[Peggy]

My dogs are the worst at letting me brush their teeth, probably because I haven’t done so on a regular basis, ever.

I read somewhere on here that a spin brush is a good toothbrush to use. Any other tips to help with this would really be helpful. Our vet won’t do a dental on the JRT until he loses at least 7 lbs. We’re working on this!

[Akari_32]

Is his mouth infected at all? If not, start giving raw meaty bones (like turkey and chicken necks, wings, thighs, and legs– my 8 lb Jack russell mix loves legs!). If the mouth is infected you can give chews like bully sticks and tracheas (you can give these along with RMBs, as well). If there is an infection, you should also consider asking the vet about giving him some antibiotics.

If he will chew any of these things, you will probably end up not even having to a dental.

[Dog_Obsessed]

I have the same struggle of Lily refusing to let me brush her teeth. I can sort of brush the front ones, and I can rub toothpaste on, but not much more than that. And this is after trying for several months to acclimate her to it.

I can also support that RMBs are good, even though I don’t give them myself. The idea of “raw” just grosses me out too much. I give Lily Himalayan Dog Chews, which are vegetarian natural chews made out of very hard cheese. I have no idea if they clean teeth, but she loves them anyway and it seems like they could. More on those here: /forums/topic/himalayan-dog-chews/

I don’t really believe that commercial “dental chews” such as Greenies really work, though I suppose they are better than nothing. The ingredients in most of them are really bad. I occasionally give Lily one of the ones with slightly better ingredients as a special treat. There is a topic on Greenies and other commercial dental chews here: /forums/topic/greenies/

Good luck!!! 😀

[Jo R]

I use a piece of panty hose wrapped around my finger to rub my little dogs teeth and gums. No toothpaste just wet the fabric. It is amazing, the dogs do not object like they did with a toothbrush and you can actually see the tarter come off on the fabric. A vet tech told me this trick and in a very short time their teeth have become remarkably cleaner. Be gentle, the rough nature of the fabric does the trick without excessive pressure.

[Peggy]

I have never heard of this Jo. I will definitely try it.

Akari, you mention giving them raw necks, wings, thighs, legs…….. I always thought these bones were too brittle to give a dog?

[Akari_32]

Only when cooked. Raw bones are generally very safe. However, some dogs are terrible chewers. Always supervise when giving any sort of chew, and take it away if you feel the dog isn’t chewing it properly. Bentley is very good at making sure he completely brakes the bone up into tiny piece before eating them. Some dogs get them into several larger pieces, and swallow them down, which is what you don’t want. Nor do you want a dog to chew too strongly on a bone that is too dense and break any teeth. Poultry bones and chews are best for small dogs. I also give Bentley pork hocks every now and then, as the bones are very small and soft, and there’s a lot of chewy skin on the outside.

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