Teeth brushing

[curlytails]

@nobarkus:

Don't start off trying to brush the teeth, let them chew just a little and lick it then move it around lightly brushing without holding their head. Just do that for the first few days or a week. Don't force it. They have to feel a little self determinism in this whole process.

So no gel, just a wet toothbrush to get them used to it?

So far, Bowpi does two things… she either licks the gel right off the bristles, or tries to pull the bristles out of the stem, like I'm holding a raw drumstick for her (I've been holding her raw meaty bones as she tears off the meat and crunches the bones, otherwise she drags them all around the room, and she's sort of loathe to hold the bones down with her paws).

It's only been a few days, so I'll keep at it. Not sure how I should progress to actually brushing her teeth yet, but at least she seems to be enjoying the attention.

The shiba came in while we were doing this once. Bowpi was cradled in my lap, belly out and leaned up against my stomach. She's very easy to manipulate, and I thought this would be a good angle to eventually work my way to her back teeth. Anyway, Bowdu came over to sniff the toothbrush, then he gave her this utter look of disgust, huffed in her face and flounced out of the room.

[nobarkus]

Another reason to start very, very slow is that the gums are very sensitive and brush could cause pain. Little by little the gums will get strong. So if you start off brushing like you had been doing it for a while it may cause the dog pain and will create a bad experience. To help with this put the brush under running hot water first to get the bristles softened up.

[DebraDownSouth]

Well, as I posted, we have had to take Arwen in for teeth cleaning every six mos. The this year she was in Feb, then in JULY had to have 3 teeth pulled. I noticed red gums while brushing and thought I had damaged but it was getting worse.

So took her to vet today, back bottom tooth on BOTH sides need pulling, infection, and her liver enzymes up. I know enough about blood work to know the infection can elevate liver enzymes, but this isn't my usual vet and she INSISTED it could be hep or anything and we MUST treat now. I let her bully me but the more I think about it the madder I am.

The logical thing would be antibiotics, pull the teeth in 2 wks, then test blood w/n 30 to 45 days to see if liver enzymes up.. THEN treat or test more. But I am going to give the anti-inflammatory med and doggie Sam-e for 30 days since I already paid a bloody fortune for them, but then going to stop them completely and wait a month to retest. I adore my other vet, but this one less all the time. If it is a med I can get at the drugstore, the other vet writes me Rx because she said they don't get the big discounts pharmacies do so always much cheaper than they can sell them. $63 bucks for 30 days worth of sam-e for a 27 pound dog? HOLY COW.

Anyway, the only good news is she said the other teeth look great (it's only been 4 mos! so this is 3rd visit for teeth in 9 mos!) and she thinks I can keep the others good with brushing, these were just too close into gums and back of mouth.

[tanza]

By the way everyone, I mentioned that I was told about another product to assist with removing Plaque in dogs. I have now had my babies on it for about a month. It is very reasonable in price and for the small amount given, the jar will last a long time. I didn't expect to see any changes in my kids because they are still just pups and their teeth look great, so can't really attest if it works or not (and I will bush) but since it is not that bad in price, easy to use, I will keep them on it. The person that told me about it swears by it….
Here is the link
http://www.plaqueoff.com/proden_plaqueoff_animal/proden_plaqueoff_animal_faqs.htm

[DebraDownSouth]

Reading it, not so impressed Pat. But surely doesn't look like it would hurt!

There are only a couple of dental products researched enough that are proven to help. Nolvadent is supposed to help BUT oddly can also cause build up.. which it did with Arwen. Stopped using it and now only issue is 2 back teeth and not the horrible build up on all teeth we were seeing before I found a research article about Nolvadent. Sigh.

The other proven is sodium hexametaphosphate but good luck finding chews with it. I finally found it in a tooth paste called Dentacetic and in dentacetic wipes, which I have been using. I can only imagine she would be toothless by now if I hadn't been doing all I could, but it is utterly discouraging.
http://www.amazon.com/DentAcetic-Dental-Gel-2-oz/dp/B0002XJ01A

[Kananga]

I've been experimenting with using just the Petzlife Oral Spray and rawhide strips. No brushing.

I wanted to see what was more effective (brushing a couple times a week w/ a few sprays of petzlife weekly was my prior method).

