Cleaning Dogs Teeth

[jules34]

Hi,

My 4 yr old black Lab has plaque built up on his back teeth. The vet says he needs to have his teeth cleaned under GA. My hubby is not very happy with this, as he thinks dog is fine, and it's all a bit ridiculous, too much money and unnecessary to put dog thru GA. Dog had his teeth cleaned last year in Feb when he was castrated, and within less than 2 years they need doing again.

I have tried cleaning his teeth but it's a nightmare. He just chews the toothbrush! Or bites my finger! I do give him chews and chew toys, but obviously not enough.

What are peoples views on this? Do you clean your dogs teeth? Do you get them cleaned every 1-2 years under GA? Do you think it's a bit of extra cash for the vet and unnecessary?

Any thoughts/suggestions please!

 

[woolly]

We cleaned our dogs teeth but just used to shove in the toothbrush and he loved it but was a sod for licking the toothpaste off! If the dogs teeth really are tartared up they will need cleaning but have you tried raw bones as they really kept our dogs teeth beautifully white.

 

[Oneofthepack]

I do clean mine and with the poulty flavoured paste they kind of think it's a treat (apart from Alf who tries to kill me when I go near him with the toothbrush

) but a good chunky raw marrowbone every few weeks should keep his teeth nice. If they do get tartar build up then yes they need doing by the vet unless you can pick it off yourself. Most vets will tell you just to break it off with a fingernail (well mine does anyway!) If not removed that tartar build up is uncomfortable at the least and leads to infection, decay, pain and tooth loss.

 

[echodomino]

Raw bone from the butchers. If there's still some there it scrapes off with the edge of a 20p - just mind the gum

 

[jules34]

Thanks for that. Not sure I trust myself with a 20p - might slip and hurt him! It just seems a bit excessive to put him thru GA. I will go to the pet shop and get him some bones and see if that helps.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

I have lots of bones for my dogs, but I still use both toothbrush and a special metal things made to scrape dogs teeth.
When one of my late old dogs needed to have a tooth removed, my insurance even helped to pay, even though the terms says that old dogs teeths aren't covered. But they paid because the vet assured the insurance company that my dogs teeths where, though showing signs of their age, free from plaque.
The number of old dogs with un-treated plaque is so big, and the plaque is considered to be so damaging to the teeths, that all Swedish insurance companys doesn't cover theeths after a certain age. But, as my case obviously prove, if the vet then sees that the old dog doesn't have plaque, and that then can't be the cause of the problem, then at least my insurance company pay their part.

By the way, tell your hubby to not brush his teeths for nearly two years, then ask him how big the chance would be for him viewing it as ridiculous to want to have some plaque removed!!

About your dogs mouth-behaviour, have you tried training him when he's tired? With his finger-chewing habit, I would start with make him sit or lay next to you and put one finger between his lip and the theeths and just hold it there. Make him accept that they're inside his mouth, and if you don't move them he'll hopefully have easier to resist chewing on them.
Once he understands that he's a good boy if he doesn't chew at your fingers, you take the next step and start training that it's the same with letting you touch his teeths, then move around with brush-alike movements, then just hold a brush inside his mouth... Might take some time but compared to needing to take to the vet and pay them for something you can do?
Don't worry to much about hurting his gum, unless you're really careless, why should it hurt more than if you start to bleed after using dental floss?

from Sweden.

 

[benrolo]

We have 3 dogs 2 of which have good teeth, the other a 5 year old Dane has just had his cleaned under anaesthetic for the second time, his breath had started to smell and they ended up taking 3 teeth out. He is a rescue and won't chew on anything (punished in the past?) not even a marrow bone. I have started cleaning his teeth with doggie toothpaste every other day to hopefully avoid a further GA when he is older, he shakes but allows me to do it.

 

[A1fie]

Another vote for bones. Some deli's will give you the cooked bones from the hams if you ask. They are huge and my dog loves them. They also do not splinter. They are the best cleaning tool I've come across. The denture biscuits from pedigree chum are rubbish IMO.