Caring for your dogs teeth

By Stacey Warwick   |   Date added: 28 Sep 2014


If you're the old school rough and ready type it can be a stretch of the comprehension to read that you have to clean your dog's teeth. I mean animals in the wild don't clean their teeth, so why should your dogs? Well that is ignoring the overwhelming evidence that the amount of problems that can be avoided by doing this simple task.



Chances are the majority of the food your dog eats are soft foods (the principle characteristic in all dog and cat foods in fact) but the softness is the thing that allows dirt and bacteria to build up; this is why incidentally it's good to give the dog bones or a chew toys. But even if you are doing this vets still recommend that you brush your dog's teeth at least once a week (ideally twice). 
Also check you dogs teeth and gum for any damage as bacteria will find its way into their blood stream very easily. Be on the lookout for not just blood and redness but any swelling, bad odor, or increased salivation and drooling. These are all signs that they may have a problem requiring a vet.
Last thing to note is, and this might seem obvious to you, but it's not to some from what we were told, is buy a special dog tooth brush and tooth paste, the number of owners complaining to us that their dog won't let them clean their teeth only to concede that they are using their old brush and a squeeze of Colgate is laughably high.





Source: The Dog Magazine





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