Turns out, and I really should have gotten before and after pics, this new method made a huge improvement. Kananga gets a flat strip rawhide once a day, usually after dinner, and then I use the petzlife spray 3-4x a week at bedtime. I'm quite happy with the results and I haven't had to brush his teeth at all. I figure the rawhide chewing is doing a thorough job at stimulating his gums and cleaning his teeth.

The flat strips work really well because they use their back teeth efficiently. I know my vet recommended this awhile back and now I've gotten in the habit of giving him one daily. A bag of these things is usually $6 or so, probably lasts a month.

[DebraDownSouth]

I have never and will never give rawhide, ever. One of the worse experiences in my life was watching a dog choke to death with 4 of us adults trying but failing to get a wet lodged piece of rawhide out of his throat… 40 pound dog. Horrible death.

I should say btw, in my entire life have never brushed my dogs teeth and have never had to have them cleaned thanks to feeding raw meaty bones. Arwen is the only dog ever.

1. Pet Health Info
FROM: >>Seaside Animal Care was recently awarded the 1999 National Practice of Excellence Award (click here for details) from Veterinary Medical Publishing and an educational grant from Pfizer. We are one of just over 50 practices ever to receive this honor!<<

WE DO NOT RECOMMEND GIVING YOUR PETS RAWHIDE CHEWS. They expand when wet and are the number one cause of intestinal obstruction at our hospital. They are poorly effective at "cleaning the teeth". Instead, we recommend chew-safe toys such as Nylabone? and Kong? products. Contact the hospital for additional information when selecting safe chew-toys for your loved one.<<

While I find it LUDICROUS that they first state they are harmless then say they have seen it ALL, this does indeed support that they are not uncommon:
2. >>From the
AAHA: American Animal Hospital Association
Miscellaneous Pet Care: Are raw hide chews safe?
Answer
Rawhide chews are pretty harmless. The problems come when they swallow them whole. They either choke on them, or the rawhide balls up in the stomach and causes gastritis or blockage. We've seen it all. Moderation is the key. One every once in a while is OK, but they shouldn't be included as a regular toy or part of the diet. In addition it's usually best to supervise or at least be nearby when your pet is chewing on any toy. <<

Dr. Mike on Vetinfo.com
3. >> Diet - Treats and Snacks
It is interesting to me that a number of veterinarians I have spoken with do say that they have seen problems associated with these toys. Their experience differs from mine. I practice in a rural area and sometimes I think that I just don't have enough patients to see all the problems that vets who practice in more crowded areas do. <<

4. OMG, they sell it yet their vets admit it is dangerous!!!
Acme Pet - Pet Health Questions Ask Acme Pet'sExperts

Q. I have a one year old mix JRT, she is a great dog. But the problem I have with her is that, whenever I give her a chewy like those basted sticks. I have to watch her because she will make it all soft, not bite a piece and eat it. She makes it soft and swallows half while she is still chewing the other end. She has almost choked on me twice. This happens with the square chewees too.

A. I would suggest you not give them to her anymore. Many dogs die of intestinal obstruction each year due to rawhide. Find something else, which is safer, to give her.<<

5. petcare
Okay, this is a petstore, not a vet but thought their concern worth noting!

In addition, we don't carry rawhide chews in order to assure the safest play experience for your pet. Rawhide chews, when gobbled or eaten in large quantities, can cause choking or possible obstruction in dogs. <<

6. vet@dog - Holidays - Chocolate and other dangerous goodies
FROM:
Dr. Lucy L. Pinkston, D.V.M.

Rawhide chews can lodge in the throat and cause choking, or a large piece may be swallowed, scraping and irritating the throat and esophagus on the way down. Once in the stomach or intestinal tract, a large piece of rawhide can also create a physical obstruction. An additional danger that is less widely known is the practice, in some countries, of using an arsenic-based preservative in the processing of rawhide toys. We recommend that, if you do purchase these products, stick to brands processed in the U.S. There has also been a recent FDA alert about the risk of Salmonella accociated with dog chew products made from pork or beef-derived materials: refer to the FDA advisory or call 1-888-INFO-FDA. See below (discussion on pigs' ears) for more details.<<

I could go on, but obviously it's up to you. To me, having actually seen what can happen, if it is something many vets say can be dangerous, and it isn't NECESSARY, why do it? I just know that we were THERE, watching the dog, talking... and none of us could save him. I had nightmares for a long time. It was truly horrific and my friend got chewed up terribly trying.

