So, there was this little Pomeranian cutie-pie sniffing around my petite back yard the other day. I went out to great the little fellow and he came right over with little hesitation after I gave my "I'm harmless" postures. Groomed to some extent, wearing a (tagless) collar and quite elderly was he. "Must belong somewhere", I hoped and went back inside for him to wander back to where he belonged.
Meanwhile, my dogs were going nuts with this diminutive intruder.
My son followed suit to announce, "stray dog!" in the yard. So, out I went to chat with him about the little beast who at that time had decided "it's all good!" by trying to hump my very tall pre-teen. It was then that I noticed this dogs teeth. Did he have a canine tooth missing? Oh yeah, you bet he did! And the others were so rotten I can't imagine how they were staying in his mouth. ICK! Besides this little monster being adorably cute, his mouth was a trash pit and made me ill to look at it. Long story short, the dog disappeared and hopefully found its home.
I decided shortly after to clean my dogs teeth! Now, I do this very regularly and I know and understand that this can be a challenge to most owners because dogs simply aren't nuts about having us put a fist in their mouth (exaggeration, but you know what I mean)!
TTouch and common sense to the rescue!
Common sense: Dogs need to have their teeth cleaned. We as conscious beings know this. We know what happens to teeth that are neglected and the diseases that can result from it. News flash.... dogs get it too! No big surprise there, is it? They have teeth, they eat, they get tarter build up. Tarter can lead to gum disease. Gum disease can lead to other ailments such as liver problems and other colorful goodies your vet could tell you all about.
But the average doggie does not understand these truths (do any?), they just don't want YOUR hands in THEIR mouth. But as a considerate and caring human, should you take their feelings as a guideline and honor it? Would you do so if it was your child whining how he just doesn't like the toilet as much as his diaper?
Time to put on the big girl panties and teach Bowser how much fun tooth cleaning can be. Yeah, you'll be lieing a bit, but you CAN make it fun.... sort of. Okay, fun enough for them to comply and that's all you really need.
Let's talk about teeth cleaning products and choices. There are many OTC brands to choose from out there, then there's RX brands (vet), and finally the "whole hog" tooth cleaning done by your vet.... which does involve anesthesia and is only a few chapters short of actual surgery.
On one end of the spectrum are the OTC brands, they are the bottom feeders of tooth cleaning products. They will do an "okay" job, they're cheep and they will need to be used OFTEN to see any results. On the other end is the vet cleaning which does an amazing job but is rather costly, involves a day visit at their office and being "put under" for the procedure.... this is a "big" deal. Inquire with your vet about specials he or she may offer (mine does a reduced cost for the entire month of February every year).
Then, there's the RX brands such as "Oravet". This is not as inexpensive as the marginal cleaners in the pet shops, but is far cheaper than the vet cleaning and does an amazing job of removing tarter buildup.
Read that again..... Oravet does an amazing job of removing tarter. And, it's easy to use. EASY.
TTouch: "But, Bosco won't let me put my fingers in his mouth". Oh yes he will. Believe it. Gentle ttouches along the gum and lips will accustom Bosco to having his mouth fooled with. Although the paste comes with a wand for application.... I find "the finger" works better as the dog accepts it more readily and you can feel where you're applying the paste ~ and really rub it on there.
With regular use of Oravet, you can reduce those necessary vet cleanings to every-other-year or so plus not put your animals' health in jeopardy like some proverbial roll of the dice by simply ignoring his teeth.
Yes, you should consider having your animals' teeth professionally cleaned at regular intervals. Consult your vet. Since I have been using Oravet for the past 2 years, no one has had tartar buildup to the degree of needing that annual cleaning. Yet. The Oravet (for me) began as a take home/followup item after the last professional cleaning. I was so impressed with the outcome that I get a refill package every few months. My animals are small so we don't use an entire tray with every cleaning and I simply replace the foil lid and it keeps till next time.
My vet was impressed. She openly wished all her clients knew how great Oravet is and would use it. So, I'm here to tell you, it's great! You should try it. Just one package and see how it goes. No, it isn't dirt cheap, but you're not going to use the box up for at least 2 months and that's only if you use an entire tray to clean your dogs teeth each and every week....which may be the case if you have a HUGE dog with HUGE teeth.....the tray is a generic size, you see.
Think of it this way; you brush your teeth, why shouldn't your dogs have clean teeth too? Sure, they don't live 80+ years like we do.... but they'll be happier, healthier years if their teeth are not an issue. And then think of those brown/black rotten teeth in the mouth of that elderly Pomeranian with his swollen, red and bleeding gums. No dog chew is going to clean your dogs teeth as properly as they proclaim. You don't rely on bubble gum to keep your teeth clean, do you?
Happy cleaning and feel free to contact me if you'd like some moral support. Give us a brag once you've tried it and seen the results.
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