Dental prevention; How to Brush your pet's teeth
Find a time of day that works for you both. Ideally, you would brush your pet's teeth daily, although even a few times a week will help. Setting a schedule will help you remember to do it!
This will take time to train up. Each step can take minutes or weeks to accomplish, depending on the pet! Don't expect to do it all in one go!
Don't wait until there's tartar! Ideally, we brush as a preventative. Once tartar (brown or yellow training) is present, no amount of brushing will remove it. Instead, we want to brush nice teeth to keep them nice and clean! The best time to start is when they are young but have their adult teeth. The second best time is whenever you have the time and inclination to do it!
DO NOT brush your pet's teeth if they have pain, bleeding of the gums, masses in the mouth, or broken teeth. This will cause more pain and make them dislike the procedure. If there is something going on in the mouth, please have the veterinarian check it and help guide treatment BEFORE you try to brush.
HOW TO TRAIN:
1. First, make sure your pet is comfortable with handling of the mouth and lifting the lips. The best way to do that is to use a consistent command (like 'teeth time') and then provide a positive reward for any manipulation they allow. Start slow. Some pets will allow a lot of handling with food rewards right away. Others may only allow you to touch the muzzle at first. Sometimes we have to start with sitting still for puppies! But start where they allow and slowly increase the amount of handling of their mouth, muzzle, lips and head. Make sure it's a positive experience with rewards (praise, toys or food).
2. Once they are comfortable with you handling their mouth, introduce the toothpaste at your scheduled time. You MUST use an animal toothpaste. Human toothpastes are designed to be spit out, plus they are not tasty! Instead, find a flavoured toothpaste like chicken or beef. Let them lick some off your finger. Pair this with the above handling until they are eagerly awaiting you when you reach for the toothpaste.
3. Now introduce the toothbrush. Many are available; you can use an old human one, a kid's toothbrush, or buy a pet-specific finger brush or angled head toothbrush. Any will work! Put the toothpaste on that and allow them to lick it off.
4. Pair the toothbrush and toothpaste with lifting their front lips and brushing the incisors. Provide lots of praise and rewards for tolerating it. They should be trying to lick off the toothpaste!
5. Work up gradually to brushing the back teeth (where there is the most build up). You only need to brush the outside of the teeth, not the inside along the tongue.
6.Provide lots of fun for a job well done at the end of your 1-2 minutes brushing session!
Videos and Links:
Veterinary Partners (Why brushing is important)
Veterinary Partners (Q&A about dental prevention)
Video "How to Brush your Dogs Teeth"
Video "1 minute training" WebMD Pet
This will take time to train up. Each step can take minutes or weeks to accomplish, depending on the pet! Don't expect to do it all in one go!
Don't wait until there's tartar! Ideally, we brush as a preventative. Once tartar (brown or yellow training) is present, no amount of brushing will remove it. Instead, we want to brush nice teeth to keep them nice and clean! The best time to start is when they are young but have their adult teeth. The second best time is whenever you have the time and inclination to do it!
DO NOT brush your pet's teeth if they have pain, bleeding of the gums, masses in the mouth, or broken teeth. This will cause more pain and make them dislike the procedure. If there is something going on in the mouth, please have the veterinarian check it and help guide treatment BEFORE you try to brush.
HOW TO TRAIN:
1. First, make sure your pet is comfortable with handling of the mouth and lifting the lips. The best way to do that is to use a consistent command (like 'teeth time') and then provide a positive reward for any manipulation they allow. Start slow. Some pets will allow a lot of handling with food rewards right away. Others may only allow you to touch the muzzle at first. Sometimes we have to start with sitting still for puppies! But start where they allow and slowly increase the amount of handling of their mouth, muzzle, lips and head. Make sure it's a positive experience with rewards (praise, toys or food).
2. Once they are comfortable with you handling their mouth, introduce the toothpaste at your scheduled time. You MUST use an animal toothpaste. Human toothpastes are designed to be spit out, plus they are not tasty! Instead, find a flavoured toothpaste like chicken or beef. Let them lick some off your finger. Pair this with the above handling until they are eagerly awaiting you when you reach for the toothpaste.
3. Now introduce the toothbrush. Many are available; you can use an old human one, a kid's toothbrush, or buy a pet-specific finger brush or angled head toothbrush. Any will work! Put the toothpaste on that and allow them to lick it off.
4. Pair the toothbrush and toothpaste with lifting their front lips and brushing the incisors. Provide lots of praise and rewards for tolerating it. They should be trying to lick off the toothpaste!
5. Work up gradually to brushing the back teeth (where there is the most build up). You only need to brush the outside of the teeth, not the inside along the tongue.
6.Provide lots of fun for a job well done at the end of your 1-2 minutes brushing session!
Videos and Links:
Veterinary Partners (Why brushing is important)
Veterinary Partners (Q&A about dental prevention)
Video "How to Brush your Dogs Teeth"
Video "1 minute training" WebMD Pet