Do you brush your dog's teeth?

[Anonymous]

Yes - we should do it every week but it's more like every other week. 30 lb beagle. Method is similar to one of the PPs - she sits next to me or lies on her back for a belly rub, I put my arm on or around her, use a finger to lift her lip and shove the toothbrush in. I use poultry-flavored CET toothpaste; it's difficult not to get her to lick off the whole dollop but it definitely gets her to open her mouth. Like baths, she doesn't love it but will tolerate it without putting up too much resistance.

[Anonymous]

Yes. We adopted a pug mix who was 3 years old last year. We brushed his teeth about once a week but he had too much damage and needed 8 teeth removed a few months ago!! His xrays showed that his teeth were barely still attached and many were dead (which explained his terrible breath). Especially if you have a small dog it's really important to brush their teeth. All dogs have the same number of teeth regardless of how large their mouth is. Which means smaller mouthed dogs have very crowded teeth and it's easier for bacteria to hide in between them. We still try to brush his teeth 1-2x a week, because he can't afford to lose anymore, poor pupper