Toothbrushing should be a positive experience for your dog. To help them feel comfortable with the process, you will need to desensitize them to lip/gum handling and the toothbrush and toothpaste.
Patience is essential when building trust with your pet for toothbrushing.
Move slowly and help them build a positive association with the process by rewarding them during every step. For a food-driven dog, you can give them their favorite treats. For an attention-driven dog, give them lots of praise and then extra playtime afterwards.
Here are some tips for getting your dog to accept toothbrushing as part of their daily routine.
Desensitization is most effective when started during a dog’s puppy years, but it’s not impossible to desensitize an adult dog—as long as you provide tasty or fun incentives.
To start desensitizing your dog to gum and lip handling, move their lips and gently touch their teeth as you would with a toothbrush.
As your dog gets used you touching inside their mouth, you can introduce a dental wipe or a piece of gauze wrapped around your finger in order to mimic the motions of a toothbrush.
You will want to gently touch their teeth and provide lots of praise and treats so they learn that good things happen when you are dealing with their teeth.
Once they tolerate this, use the wipe to begin moving your finger in a circular motion over each of your dog’s teeth.
If your pet seems overwhelmed, go back a step or two to recreate the positive association.
Be patient; while this may be easy for some dogs, it’s normal for it to take weeks to months.
Even if you never make it past this step, you at least have a pet that will tolerate toothbrushing with a dental wipe. That can still be a helpful form of preventative dental maintenance.
Introducing the Dog Toothbrush
When you first introduce a toothbrush to your dog, practice giving your pet praise or a treat each time the toothbrush is brought out.
Once your dog associates their toothbrush with positive treats and praise, you can begin gently touching your pet’s mouth with the toothbrush. Keep repeating this process until they are comfortable.
You can then work on building comfort with the brushing motion.
Don’t force your dog into accepting toothbrushing. Go slow with the process until they feel comfortable with each step towards toothbrushing. You want them to enjoy or at least comfortably tolerate the process, not dread that activity every day.
Introducing Dog Toothpaste
Just with the previous steps, you will need to introduce the toothpaste slowly as well.
Dog Teeth Cleaning VancouverSince dog toothpastes are made with flavors that mimic the foods that dogs already enjoy—like poultry or beef—you can start by just letting your pup taste the toothpaste from your finger.
If they like the flavor and lick it up happily, then you can bring out the toothbrush.
If your pet allows toothbrushing but hates toothpaste, go without the toothpaste. The mechanical act of toothbrushing even without toothpaste is still helpful.
How to Clean Your Dog’s Teeth
Toothbrushing is best performed daily, but every other day can be helpful. However, brushing less than every other day makes little-to-no difference in dental health.
The best approach to brushing your dog’s teeth is to think of your pet’s mouth in sections: back right, front right, back left and front left. It’s also a good idea to stand behind your pet with them in your lap.
This position will make sure you are both facing the same direction and can make it easier to access all the sections of your dog’s mouth.
This position will make sure you are both facing the same direction and can make it easier to access all the sections of your dog’s mouth.
Give each area the same amount of brushing, and remember that you only need to focus on the outward-facing side of your dog’s teeth.
Apply your pet-safe toothpaste (if using) to the toothbrush and moisten with water.
Apply toothbrush to your pet’s teeth at a 45 degree angle.
As you start brushing, address each region (back right, front left, etc.) individually. Focus on three horizontal strokes (back and forth) and then a final stroke going from gumline towards tips of the crown.
The back teeth can be a place where tartar accumulates rapidly. To help expose the back teeth, gently pull your dog’s lip back at the corner of the mouth.
If you notice that the toothbrush bristles ‘curve’ or visibly deflect, then you are pushing too hard.
Brushing too hard can lead to gingival damage. Imagine brushing off a tomato without bruising it—this is about the same amount of pressure you should apply with a toothbrush.
Other Dog Dental Care Options
You should never get to the point where you fear being bitten by your dog during toothbrushing.
