Brushing Your dogs teeth

[mmizuno94]

I was just curious to see how many of you brush your dogs teeth? We recently bought a toothbrush and toothpaste set to brush our dogs teeth since we noticed some bad tarter build up on their teeth. I was hoping the chew bones and such would help cut down on their tarter but it hasn't seem to, so we were going to try and brush their teeths our selves.
Any advice on brushing dogs teeth? Our dogs aren't very big dogs but they are very squirmy dogs. We haven't tried brushing them yet. We have both the toothbrush and the kind you put on your finger.
Any advice/and or storys of your experince will be nice to hear.

Thanks!!

[sheplovr]

Make sure you got doggie toothpaste, do not use human it will make them sick. I brush a couple of my 7 shepherds. What works for them once a week is a RAW beef soup bone from the grocery store. They chew for months on these till I need to go around and pick them up and dispose of them. I do NOT give my dogs anything Rawhide, only very hard things. There is a good bone at Wal Mart one for small dogs and a very large one for bigger. They are a tan in color and have a good taste, my dogs chew on these when inside, I do not let them go out with them as they are $7.00, small ones cheaper. They last a long time too.

[mmizuno94]

Yes I have the doggie toothpaste. It's chicken flavored. The toothbrushes and toothpaste came in a set.
What is the bone called at wal mart? Is it a raw bone? I'll have to look for it the next time i'm at walmart.

[ReesAkita]

I brush both of my dogs teeth at least once a week.The puppy loves it but my Akita will only sit still for a short time so with him I concentrate on his back teeth since that's where he gets the most build up.My dogs dont like the toothbrush but they do pretty good with the one that goes over the finger.They also prefer the peanut butter flavored toothpaste.I give them natural beef bones as well.They last a long time and seem to keep the plaque down on their front teeth.

[SUSAN203]

I brush my dogs teeth every other week...I know, I should do it once a week. I use liver flavored toothpaste and because I've been doing it since they were brought home, they are used to it and don't mind it so much. Of course, they expect a reward when we're done!

[Danegirl2208]

Don't have much advice. My dogs get raw meaty bones..thats all the "brushing" they need. Their teeth are sparkling white, and their breath is pleasent... never have had to brush them.

[salukigirl]

my 7 yr old jrt we got from a shelter in ohio. her previous owners only gave her table scraps and its obvious. black build up and so much tartar she can hardly eat right. if its as bad as hers you need to go to a vet and get a full dental. usually theyre around 100 dollars. then you can brush to keep from building up tatar. but if its that bad already you need to do something drastic cause brushing wont be enough to both get rid of it and protect it.

[SweetPea]

i also give raw meaty bones.

she gets either a chicken wing or a beef rib bone every night for dinner, and once a week she gets a bone marrow.

[Ltlpistol]

I have a toothbrush for my two, and I was brushing once a week, but unfortunately in one of our trips back and forth between home and SA, I lost the stuff. Anyway, I also buy the Prescription Diet TD formula from the vet that Tiffers works at, it's a kibble specially formulated to brush their teeth as they eat it, and they love them. You can hear them crunching them in the middle of the night!