit so stick with the same place and time if you can. Start with getting them used to you rubbing their cheeks and face. If they are good with that you can rub their teeth. Do this regularly and make it a pleasant experience.
You can add in a Pet Safe toothpaste on your finger for them to get used to. There are different flavours made to appeal to pets.
***Do not use human toothpaste.***
When you and your pet are ready get the toothbrush! You can use a small human toothbrush, a finger brush or a pet specific one. Take you time and slowly work up to brushing as many teeth as you can focusing on the outer surfaces of the teeth. The ideal is 30 seconds per side but do what you can!
Don’t forget to tell your dog that they are the best dog and prettiest dog while you are brushing and definitely give them lots of forehead kisses!
