# Teeth cleaning



## Poornima (Jun 29, 2007)

Benji HATES to open his mouth for any kind of mouth exam or teeth cleaning. As long as he knows that I have no ulterior motive to put my hand in his mouth, he will let me explore it as long as I want. Bring any smelly stuff like toothpaste or mouthspray near and he will close his mouth like it is Fort Knox. In our struggle, the toothpaste ends up on his coat and never in his mouth :frusty: 

I use Oxyfresh in his water. I have tried different flavors of toothpastes but he didn't like any of them. I have Petzlife gel and spray but as soon as he sees the bottle or smells it, he will stubbornly sit with with his mouth shut, no amouth of coaxing, praise and treats would do the trick. I have heard many good things about Orovet. I would buy it if I were sure that I could use it. I wish there was a odorless toothpaste or gel. 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or help. 

Best,
Poornima


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## dboudreau (Jan 12, 2007)

I would suggest using just plain water until he is comfortable or tolerable, with that. Then introduce what ever product you want to use just a tiny bit at a time. Good luck.


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## irnfit (Nov 21, 2006)

My vet said don't buy the toothpaste. Just get a 2x2 gauze pad and scrub their teeth with it. It is a little abrasive, so it gets off the tartar and the dogs don't seem to mind it at all. They didn't like the toothpaste.


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## juscha (May 24, 2007)

Michele, how often do you do this? Does it really help? I really like the idea and would like to try it on Banzei! Right now I don't brush his teeth, but he doesn't mind if I would...I just scrub away the tartar with a hand scaler...


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## irnfit (Nov 21, 2006)

I really don't have a schedule. I just check them and if I see tartar, I clean them. I guess I should be doing it more often if I can see tartar.


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## Suuske747 (May 9, 2007)

I have a toothpaste with chickenflavour, she licks it right out of the tube hahahahahaha
Because she likes it so much, she keeps licking the pad/fingerbrush, the cleaning is still a struggle hahahaha


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## littlebuddy (May 30, 2007)

i started out by letting my pup lick the toothpaste off the toothbrush. once he got use to that i slowly started brushing his teeth. everytime i brush, i stil let him lick a bit of thepaste off the brush,. it's vanilla flavor. he runs everytime he hears me pull the cup out that containes his paste and brush so he doesn't like it but once i start, he sits there and doesn't complain. maybe you need a differeting kind of brush, i use the one that's pink and has a big head on on end and a small head that's at an angle on the other. that's the side i use and that seems to be what fits in their tiny mouths.


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## LuvMyHavanese (Apr 13, 2007)

I have Petzlife also. They run when they see the bottle. I get more on me than them!


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

They do get used to it but it seems like it's always a fight to start with. We clean teeth every time one is on the table to be groomed. I think it has to be a two person job to start with. The holding is as important as the cleaning. It's important for the holder to not keep pressure on the dog except to counteract any wrestling that the dog does and the pressure has to be released the INSTANT the dog relaxes.

We also use a little dental tool that has a 90 degree bend and sharp edges on the side to scrape any tartar off with.


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## Thumper (Feb 18, 2007)

I find bath time is the best time to brush the teeth too, and its also a great time to do whatever *trimming* of the fur on the pads, rear end, nails, etc. I have my husband or daugher hold her in the towel while I clip her nails and brush her teeth and then she is on the table for blow drying/brushing. She doesnt' fight me half as much when she's wet. I bathe her quite often, but there have been times I've wanted to brush her teeth in between baths when she's gotten her mouth on something NASTY (like a dead frog!!) and BOY, was it a battle. Sheesh. lol

Good luck!
Kara


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

*Pearly Whites*

I use Pearly White bones instead of brushing to keep their teeth clean. :brushteeth: The vet says they're doing a great job and the dogs really enjoy them. Some take a while to get used to them, but if they see another dog chewing the Pearly White they normally want one too. Mine just dove into the Pearly Whites and have always liked them. 
You can order them at www.doggy-gifts.com and they have free shipping so you can try them for about 3.00 and that gives you two of the bones.
As a side note, I called Danny at doggy-gifts and asked him if they would be willing to donate some Pearly Whites for our National in August. They said sure and offered a lot of them, then talked about it and decided to donate even more to us and are sending the Bone Mints as well. I love that company! :whoo:


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## Poornima (Jun 29, 2007)

Hi Jan,
I too give Pearly Whites to Benji. He enjoys chewing on them. I am hoping that it would help to some extent to prevent tartar. Doggy-Gifts is a great company. From what I can tell, they offer the best price for Pearly Whites. 

Best,
Poornima


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## Suuske747 (May 9, 2007)

it doesn't say anything about non-us shipping ((((((


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## EMarie (Apr 11, 2007)

Try getting him off the floor...I brush all my dogs teeth when they are getting a bath, the girls are in the sink and the boys are in the bath tub. But because they are about to get a bath they all stand still. And I brush about 3times a week. But in the begining it was only at bath time until they got used to it. Good Luck...I use the babies first tootbrush...really soft and small. they don't tend to protest as much with that tootbrush...


