Brushing Your Pet’s Teeth

Did you know that February is National Pet Dental Health Month? You may have come to expect your dog or cat to have stinky breath, but it doesn’t need to be that way. Pets need regular dental care, just like we do, to stay healthy. Aside from the health implications, let’s face it, wouldn’t you rather have a pet with fresh, clean breath breathing in your face?

Good dental health starts with the right food. There are all kinds of pet foods out there, and it can be hard to know what’s best for your pet. One of the early signs that your pet’s food might be less than ideal is a buildup of tarter on her teeth. Some pets may be genetically predisposed to developing dental problems, including small dogs, and brachycephalic, or short nosed pets, whose teeth are more crowded. There may also be trouble if your pet has retained any of its baby teeth.

If your pet has bad breath, if her teeth look dirty, or if she acts like her mouth is painful it’s time for a visit to your veterinarian. If she’s just had her teeth cleaned, or if your pet is young and her teeth are in good condition, there’s no time like the present to start brushing to keep them that way. Brushing your pet’s teeth doesn’t need to be difficult. In fact, many pets learn to really enjoy having their teeth brushed with just a little training.

Last week we talked about training for nail trims, and the process for tooth brushing is very similar. You need to introduce the tools and the handling, and you can even train for position if you’d like to, just like we did for nail trimming.

<strong>Introducing the toothbrush and tooth paste</strong>

Most dogs and cats won’t already have the negative association with a toothbrush like they often do with nail clippers, but some might, so it’s important to start off slowly and in a positive way. One nice thing about toothpastes for pets is that most of them are made to appeal to their tastes, and to be swallowed. This means that you can often use a dab of toothpaste as a treat! Never use toothpaste meant for people on dogs or cats, not only are they not meant to be ingested, which you can’t keep your pet from doing, but many also contain the artificial sweetener xylitol, which is very toxic to pets.

Assemble your tools first, you’ll need treats, some toothpaste made specifically for pets, and gauze, a finger brush, or toothbrush. You could use a regular toothbrush, just make sure the bristles are soft. Show your dog her toothbrush, and treat. Repeat. If your dog doesn’t have a problem with the toothbrush, put a little toothpaste on your finger and let her lick it off. If you’ve chosen well and she likes the toothpaste, let her lick a little off of the toothbrush. For a few days, get the toothbrush out at least once a day, and let your dog lick some toothpaste from the bristles.

<strong>Handling your pet’s mouth</strong>

For the most part, dogs aren’t as sensitive about having their mouths handled as they are their paws. On the other hand, cats are often more sensitive about their mouths than their paws. Either way, that’s where your pet keeps her sharp parts, so proceed with caution. Start when your pet is already relaxed, after a good play session for example, when she’s ready to just hang out with you and snuggle. Start by touching your pet’s neck, and touch equals treat. Repeat. As long as your pet is comfortable and relaxed, every couple of repetitions touch a little closer to the mouth, and make sure to practice on both sides of her face.

When you can easily touch anywhere along your pet’s face, and she remains relaxed, you can start to work towards lifting her lips to see and touch her teeth and gums. To achieve this, first add a little bit of duration to each touch before offering your pet her treat, slowly build up to about 5 seconds. When you’ve reached your desired duration, add just a little pressure to your touch, and back off on the duration. If your pet is happily tolerating all of this, it’s time to start lifting the lips, just a little at first. If not, that’s okay. Back up a step or two and keep practicing.

<strong>Putting it all together</strong>

When your pet is okay with the toothbrush and toothpaste and the handling separately, it’s time to put it all together. By now you should know if your pet likes their toothpaste enough for it to be used as a treat, if not, that’s okay, just have some treats ready to go. Start by introducing the toothpaste as part of the handling process. When you lift your pet’s lips, place a small amount of toothpaste on your finger, and gently rub it into your pet’s gums. Take a short break, and allow your pet to taste the toothpaste before you try again. If your pet doesn’t love her toothpaste, this is where you would feed a treat.

When your pet is comfortable with your finger massaging her gums all along the outside of her mouth, you can add in the final part of the training, which is whatever piece of equipment you intend to use to brush her teeth. This may be a piece of gauze, a finger toothbrush, a regular toothbrush, or some people even use special dental wipes. Whatever you use, it’s ideal to brush your pet’s teeth every day, but at minimum, try to fit it in a few times a week. Prevention is the key to ensuring your pet lives a long and healthy life.

<strong>If you want to train position</strong>

If you’d like to train your pet to sit or stand in position while you brush her teeth there’s just one more big step to add in (with lots of little steps). If your pet already knows how to sit or stand and stay, you just need to combine it with brushing her teeth. If your pet doesn’t already know how, both of these behaviors are easy to teach, but we’re going to focus on a sit stay.

With your treats and a marker of your choice ready (I prefer a clicker), sit down with your pet in a quiet, low-distraction room to get started. Let your pet see that you have treats, and quietly wait for her to sit. If you don’t have much in the way of patience, you can use a treat as a lure, placing it just in front of your pet’s nose, and then slowly and gently raising it up and then pushing it forward, back over her head. As she follows the treat, if you’re going slowly enough she will naturally place herself into a sitting position. Once she gets there, mark the behavior, and reward her with a treat.

Repeat that process a couple of times, and then you’ll want to quickly fade out the treat and turn the motion of your hand into a hand signal. Many people worry that by using treats in training their pet will only perform when treats are present. That’s only going to be true if that’s what you teach your pet to do, and that’s one reason I’m cautious of using food lures in training. If you choose to use them, it’s okay, just remember to fade them out quickly. Once your pet is offering a sit on at least eight out of 10 tries, you can add the verbal cue “sit” or another cue of your choice.

Now you’ve got the position, you need to add duration. Once your pet is sitting, wait a second or two before you click and treat. Repeat. As long as your pet is successful, you can continue to add a little bit of time every three or four repetitions, but bounce around a little bit, so you’re not always adding more time, but gradually increasing the average time your pet is sitting before a click and treat.

Finally, you can add distractions, or your handling, to the process. Ask your pet to sit, and start at the beginning of your handling practice again, clicking and treating her for remaining in a sit stay at each step. If at any point your pet breaks the stay, that’s okay, just start over a step back and break the next step down into smaller pieces before moving forward again. It may sound a little tedious, but once you and your pet have a little practice, you’ll be amazed at what you can teach in under a minute.

Celebrate this Pet Dental Health Month by training your pet to love tooth brushing, and remember, the best Valentines have clean, fresh breath!

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