How To Brush Your Pup's Teeth ..

Brushing your dog’s teeth is extremely important and it is advisable that you start to do this from the time your pup is as young as 8–12 weeks old. However, there is no rigid criteria regarding the age and any age, for that matter, is good enough to start. 

Given below is a brief guideline on taking care of your pet’s teeth. A bit of gauze, a toothbrush and pet toothpaste are all you will require. A word of caution though; never use toothpaste meant for humans because it may result in adverse reactions.

Week 1, Gentle Introduction

It is necessary to make your dog feel at ease, therefore some amount of preliminary preparation is required. You can start off the procedure by gently opening your dog's mouth with your hands, running your fingers through its lips, etc., which will result in making your pup feel at ease. But take care to see that you do it for just half a minute to start, gradually progressing to around a couple of minutes by the week's end. Another thing to keep in mind is to end the session by rewarding your pet with positive reinforcement and/or a treat. 

Week 2, Introducing your pet to gauze or a toothbrush

Introducing your dog to a toothbrush or cleaning its teeth by means of gauze can be gradually started by the second week. You can either wrap some wet gauze on your index finger or can make use of a wet toothbrush. After drawing back your pet’s lips, you can gently clean the teeth by back and forth movements. As in the case of the first week, this procedure can initially be started for around 30 seconds and then gradually progress to around three minutes by the week's end.

Week 3, Introduction to toothpaste

Brushing your dog’s teeth using pet toothpaste needs to be done gently and with caution. Apply the required quantity of toothpaste to the brush (usually a little less than an inch), and gently start brushing your pet’s teeth in the same back and forth motion as week 2. In a best case scenario, your pup would have gotten used to this routine by now.

Don't forget to reward your dog with positive reinforcement and/or a treat!

By doing teeth cleanings at home, you greatly reduce the need for more regular, professional cleanings at the vet.

Click here to see a video demonstrating some of these brushing tips.