[nobarkus]

I tried those doggie tooth pastes back in the early 90s with my last 2 and it just upset their stomach from swallowing it. The water works best and its non toxic (I use spring water) and they like anything wet anyway. Buddy is 2 now and his teeth are white. I do it in the morning everyday and it only takes 2 minutes. A pack of 4 tooth brushes from Target is about $4.

[thunderbird8588]

We use Plaqueoff with Malaika, can't say wether it works or not as her teeth are great due to her age but i certainly think it's worth giving as long as the Dog has no thyrous issues.
I also clean her teeth with a microfibre thingy that fits over your finger, you dip it into water and apparently the silver ions in it clean the teeth without the need for toothpaste.
Have to say she loves it and has a real good chow down whilst i clean her teeth.

[Patty]

Neem Products produce a Neem Chew for teeth health.

I have tried Plaque-off and I too am not entirely sure that it worked. I tried the human version myself and wasn't really impressed with that. Before I clean my dog's teeth I give them Fragraria for 5 days and it loosens the plaque. I don't think that frequent brushing is good for a dog's teeth. Jewel at 16+ has only just in the last month had trouble with her teeth although they look perfectly healthy and the vet says she has the best teeth he's seen on a dog her age.

[nobarkus]

@Patty:

Neem Products produce a Neem Chew for teeth health.

I have tried Plaque-off and I too am not entirely sure that it worked. I tried the human version myself and wasn't really impressed with that. Before I clean my dog's teeth I give them Fragraria for 5 days and it loosens the plaque. I don't think that frequent brushing is good for a dog's teeth. Jewel at 16+ has only just in the last month had trouble with her teeth although they look perfectly healthy and the vet says she has the best teeth he's seen on a dog her age.

What is frequent brushing? Vet recommends 1x per day, 3x a week minimum.

[DebraDownSouth]

@thunderbird8588:

I also clean her teeth with a microfibre thingy that fits over your finger

I tried one finger thingy, and nearly lost a finger. What is the brand you are using, maybe I can get Arwen to like that!

@Patty:

Neem Products produce a Neem Chew for teeth health.

I don't know about neem teeth stuff, but I can attest to it for preventing spread of sarcoptic mange (I used to do a lot of chow puppy rescues with mange being the norm… none of my other dogs ever got it thanks to spritzing them continually with neem. My daughter also used it for insect control. It was so good (and nontoxic) the other kids at horse camp kept using her's up to keep off horseflys because their stuff didn't work.

[thunderbird8588]

Debra,
the manufacturer of the tooth cleaner is Lintbells, it's made out of bandage type material and of course when it's wet she feels the need to dry it and like i say chows down whilst i rub it over the tooth surface.

[DebraDownSouth]

LOL and you maintain your fingers or their original shape how while she is chewing?

[nobarkus]

I wouldn't stick my finger in Buddy's mouth with something on it as he would not know the difference and bite. :eek: Forget it! Use a brush. You can get further back with a brush too.

[thunderbird8588]

Debra, i have been using the finger thing since she was a tiny pup and i keep my finger moving whilst she chews. Strangely she doesn't seem to chew hard and has never hurt me.
She didn't tolerate a brush very well and this works for us.

[Patty]

Dan - various vets have different ideas. My vet too recommends daily brushing but I've never brushed more than three times a week - often less, and my dogs mostly have had good teeth. Mine all chew on Nylabones which seem to help and eat a lot of raw vegetables including stalks of cabbage cauliflower etc.

[tanza]

@thunderbird8588:

Debra, i have been using the finger thing since she was a tiny pup and i keep my finger moving whilst she chews. Strangely she doesn't seem to chew hard and has never hurt me.
She didn't tolerate a brush very well and this works for us.

I just order a few…. of course they have to ship from UK as they are not available in the US... and while I usually use a brush, I have in the past used finger tip types and like them better. Never been bitten....

[nobarkus]

@Patty:

Dan - various vets have different ideas. My vet too recommends daily brushing but I've never brushed more than three times a week - often less, and my dogs mostly have had good teeth. Mine all chew on Nylabones which seem to help and eat a lot of raw vegetables including stalks of cabbage cauliflower etc.

Yes, diet is a factor.

[nobarkus]

@thunderbird8588:

Debra, i have been using the finger thing since she was a tiny pup and i keep my finger moving whilst she chews. Strangely she doesn't seem to chew hard and has never hurt me.
She didn't tolerate a brush very well and this works for us.

What ever works for you and the B and you're keeping the teeth clean then that's great.