For some people it doesn't last long enough and for others it lasts too long. I do like puppy breath, but I don't love it in that I didn't notice it was gone until one day there was just...nothing. Probably because he is still so young and because he is a chewer, he has nice white teeth and his breath smells like air.
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Clean teeth and a happy smile.
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I've read that rope toys kind of act like a floss and help keep plaque off of the teeth and if that is true, Ray should have some nice white chompers for life considering his obsession with his rope toys and any game of tug he can engage in. But the other day, I realized I stick my fingers in his mouth all the time. Ray likes to "hide" things in his mouth. One of his favorite things to play with is an empty plastic milk jugs and the moment he gets the lid off, I say "Uh oh" and he usually knows to drop it right away. Recenty he has begun to hold it in his mouth, back past his molars and between his teeth and cheek. If I say, "Ray, what's in your mouth?" He turns his head away very nonchalantly as if to say, "Nothing, I don't know what you're talking about, Mom." Usually I can get it by trading, but a few times I have just dug it out of the depths of his "
massive Pit Bull jaws." I think he kind of likes that game.
Anyhow, I realized the other morning that all of this exploration in the depths of Rays mouth had probably set him up for some good hygene habits, so we dug this out to and started to use it.
We're not up to the whole mouth yet, but are getting a pretty good portion of it because, after all a nice helping of poultry flavored tooth paste? YUM!
Do you brush your pooches teeth?
Ray Ray, you are just like Athena in your antics =) We have to stick our hands in Athena's mouth ALLLLLL of the time to fish out things that she is trying to "hide."
ReplyDeleteWe also just brushed her teeth for the first time a couple of weeks ago and it went pretty smoothly. We weren't able to get to all of her teeth, but we did get to most of them without any complaint on her part!
I have heard that it's really great bite inhibition practice to brush a dog's teeth so that they continue to remember how to be very gentle when human skin comes in contact with their teeth!
Casper is not too keen on having his mouth messed with but I keep working on putting my fingers on his lips and peeking at his teeth. He will now let me rub a few teeth before pulling away so we are getting there. Pretty sure a pro cleaning will be in his future though; he's a toy poodle and they seem to be prone to decay :(
ReplyDeleteWe don't brush, but we do a combination of Brite Bites (a breath freshener treat) and PlaqueOff, which is a seaweed supplement that helps to prevent plaque build-up. It's awesome and bonus(!) - we don't have to brush their teeth! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Ray-Ray lets you brush his though! Turk and Rufus were having none of it when we tried!
I think Ray-Ray is pretty happy for the poultry flavored "toothpaste." It was kind of a light bulb moment when I realized I had such good access to his teeth that I decided to brush them. I think one of those fingertip brushes might be better.
ReplyDeletePitlandia-I'm glad I'm not the only one fishing around in the mouth of their pooch!
Christine-maybe the seaweed supplement would help with Casper's plaque?
We brush teeth but only about once a month, so not nearly enough. They do okay, but they try and lick the whole time so that makes it tough.
ReplyDeleteTaylor still has puppy breath and she's over a year old. Is that possible? I have no idea, but it seems to be.