Community Chat

[Daysdee]

Some items at Amazon can be put on "subscribe & save" and you can choose to get them once a month, every 2 months, etc. There is a discount if they are in this program. Also, if you get a shipment of 5 items on "subscribe & save" that month, you get 15% off of each item and free shipping. Look at subscribe & save online at Amazon. You can change the frequency, ship dates, etc.

[glmama]

On 8/2/2014 luvmyteddy said:

On 8/2/2014 glmama said:

My dog has the tartar problem, too. And although my vet recommended the dental cleaning chews, I find that my dog has had problems with them. I can give him the small ones, meant for small dogs, even though my dog is about 45-50lbs. But when I have given him the bigger ones he has choked a bit OR, one time not long ago, had terrible diarrhea and some vomiting. Not fun for him, not fun for us to clean up.

Sooooo, I am going to be a better pet parent, perhaps, and start actually brushing his teeth! He is very docile and loving and I'm hoping he doesn't have any issues with me doing it.

For those that DO brush their dogs teeth, what do you use? Brand of supplies? Brush? How often?

I realize I could start another thread asking these questions and perhaps I will! Sorry to hijack this one!

I was buying Royal Treatment Products from HSN but they don't sell the dog paste anymore, even on line through Prince Borghese.com. I like the shampoo and luckily stocked up on the dog paste. One tube would last a year. Liver flavored is always good.

I only brush a couple times a week and they still look good for 16.

Thanks, luv. I'll have to look for liver flavor! And a good toothbrush.

[doxie1]

Glmama- I use the CET toothpaste in chicken flavor. I brush teeth daily. You have to train them to like it. Let me know its you want me to post the steps I use. I do not use the toothbrush.

doxie

[glmama]

Hi Doxie-Thanks so much for your reply!

And YES, I would love you to post steps and how you brush without a tb!

And once again, I"m sorry to the OP for kinda hijacking here!

[doxie1]

Jean Louise- The greenies are good but they will not replace the tooth brushing. You may already be doing that. I combine the tooth brushing with the greenies hoping to delay teeth cleaning as long as possible. You may not need to give a green each day. The vets office also sells something called CET dental chews that has the enzyme toothpaste on it. That may help depending on your dogs chewing habits. My dog chews and swallows too big of chunks so it is not great for her.

I am adding the toothbrushing information on your thread in case you are interested as well.

Teeth brushing

1. It is not about brushing the teeth It is about massaging the enzyme toothpaste especially on the outer edges of the teeth. The enzyme does the work.

2. Get your enzyme toothpaste and some gauze to begin with. Everyday before your dog gets his/her meal is THE time to brush their teeth. (trust me)

3. Depending on the size of your dog, put them where you can stick your finger in their mouth. small dogs in your lap .. big dogs sit in front of you.

4. Wrap a piece of gauze several times around your finger and place toothpaste on the gauze. Let your dog smell and even lick a little of the toothpaste. Keep telling your dog it is time to brush their teeth and giving them positive reinforcement.

5 Do NOT pry your dogs mouth open. Instead slide your finger in the side of their mouth much like you would do on your own mouth while keeping your teeth together. Massage the paste up and down against the teeth and gums. Slide your finger back as far as you can. Repeat on the other side.

6 When you first do this the dog will probably keep their teeth closed or try to gobble, lick the toothpaste. It will get better as the dog gets used to it. I questioned the sanity of this the first 2 -3 days of doing it. It paid off.

7. The most important thing is to immediately feed your dog after the brushing. This will condition (pavlov) your dog to know that dog food comes after teeth brushing. They get excited about toothbrushing and run to you for it. (too bad it is not this easy with children)

I now get home to dogs with their lips curled up in anticipation of the brushing and feeding. I was late and they got hold of the toothpaste once and tried to do it themselves once. It was a mess.

As they get used to it they will let you go longer and even open their mouth for it. Then if you want to get one of the finger brushes or a toothbrush you can try it. Most people (myself included) think it is like brushing our teeth when it is not so you do not want to get that vigorous brushing going on the dog or you will cause discomfort. I continued to use the gauze most of the time.

I can not tell you how grateful I am that my vet took the time to teach me how to do this.

doxie

[elated]

I buy my dog Greenies from Value Pet Supplies.com. I always buy in quantities of 3 boxes. The boxes contain 24. The cost is $85.94 plus free shipping for the large. I give my dog a greenie everyday. His teeth are great. He loves them.

[glmama]

Doxie-Thanks for posting your steps. I appreciate it.

[JeanLouiseFinch]

Thanks for the responses. I'll have to see if there's a select and save seller that has a good price. Otherwise, I'll just put it on the calendar with the other things I order every month.

Thanks too, Doxie, for posting the steps for successful teeth brushing. I do it the way you have stated, with the paste on the gauze pad, but admittedly I haven't been terribly faithful. I'd always brush at random times of the day, which doesn't really help get the dog used to a routine. I'm working at becoming more faithful and setting a separate time. Maybe I'll try before he eats.

As for the Greenies, they arrived on Saturday and we began using them yesterday morning - one daily. He seems to really like them. So far, no choking, no puking, and stools haven't changed.

elated - thanks for recommending VPS. It turns out our price per chew is about the same. Yours come out to $1.19 each and the ones I get from Amazon Prime are $1.18 a piece. Either way, I think we've both found the best ways to save on these pricey chews.