Cleaning Bella's teeth.

[Bella's Mom]

Hope I do this right. Forgive me if I mess up. Anyway, I groom my mini poodle Bella myself, went to dog grooming school in the early 70's in New York City. I don't do her nails, never liked it. My vet lives around the corner from me, he does them. She will be 15mos. this month. She is a sweetie. Tried to brush her teeth for the first time. She does not like it, my fault should have started when she was a puppy. She lets me bath, brush, comb and cut. she is so good. She does let me touch her teeth and gums with my fingers. How can I get her used to the brush? Thank you.

[Sheila]

They have a finger brush for dogs. It slips on your finger and has little rubbery nubs so you can stick your finger in their mouth and massage, which will clean their teeth. Hope this works for you.

[jude09]

^ yes, I agree with Sheila. A finger brush may do the trick.

I hope it works well for you as well Bella's Mom. ^__^

[Tracey Burns]

I find cleaning both my dogs teeth a nightmare. I have used both the finger brush and a dog toothbrush all they seem to want to do is bite or lick the brush!! Any tips would be appreciated, also how long should I spend - with me I spend 2 minutes but if I spend longer with the dogs they will get really agitated but I still haven't properly brushed their teeth!

[MaryAnn]

What doggy toothpaste are you using??? There are several flavors out there of canine toothpaste (I hope you are not trying to use human toothpaste). My dog loves the "poultry flavor" the best. I let her sniff the tube and lick a little of it first, then she sits still and allows me to brush her teeth with no problem. I started however when she was very young, and I pretty much brush her teeth daily around the same time. She has learned to expect it.

If you've read any of my other posts and comments...you 'll know that I give my dog structure and we have a routine that we follow daily. Dogs are smart and like a routine.

[jude09]

Again a word of advice I suggest that you check the label of the doggy tooth paste that you're buying.

some toothpastes contains xylitol which can be poisonous for you dogs.

[MaryAnn]

Exactly Jude. That is why I get our doggy toothpaste from our Vet's office. Always read the label before giving anything to your dog.

[Tracey Burns]

No, I definitely use the correct doggy toothpaste, but I think that is the problem - they like the taste too much!

[MaryAnn]

Just stick with it...your dog will soon realize that this is something that needs to be accomplished, just like taking a bath, etc.... Just allow one lick and then down to business.

Also.... t/d nuggets are great to clean a dog's teeth.... it pretty much scrapes the tarter off the teeth as the dog bites it. However, it does not take the place of brushing.

[kimico]

OMG How I love this site I clean Marilyns teeth with a natural spray. She had some tarter on her teeth and did not like me cleaning them, she got really stressed but I found this spray once a day until the staining goes takes about a month depending on the degree of staining. Now I spray once a month just to ensure no tarter build up. I buy it in the UK not sure if I am allowed to post were I get it from so if anyone wants to PM me I will be happy to tell them.