Dog Breath!

We all love our dog’s right? But we have got some serious work to do to make our K9 companions worthy to be in a toothpaste commercial.

Adult dogs have 20 teeth in their upper jaw and 22 in the lower jaw, they are born with no teeth but by 8weeks old when puppies are normally let go to their new homes your puppy will have his infant teeth. Like human’s dogs have two sets of teeth in their life they will start to shed their infant teeth at around 4 months, replacing them with adult teeth.

As soon as your new puppy has settled in it’s a good idea to get him used to you feeling all over his body. You never know when you may have to pull out a thorn from his pad or clean out his ears. Having a dog let you touch him all over is as important as the food you feed and it also means the dog accepts you as its pack leader.

I find with puppies rather than pushing a tooth brush into their mouths to start with it’s a better idea to place a swab over the tip of your finger or you can buy little rubber caps that fit over your finger end and gently work your finger a round the teeth and gums. Make the first few times just a quick dip in and out; remember puppies haven’t got a long attention span.

Once your puppy is fairly relaxed and his mouth has grown you can replace your finger with a Childs soft toothbrush. DO NOT be tempted to use human toothpaste; it’s very dangerous for dogs who will not spit it out as we do. You can buy special dog toothpaste or use backing powder and I would recommend cleaning two or three times a week. In between the cleaning it’s a good idea to provide nylon chew toys or rawhide chews and hard biscuits these will help clean the teeth as well.

As you get into a routine you will be able to clean your pus teeth when you need to, always give lots of praise with a gentle voice, never shout or slap your pup when you are doing his teeth even out of frustration, he needs to find the teeth cleaning is a routine just like going for a walk. You can offer a reward for when its all done, play a game with his favourite toys.

If you clean your pups teeth and check there is no foodstuff or bits of stick ect in his mouth and his mouth starts to smell and there are inflammation on his gums it could be where his teeth are changing. If it persists seek help from your veterinary surgeon.

Bad breath in an older dog can be the cause of many problems, eczema in the lip folds of dogs with floppy jowls, it could be the bacteria build up in and around the mouth or it could quite easily be his stomach the is giving off the foul smell. If he seems other wise OK in himself, it may be worth talking to your pet food supplier to see what food stuffs will help or ring your vet for advice.