Do you brush your dogs teeth?

[MarleyPyr]

Hi everyone,
My brother just came back from the vet (he has a Jack Russell) and was told that he should be brushing his teeth regularily. My vet has never told me that and I have never really read much about it either. Is this something that you all do?

[People Whisperer]

I don't brush Lily's teeth because she would not let me put the brush in her mouth BUT I do use tooth wipes every week or so and I scale your teeth myself...for some reason she doesn't mind that. She just lays there and let me scrape the heck out of it, LOL!
I do think it's important to take care of dog's teeth because bacteria causes all kinds of diseases in dogs

[MarleyPyr]

Teeth wipes and scaling teeth... can you explain more I am not familiar with either of those things..
I feel like a bad mom all of a sudden!

[People Whisperer]

Here is the scaler
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000M5NA1E?ie=UTF8&condition=new&tag=nextag-pet-mp-20&creative=380345&creativeASIN=B000M5NA1E&linkCode=asm
I just scale all the yellow stuff of of Lily's teeth every 3 months or so. It's really easy to mess up and only takes 5 minutes
Teeth wipes I use are these but there are plenty of other brands

http://www.allivet.com/D-D-S-Dental-Wipes-p/16002.htm

P.S You shouldn't feel like a bad momma 

[CrazyLoveRosie]

Hmmm I don't clean Rosie's teeth either. I just try to prod her to chew more on her dentabones and dentapears.

[Ida]

We brush our danes teeth several times a week.  Doing it since they were puppies.  They get a treat at the end, a dentabone! 
Ida

[arkydo]

I don't , but my Vet always checks them and always says they look good, when she says thy dont look good i'll probably see how the boys take to it

[Newly Newfed]

I brush Sierra's teeth.  I try to do it once at least once a week, but she doesn't like it and if she fights me too much on it, I'll give up.  It's not worth getting full of toohpast slobber and the vet has said her teeth look good though.  When there starts to be a probelm, I'll be more willingto get messy.  Until then, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[London_Pyr_Lover]

I rub a little toothpaste on Najas teeth with my finger and massage her gums with my finger as well.  She won't tolerate a toothbrush or that silly finger brush thing either.  I try to do this at least once a week, but have been slacking as of late.    I've been thinking of getting a scaler myself but haven't noticed any build up so I guess it just never occured to me while at the pet store.  She does also get lots of Denta Bones too though.   

[GreatPyr]

No tooth brushing here,I give my guys plenty of chew things like knuckles,rawhides..extra...the vet checks them each vet visit so far so good,not saying its not a good thing to do but I just dont.I can barley get my son to brush his

Ps..I love the new Avatar of Marley,that is a really good pic!

[Mojo1269]

It depends on the dog.  My boys get plenty of Denta-Bones, Marrow Bones etc... but they still occasionally get plaque build up.  As gross as this sounds I use a finger nail to scrape the plaque off, they are both OK with that.  I was not a big believer in the whiole  brushing thing until a friend who is a vet gave me the low down on what mouth bacteria related to plaque can actaully lead to,  I had no idea all the bad things it can do.  I initially thought it was more of a vanity thing but he attributed part of my danes long life (12.5 years) to good dental hygeine.

[lins_saving_grace]

I do religiously

[ZooCrew]

I had been doing them all about 3 times a week for several months but have slacked off as of late.  They have about 6-8 bones (have no idea what kind, shank maybe) laying around that are constantly chewed on.  Well, except for Keiko she gets them when they are new but after a few hours she's done.

But her and Gunther's teeth are pretty good, although her gums aren't great.  Nigel's are also okay, but Posey's teeth are the ones I have to keep an eye on and do scrape the tartar off with my finger.  I want to get a scaler as all 4 allow me to pick at their teeth.

[NarniaMals]

We try to catch each of the pups 2-3 times per week.  We have to work one at a time with the others either crated or outside the house.  They absolutely love the toothpaste part - the toothbrush is another story.  We have moved back to the finger tip brushes and seem to be having a much easier time. Anything having to do with what a mal considers "food" works well and can be done!  Our vet was very very concerned about making a good attempt to brush a few times a week.  We try out best - but we could do better.  We also use the dentabones and always have a supply of a variety of bones around the house and in their crates.

[marypyrs]

I do the finger tip brush every day and the brush a couple times a week on my guys. HOWEVER ~ let it be known ~ 

#1 I have no children at home.
#2 I have no husband at home. (hahaha)
#3 I am (thank God!) Retired!

So I do have a lot of time that many & most of you do not. Brushing or finger tip brushing a couple times a week and raw marrow bones worked well for my guys over many years & many fur babies.