Never! I hear you say….
Vets and professionals alike believe that keeping your dogs teeth and gums clean from plaque can have many positive benefits for the health and longevity of your dog.
Older dogs starting from 3 to 4 years old begin to show signs of periodontal disease(gum disease).
Admittedly dogs don’t eat nearly as much as the cavity causing foods as we humans eat especially if your feeding your pooch high quality pet food.
Although we do generally spoil our pooches with treats and scraps from the dinner table on a daily basis, I know I’m guilty of this.
So daily brushing may not be required but a couple quality brushes a week can benefit them greatly.
It’s important to ensure that the frequency of cleans you decide upon you stick with. This creates an expectations from your dog and you.
Having a haphazard approach to brushing your dogs teeth may not be as beneficial and may be more difficult to brush in the long run.
I would suggest to begin brushing your dogs teeth as young as possible, for two main reasons.
The first being that it is easier to train them at a young age and secondly it prevents your dog from forming a build up of plaque. It will also prevent tooth decay and gum disease therefore keeping your dog healthier and pain free for longer.
If your having trouble with brushing your dogs teeth it’s not the end of the world. Ensure you feed your dog high quality food. Speak with your veterinarian if they require to a dental diet.
Aside from that make sure you give them pet-safe toys to chew on. This is a great way to keep their teeth and gum clean.
Here’s a few tips for your dogs oral hygiene.
* Start young. As mentioned before it will be easier to train a puppy than a four year old dog. Although it’s still possible to train older dogs it just needs more patience.
* Professional cleaning. Brushing alone will not ensure that your pooch will have 100% healthy teeth. As we require professional dental examinations so do our four legged friends.
* Use toothpaste for dogs. Using toothpaste meant for people contains fluorides and chemicals designed to be spat out. Your dog will eat most of the toothpaste so buy toothpaste specifically made for dogs.
* Don’t scrub. No need to brush like your removing oil stains from your oven, keep it light and gentle.
* Use a pet toothbrush. Toothbrushes for people a generally too hard, pet brushes have soft bristles. I use the finger brushes that slip on the finger, great for medium to bigger dogs.
* Make brushing fun. I always give them a small treat(healthy) directly after brushing, which is probably why he loves his brushes so much.
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