How to Brush your Pet’s Teeth
Animals also suffer from the plague most humans know as bad breath. Domestic dogs and cats are highly prone to bad breath, which can indicate serious oral illness, such as gingivitis, periodontal disease, and cavities. So doing a bit of preventive brushing will really help out your pet’s health. By keeping your cat or dog’s mouth and teeth clean, bacteria cannot build up and cause problems.
Make sure to get your pet checked at the vet before you begin a tooth brushing regimen. If your pet has an existing oral disease, brushing its teeth will hurt it.
Veterinarians recommend brushing teeth once daily, however, weekly brushings will do. A good time to brush a pet’s teeth is when they are nice and relaxed.
Never use paste or brushes meant for humans. The chemicals in human toothpaste can hurt an animal and human brushes are just too rough. Buy a finger toothbrush and toothpaste meant for animals instead; they can be found at a local pet store.
Some pets might be reluctant to open their mouth, so you need to habituate it to accept teeth cleaning. Always treat and praise the animal when it does what you want it to. Make sure your pet understands it is getting rewarded for this behavior so in the future it will gladly do so again.
Make sure your pet is relaxed when you brush his or her teeth. Each pet will want to relax in a different way before letting you brush their teeth, such as on your lap lying down or standing. However, do not let your pet lie on its back because it could choke on the sudsy water.
Put the finger tooth brush on your finger and put a bit of toothpaste on it. Thanks to this type of soft bristled brush, you will be able to have a lot more control while brushing. Instead of thinking about it as brushing your pet’s teeth, think of it as massaging its mouth. Use small circling motions over all the surfaces of the teeth to make sure you are getting every bit covered. It is best to go over the cat or dog’s tongue as well. This is a breeding ground for bacteria.
Always treat the pet after the brushing is over. When your animal next tries to give you a sweet little kiss, it will be nice and clean.
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