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## irnfit (Nov 21, 2006)

Well, everyone has been talking about these Pearly Whites, so I bought them yesterday. I opened the package, the dogs sniffed them, and then walked away. However, they loved the frozen marrow bones, so I guess those are good at working on their teeth.


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## CapotesMom (Apr 3, 2007)

Well I ventured into the teeth brushing thing today. I used to give him some bones that cleaned his teeth but he's since lost interest in them and his teeth are getting kinda gross. So I got the peanut butter tasting toothpaste which he likes the taste of, and then I pulled out the brush. It's this three sided thing that he instantly decided wasn't for him. Well..I figured today we'd just get used to having fingers in the mouth. I thought I'd try to teach him a command to open his mouth like 'open'. He gets it a lil bit but I don't think he likes keeping his mouth open on command. when he got the praise he left it open for a while but lost interest and tried to pull away..lol. When he did get used to it I tried to touch his teeth here and there..which of course he didn't like. That will take some more getting used to. 

Baby steps I guess. We won't introduce the brush yet. Lets just get used to 'open' and fingers in the mouth.. lol


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

That's a great way to start, Mindy. A lot of people will put the toothpaste on their finger to get the dog used to having it put in there. Some of the flavors are really enticing, so they will quickly move up to the toothbrushes when they realize the flavor is there. You can make it a 3-step transition.

1. Put the toothpaste on your finger and put it on the back teeth so he realizes that is where it is going to go.

2. Move to putting a dab of toothpaste on the toothbrush and let him suck it off after you do #1.

3. A couple of days later, when he realizes the toothbrush is OK and has a treat on it, then you can then start using that to apply the paste to the back teeth. I let mine suck on the bristles after so the residue doesn't sit in it, which reinforces #2 that you did in the beginning.


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## Poornima (Jun 29, 2007)

Kimberly,
Great tips! What brand of toothpaste do you use? We are still working on his "toothpaste -taste" preferences! 

Thanks!


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## good buddy (Feb 20, 2007)

Rufus gets the poultry flavored toothpaste. We tried the beef flavor but he wasn't very interested in it. He sure does like the chicken though! We've been brushing every night since he first came here and then he gets his biscuits after. Kimberly had already started them on the t/d biscuits and Rufus is crazy about them! It makes the brushing easier since he gets a treat afterwards.


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## good buddy (Feb 20, 2007)

littlebuddy said:


> he runs everytime he hears me pull the cup out that containes his paste and brush so he doesn't like it but once i start, he sits there and doesn't complain.


That's so strange that he runs away! Rufus will start whining and giving me the look right around 8:30, just because it's time to brush our teeth. He is such a slave driver! He always comes running if he hears me brushing my teeth because he wants to have his brushed too!


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## Poornima (Jun 29, 2007)

Christy,
What brand of toothpaste do you use? What are t/d biscuits?


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## good buddy (Feb 20, 2007)

Benji Boy said:


> Christy,
> What brand of toothpaste do you use? What are t/d biscuits?


The toothpaste is called Petrodex.  The biscuits are Hills Prescription Diet...the t/d small bites canine. I get them from my vet's office. http://www.hillspet.com/zSkin_2/pro...older_id=1408474395183868&bmUID=1191126409307


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## Poornima (Jun 29, 2007)

Thanks Christy! I too have Petrodex and Benji didn't like chicken or peanut butter. I have to check if they have any other flavors that he may enjoy. I just wish there were samples available.


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

Poornima, Christy seems to have stuck to the products that work best in our house. Petrodex and C.E.T. are the two brands of toothpaste I've used, but C.E.T. is only available from veterinarians and seems to be quite a bit more expensive. Both are enzymatic toothpastes. All of my dogs prefer the poultry flavor, but I have bought beef when in a pinch. They just tolerate it to get to the t/d bites.

Benji may do better if he thinks he gets a treat for getting through it. However, the t/d bites are specifically designed to help remove tartar from teeth... and the dogs don't realize it is a dental treatment in itself!


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## Poornima (Jun 29, 2007)

Thanks!

Dr. Hogan had given me C.E.T but Benji didn't like it. I will check the t/d bites. Benji doesn't like chicken and rarely eats it. I will have to find beef or pork or Gouda flavor in Petrodex!


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## Beamer (Jan 29, 2007)

Question.. I've been using the liquid oral care on beamer for over a week now. When using this, should you also brush teeth? Or is the liquid enough??

Thanks!
Ryan


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

Ryan, that totally depends on if it is doing the job. If you look at Beamer's back upper molars, do they have plaque on them? If so, you may be needing to brush as well. A dog's tongue does most of the work for you when you put a dental treatment in their mouth. They spread it around with their tongues, but they cannot physically reach their back upper molars, so he will need your assistance. If you are putting the liquid back there, then you are ahead of the game, but if you are just putting it in his mouth, he will probably develop tartar in that upper area despite the liquid treatment.


Poornima, if you can find the Gouda flavor, I'd like to hear about it! Ha ha!


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## Poornima (Jun 29, 2007)

Okay, forum pals, since we are so conscientious about our furbabies' dental care, would you join me to lobby for "Gouda" flavor at Petrodex? ound:


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