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Brushing Your Dogs Teeth

Rocco Jet and his toothbrush

Periodontal Disease is the most common disease found in dogs.

You wake up every morning and brush your teeth, after meals you brush your teeth, before you go to sleep every night you brush your teeth – but what about your dog? I don’t know about you, but my little dog is like my very own four-legged shadow, he follows me everywhere around my house, and yes – even into the bathroom. Staring up at me with those curious eyes, always wanting to know, “Hey Mom, whatcha doin’?” He wants and needs to experience all the daily routines with me. I couldn’t imaging what some dogs must feel like that don’t experience the daily tooth cleaning routine. I couldn’t imaging waking up every morning and not brushing my teeth or my dogs teeth. Well, your dog feels the exact same. They experience the same bacteria, plaque, tartar, severe tooth pains and periodontal disease. It’s so easy to just create a routine and stick to it.

Only you can control whether or not, your dogs teeth and gums are healthy or not. If you start the routine from day 1, your dog will actually enjoy the experience. Well, that is what I’m hoping for. Jaxie still gives me a pretty hard time, but he’s getting better and better each time with less squirming. It is very important to know that healthy gums and teeth equals a healthy body. If your dog has bacteria and bleeding around the teeth, this bacteria in the mouth can enter into the bloodstream, infecting the heart, liver and kidneys, which can be potentially life threatening.

Prevention of periodontal disease is EASY. Keeping the surface of the teeth clean equals healthy gums and using several different products helps with the overall goal. For example, there are regular toothbrushes, rubber finger toothbrushes, dental sponges, dental wipes, oral sprays and gels and of course, dental chews. Please remember to only use toothpaste designed and made for dogs, never use your toothpaste. Human toothpaste can be very harmful if swallowed and can create nausea. Every time you visit your Veterinarian ask the doctor to see just how well you are maintaining your dogs teeth. They are the experts, they will be completely honest with you and tell you if you are doing a great job or if you’re not, they will provide you with tips and the tools you need to improve. Getting advice from your doctor is smart and will keep you motivated to maintaining your dog’s tooth cleaning routine.

From my own personal experience, I alternate between Vet’s Best Enzymatic Toothpaste and Virbac CET Enzymatic toothpaste. I also use dental wipes occasionally. I have found that applying PetzLife Oral Care Gel after tooth brushing works great. Both PetzLife and Vet’s Best are 100% natural dental product that helps control and remove plaque and tartar and kills bacteria and freshens breath. (FYI – don’t allow your dogs to eat anything for 30 minutes after applying Petzlife oral gel) Jax, my chihuahua, is pretty tiny, so I had to buy a toothbrush that would fit into his mouth. Just make sure that you find a toothbrush size that isn’t too large for your dogs mouth. Try all kinds of products, eventually you will find the products your dog likes.

DOGZAR wants to help keep your dog . . . SAFE, HEALTHY and HAPPY!

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