Do you brush your dog's teeth?

Sunflower7777

This is one of those things that makes sense to do, but somehow I doubt a lot of people do it. We were paying to have our lab's teeth cleaned once a year, but she's 10 now and it seemed hard on her when we did it two months ago - going under the anesthesia and whatnot. So I'm trying to brush her teeth every now and again, but she didn't much like it today! 

Do you brush your dog's teeth? Any tips if you do? 

j-w

I really need to do this.  We have 3 small dogs.  My oldest and youngest got their teeth cleaned in Nov and we haven't brushed them.  I just kind of forgot about it.  Maybe we should start.  My middle dog is going in next week for his first cleaning.

AndiG

I do not.  I actually tried doing this starting when she was puppy, it never went well.  She is 7 and she's had them professionally cleaned only twice - when our vet thought it would be a good idea.  I dont' think it matters, but we have a mini schnauzer.

The pet board would have tips for you on this, I'd try there.

DandelionMom

Infrequently but I figure any little bit helps.  My dogs are not fans (and the cats are worse) but they seem to do better with it when I can make it as low-stress as possible. 

karen6784

No.  My Jack Russell is 10 years old.  I have brushed them in the past, but it has been a long time.  I never brushed our labradoodle's teeth.  He is 2 years old.

Rebekah1021

We brush our dog's teeth every other day. We also get her teeth cleaned twice a year. She does pretty well with the anesthesia.

She has gum disease, so we are trying to keep it in check. We have been doing this routine for about 9 years. She has already had to have 6 teeth pulled.

We tag team her. I hold her down and then DH brushes. We also follow up with a mouthwash we get from the vet and she hates it. 

Littlejen22

Rebekah1021:

We brush our dog's teeth every other day. We also get her teeth cleaned twice a year. She does pretty well with the anesthesia.

She has gum disease, so we are trying to keep it in check. We have been doing this routine for about 9 years. She has already had to have 6 teeth pulled.

We tag team her. I hold her down and then DH brushes. We also follow up with a mouthwash we get from the vet and she hates it. 

What does that cost?  I have not brushed them in years and really need to

amberlynnr7

No, I don't. We buy them special bones for their dental health. They sell them at Petsmart. I know it shouldn't be the alternative, but it's better than nothing.

Rebekah1021

Littlejen22:

Rebekah1021:

We brush our dog's teeth every other day. We also get her teeth cleaned twice a year. She does pretty well with the anesthesia.

She has gum disease, so we are trying to keep it in check. We have been doing this routine for about 9 years. She has already had to have 6 teeth pulled.

We tag team her. I hold her down and then DH brushes. We also follow up with a mouthwash we get from the vet and she hates it. 

What does that cost?  I have not brushed them in years and really need to

The cleaning is usually around $250 and then when she has to have teeth pulled it goes up to about 300...not pretty... 

ilovemygirls

I used to have a vet that was a dental specialist & he said that if you didn't do it VERY regularly, there was no sense in doing it because it wouldn't really make that much of a difference.  We give our dog raw bones for his teeth- they are wonderful for keeping the plaque away & we should do it more!  He did have a cleaning last year when he was 9 and had to go under to have a broken tooth pulled.  We lost another dog at age 9 after he went under for a tooth cleaning. It was awful.  So ours going on age 10 here, I'm just really not comfortable doing it again so we need to go get bones more often!