Cleaning your dog’s teeth

It might come as a surprise for many dog owners, but they need to actually clean their dog’s teeth daily.

It’s very common to think that dogs are somehow “self-cleaning” in all ways and need little to no maintenance.

But reality shows us a different picture...
Don’t believe it? Try lifting your dog’s cheek and you might see something like this as well.

Here’s what dirty teeth look like, and what clean teeth look like.

On the left is are teeth that have never been brushed and on the right are teeth that have been taken care of.

The surprising truth that we like to remind owners is that dogs in the wild, where they receive no daily care, have an average life span of only 2 years.

And the lack of dental health is one of the reasons for this short lifespan.

What happens to dirty teeth?

Similarly to us humans, when dogs eat, bacteria starts to build up.

And when that bacteria is not removed, then the teeth start breaking down, they’ll turn yellow and brown and plaque begins to cover them.

After some time, the teeth become painful and eating becomes more and more difficult.

In the end, the teeth will either have fallen out, making it impossible to eat anything, or the bacteria will have made it’s way to the blood stream and poisoned the creature from the inside.

How can you clean your dog’s teeth?

Although there are a lot of dental sticks and toys that claim to be sufficient in cleaning your dogs teeth, we have actually found that the easiest and most consistent way of cleaning your dog’s teeth is the same method that we all use - brushing the teeth.

Yes, you read that correct, you need to brush your dog’s teeth once a day. Everybody (that cares for their dog) does it.

Here is an awesome video VetVid, where the doctors demonstrate how to do it.

So just get yourself a gentle tooth brush for your dog and some dog toothpaste.

And all you have to do is gently brush the external side of your dog’s teeth for up to a minute. Your dog’s tongue takes care of the inside of the teeth.

Clean the brush with some hot water and you’re done for the day!

That’s all it takes, just a minute of brushing every day to give your dog a long and happy life.

Here’s a link to a dog toothbrush and toothpaste you can buy on Amazon.

You should be able to find these in your local pet store as well, but they might not have as big of a selection as Amazon does.

Once you using toothpaste instead of chew toys to clean your dog’s teeth, then you’ll start to realise how much more affordable this option is.

Chew sticks typically cost a couple of bucks and you only get to use them once, compared to toothpaste, which costs around 10 bucks, but you can use it for months.

That averages out to a cost of only a few cents a day to clean your dog’s teeth, which is great news for your wallet!

And as always, remember to take things slow.

Your dog might not like this activity, so it’s up to you to gradually show your dog that this is a good thing and nothing to be afraid of.

And of course, don’t forget to do all of the other health related tasks as well, which we’ve written out in our free dog training app - Pocket Puppy School.

Good luck and happy brushing!