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Do you brush your pets' teeth?

dukebound85

dukebound85

macrumors Core
Original poster
Jul 17, 2005
19,218
4,342
5045 feet above sea level
Do you? My family never has and I don't know why. My parents say they never have with any of their dogs growing up. With our current dogs, plaques and falling teeth are happening as they age (10 years).

I hate it (now that i am older) and they wont let me near their mouths with a dog tooth brush

When I get a dog, I will brush their teeth once a week and a pro cleaning once a year
 
No way, my dog will not stay STILL or let me inside her mouth. Right now I am trying some water additives to add into her water bowl. So far so good, her breath seems to be more fresh and not as foul. The brand claims to fight plague, tartar and other gum diseases. We'll just have to wait and see.
 
My cat's breath smells like cat food.

..Right after he eats. The rest of the time it smells like fresh laundry. WTF.
 
My two cats are lucky I remember to feed them. I kid. I kid.

It never really crossed my mind that I should brush their teeth.
 
I don't have pets anymore, but when I did our vet was big on oral hygiene. Never managed to brush the teeth of any dog or cat though.

A teacher I worked with brushed her cat's teeth every morning. It jumped up on the sink for it.

Dale
 
I look at their gums and boy are they red and some teeth look like rotted out...has to be painful

I wonder if the pain subsides somewhat if it's constant?

I mean, I can NOT imagine not brushing my teeth for 10 years.

I think if you do, you have to start while they are very young so they accept it. AT this point in my dogs lives, they will move their head to not allow me to get close. I feel sorry for them as it's a result of my family's negligence
 
When I had pets, I did but not very often; probably a few times per year for the dogs and never for the cats because I didn't want to suffer the wrath of a cat. I would give my dog those bones that were intended to help clean the teeth. My cat was fed primarily dry food, which helps their teeth. Brushing an animal's teeth is never particularly fun (and please always remember to use special toothpaste for them and NOT the kind intended for humans) so I tried not to torment them or myself too often.
 
I truthfully believe that if you habituate an animal to something like tooth brushing at a young age it will tolerate it for life. My two cats are happy to have their nails clipped at regular intervals and to get in a shoulder deep bath when they get into something nasty, since I've done it to them since kittenhood. Tooth brushing should be no different. That said I still opt to give them "dental hygiene" snacks over brushing teeth.
 
Both my dogs have a Dentastix each day.
After nearly 8 years Caleb's teeth are in great shape.
 
No, and I never really considered it. We just gave them some bones to chew on, and it may have helped, because their teeth were fine until they were really old. It probably depends on what you feed your pets.

What's next, wiping their ass?
 
Nope, we tried and before my dog was put down she had a good few teeth missing. It was just near impossible. We used to have the vets clean them and cut her nails whenever she was out after an operation though.
 
While our dog is great with teeth brushing, nail trimming is a different story. She hates it and won't let us do it.
 
Yup, I brush my dog's teeth every day after we get back from our nightly walk. The poultry flavor toothpaste doesn't do much for me but he certainly seems to enjoy it. :)
 
yep
both my cats once per week
one absolutely loves it , other tolerates it.
both are very picky about brand and flavour of pet toothpaste.
they are 13 and 14 years old.
 
Leareth said:
yep
both my cats once per week
one absolutely loves it , other tolerates it.
both are very picky about brand and flavour of pet toothpaste.
they are 13 and 14 years old.
Click to expand...

Can you come over and brush my cat's teeth? Dogs are easy if they respect you, but I haven't figured out how to get my cat's respect.
 
Why yes! I brush my dog's teeth but I can't seem to brush my hamster's teeth . . . :eek:
 
The groomer does it for us when they go, but yes we make sure it gets done. Two of my dogs are rescues, and the female had some really horrible breath and nasty looking teeth from nothing more than simple neglect of oral care. It cost us $430 to get them fixed, and she had to go under general anesthesia. Totally not worth it considering a simple regular brushing would have prevented 99% of it.
 
scottness said:
Can you come over and brush my cat's teeth? Dogs are easy if they respect you, but I haven't figured out how to get my cat's respect.
Click to expand...

best you get out of a cat is tolerance :D

but seriously, have you tried diff brands of toothpaste?
one cat loves smoked bacon flavour ( dog aisle ) and the other loves the malt flavour
one cat lets me use normal bristle brush , other likes the finger brushes

both didnt learn to get their teeth brushed till adults ( 2-3yo).
I started them by letting them lick off the toothpaste off my finger, then their paw , then smeared on lips , then smeared on teeth
then finally brushed on.
they are fairly old guys now but have all their teeth, no issues and NEVER had to be cleaned by vet.
the quality of their food helps too.
 
Yep my parents have, there 10 years old so they have had some infected teeth. So my mum know and again does it i guess.

I never have brushed their teeth
 
Yes I brush the dogs' teeth. Not as often as I should, but that's out of laziness. It's something best started when they are young, and it's something best done regularly. Once they have a lot of plaque, brushing isn't going to remove it, it only prevents more from forming.

I also occasionally borrow a dental tool from a vet I know and scrape some of that stuff off.
 
Every few weeks or so we try to with our dog, but he wriggles about so much I wonder just how successful our attempts are. Got to be better than nothing though.
 
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