Do you dog-owners brush your dog's teeth?

Do you groom your own dog? If not, many groomers also brush dogs teeth. Or at least the groomers at the dog day care/kennel I used to work at.

Obvious reasons why one should their teeth brushed (not necessarily on a daily basis).
1. bad breath
2. cavities.

The vet might be a tad overkill - price wise.

Also, if you have ever heard of Greenies? And other treats of that kind. They're designed to act like toothbrushes (in a limited sense).

I asked because I was reading a vet page online which recommended brushing their teeth as often as you brush your own and taking them to a vet dentist twice a year for scaling. Then I looked up what scaling would cost here and was horrified at the amount.

Yes, we always bought dental chews and we did brush their teeth occasionally.

And yes, we groomed our dogs.

We're considering getting another one (our last one passed in February) and a dog-seller told me her miniature poodle goes to the groomers every three months and has his teeth done at the vet (by ultrasonic, I think she said) at least once a year. God knows what that costs!

I never did with my dogs and except for the current one, none had any teeth removed. Lilly dog had quite a few teeth removed a few month ago, but she's 15 years old. She has cataract and hearing loss too, it is what it is. Veterinarians are eager to take your money...

Lilly goes to the groomer every 6 weeks, that's needed, but twice a year teeth scaling - I don't think so! They're dogs after all, they chew on these sticks and hard kibbles, that should do it.

Don't get a poodle - they're high maintenance and prone to all kinds of diseases. You'll spend a lot of time at the veterinarian with them. Just get a mixed breed, they're much healthier.

We certainly won't be getting a poodle or a dog from a breeder. I'm looking at rehoming a dog, a rescue. I'll just keep looking.

I brush my teeth -



I part them in the middle.

Hello! We have a standard poodle, I use the tooth wipe every day once and he has pretty teeth. He also chews his nylabone daily.
I saw a comment stating that standard poodles tend to have all kinds of health issues, get a mix. I guess it depends on dogs. Our is a very healthy one, had no issues so far (he is 3 and a half now). We only had to take him to the vet 2 times. Once when a groomer almost poke his eye out and he had a bloody eye, and once when also a groomer did something to his ears and he got a bad ear infection. Luckily he is OK, and he is groomed now at home. :-) Poodles need hair brushing 2-3 times a week, I do it almost daily, takes only 5 minutes, not a big deal. I think it takes less time than dealing with cleaning the shedding dog hair from everywhere in the house. ;-). Poodles do not shed... and they do not have that typical wet dog smell either. :-) But the main reason for us getting a poodle was that they are hypoallergenic (my Hubby is allergic to dogs), the same is not true for poodle mixes.... in case you are looking for a hypoallergenic dog.

Thanks for your input.

I won't get a long-haired shedding dog again. The amount of fur that comes out when grooming is ridiculous - half a Safeway carrier bag, each and every time. I had to get our vacuum serviced annually, with three dogs' hair in there.

I'll wait for the right dog to come along.

:-) You are welcome! Good luck, it will come along! :-)

Tooth decay in humans has been traced back to diets that include sugars and carbs (that break down to sugars). Hunter/gatherer societies had very little tooth decay. Assuming your dog has a normal dog diet and some chew toys, I doubt tooth decay is an issue. Bad breath, I can't speak to. Our ten year old dog has never had a tooth brushing.