Cattle

Archive for March 8th, 2009

Have you ever noticed that sometimes your dog has really bad breath and you’re not even sure why?  You’re certain that your feeding them healthy food and not feeding them any treats or other foods that are sources of bad breath.  Did you ever stop to consider the fact that maybe you’re not brushing your dog’s teeth enough.  This could be the number one cause of bad breath in dogs.  

There are a number of reasons why you should keep up with the task of cleaning your dog’s teeth, and bad doggy breath is certainly at the top of the list.  Sure you enjoy hanging out on the couch watching a movie with your dog right beside you, but not if his breath is so bad that you can’t stand it.  If you start to notice that his breath is bad, then that means that you have failed to keep up with the cleaning of your dogs teeth.  You can also see that your dog needs to have his teeth cleaned by looking at them closely.  You’ll see buildup starting to show towards their gums which is often dark yellow to light green in color.  This is generally what we know as tartar.  

Bad breath is not the only problem associated with not cleaning your teeth properly.  Your dog can also experience forms of gingivitis which is caused by not keeping up with tooth care, as well as a general weakening of the gums that surround the teeth.  In order to prevent this and other types of conditions, you have to keep up with the daily care of your dog’s entire mouth.

So how do you clean your dog’s teeth?  Well it’s actually pretty simple.  The bare minimum tools require is a toothbrush, preferably one that is used for brushing a baby’s teeth.  Since dogs teeth and gums are more sensitive than human teeth, they require a softer brush so they are not scraped or scratched during the process of brushing.  As far as the technique of brushing goes, you can use a similar technique that you would use when brushing your own.  You can dip the toothbrush in a water to provide a more rinsing brush, or if you want to use toothpaste, there are certain types of toothpaste available for dogs that come in all types of flavors.  

Cleaning your dogs teeth should be done on a regular basis in order to keep them as clean as possible and free from any issues such as bad breath, dog gingivitis, or other complications that may arise from not cleaning on a regular basis.  Keeping your dog’s teeth fresh and clean will keep your dog happy and you as well.