Teeth brushing

[piratelover]

What are some good tips for brushing the teeth of your dog? My dog will let me do it for a short amount of time then gets bored really fast. I am only able to get halfway done. How can I extend the tooth brushing time and make it enjoyable for him?

[Leila'sMommy]

How old is he? I know it's nice to be able to get it all done at one time, but it might be better for both of you if you try to do parts of it at a time, then let him play, then do it again a little later to finish up. I have a baby toothbrush for Leila...well, I did until the Lab just got it and chewed it up. I have to go in the morning to buy a new one. Anyway, Leila loved hers. She would let me brush and brush. I think it felt good to her gums. Before I started actually brushing her teeth with it, I let her play with it to get used to it.

Just gotta add in case you don't know, but don't use human toothpaste. It is dangerous to dogs.

[BellaNotte]

I did it by baby steps with Cici. The only place she will let me groom her and brush her teeth is on a high little foldable table, because she has nowhere to go so she just gives up and relaxes. Start by really really short intervals, and use treats. I would use cheddar cheese with Cici at first, it really got her attention. I would whisper "stay" while I grabbed her by the hair under her mouth gently for just half a second, and let go, give a treat, then 1 second, 2 seconds, and so on. This was teaching her to "stay" when I told her to. Then after she was able to stay still for about 4-5 seconds, I started pulling down her lip part to see her teeth, and doing it for short intervals with treat reward until she got the hang of it.
Then you can start introducing the brush. You could either put some tooth paste on your finger and rub it on her teeth to get her used to that (also doing it by short intervals like above), or you can use the finger brush, or just go straight with the regular dog brush or a soft baby brush (they're cheaper). Doing it by short intervals, slowly moving up to being able to brush all the teeth. For the first week or two always give treats after each interval, then after you feel he understands the process and what he has to do, you can stop giving treats and just say "good boy!".
There's a lot of other different methods, but this is the one that worked really well for me and Cici, and now she's to the point where I can get her to keep her head super super still while I do something like get something out of her eye or something on her face. I don't ever make her stay still for more than 5 seconds though, I always give her a little break and then do it again if I have to.

[Grace'sMom]

I get about half a mouth each night.... I don't push it. Their teeth are great. Gus is going to be 3 this year and the vet says his teeth are wonderful.

So I'd say do what you can and get the rest later