Do you brush your pet's teeth?

[calibali]

I haven't read the replies here since it's such a sore subject for me right now, but I just wanted to say that if you do not brush your dog's teeth PLEASE do!

My Yorkies had yearly dental appts where they would get their teeth cleaned (instead of brushing since they wouldn't let us), and the day before Thanksgiving my little girl Cali passed away while she was being put under anesthesia to get her cleaning. She was only 5.5 years old and never a health problem in her life. It was an unexpected accident, but what I wouldn't give to have her back...

Please take care of your pets.

 

[CherryBlossom]

I don't brush my dogs' and cats' teeth, they get greenies and our vets have said they have better teeth than theirs. No joke. I don't brush my horses' teeth BUT they get an annual filing and cleaning by the equine dentist. It's pretty cool to watch actually.

I've never seen greenies for cats, only dogs. I googled it and found they sell it on petco.com So you think the greenies for cats work? Do your cats like them? My cats are very picky eaters but might be worth a try. Are the pieces small? And how are the pieces of greenies different than just feeding kibble? My girls eat kibble so wouldn't that have the same effect?

I am real sorry

 

[MsP]

I haven't read the replies here since it's such a sore subject for me right now, but I just wanted to say that if you do not brush your dog's teeth PLEASE do!

My Yorkies had yearly dental appts where they would get their teeth cleaned (instead of brushing since they wouldn't let us), and the day before Thanksgiving my little girl Cali passed away while she was being put under anesthesia to get her cleaning. She was only 5.5 years old and never a health problem in her life. It was an unexpected accident, but what I wouldn't give to have her back...

Please take care of your pets.

oh my... so sorry Calibali!

 

[yssie]

I'm so, so sorry Calibali.

 

[LJL]

Calibali, youre freaking me out! My big girl is getting her teeth cleaned right now for the first time! Never again!

 

[calibali]

I'm sorry to freak you out, but it's just not worth the risk. My little girl had blood work done in advance, was checked over before, and yet, something still went wrong.

I hope anyone reading will seriously consider if it's truly worth it since the pain I've endured tells me it's not.

 

[Haven]

We don't brush them. Our pets are all on a raw diet, which according to our vets makes it appear as if we brush their teeth regularly. Every time we bring them in the vet says something about how their teeth look so amazing. One of our kitties had a gum issue as a kitten, so we coat them in a gel thing every month. By we I mean DH, which is why I have no idea what the gel thing is.

My best friend brushes her dog's teeth every week, but that only started after he had to have some teeth pulled at only age 3.

 

[Haven]

Calibali, I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[LJL]

Haven,
Whats your experience with the raw diet like? I've been considering switching my pups over - I feel like they would love the meat part but don't they have to eat raw carrots, potatoes, etc?

 

[Haven]

LJL--DH does everything for it, so this is all from my semi-participant perspective:

It's a lot of work. The cats' diet is easier than the dogs' diet, because we buy the Nature's Variety medallions and feed those to the cats. The dogs get actual meat, so DH butchers chickens and removes the fat regularly. And then weighs everything, and makes sure the meat to bone ratio is right. He blends a complicated concoction of veggies, oils, and herbs every week and freezes them for the vegetable component.

The results are wonderful. The animals are all super healthy, their coats are gorgeous, and as I said earlier our vet thinks their teeth look amazing. But it costs a lot of money and it takes a lot of time, so I wouldn't do it unless I were very willing to put a lot of resources into it. DH researched raw diets--read books, went on threads, spoke to owners, etc.--for a long time before he even started. We buy only organic free-range yadda yadda yadda meats, so that adds to the cost, but I really do think it is a very expensive option.

I love that DH is willing to do all of it, but I have to admit that I wouldn't be up for it if I had to do it myself.

ETA: I sound so negative! Sorry. I'm not. I think the raw diet is just something that you have to be very committed to doing well if you want to do it. I obviously lack that commitment, myself. There are other raw diet PSers here, I bet you'd get a lot of info if you created a thread about it.

 

[LJL]

Holy smokes Haven. Yeah, it does sound time-consuming. We don't really have any problems feeding them Blue Buffalo - their coats are beautiful and they enjoy it. Its just an option we've been considering. Knowing that my SO would definitely not be cutting meat and that it would be all my responsibility is part of what's holding me back. I always knew it wouldnt be easy but your post has turned me off of it completely! Dont worry about sounding negative, I think that was what I needed.


But I do think I will try the greenies more. We did that a while ago but my dog just woofed em down I will give them another try and I think the gauze tip is great. The dogs will let us get into their mouths with the toothbrush but it just seems ineffective. Since we got our big girl back from the dental cleaning (without any problems!!! ) I feel better now about just doing the gauze brushing.

Sorry about your little one Calibali - I can't imagine my life without my furballs

 

[asscherisme]

I haven't read the replies here since it's such a sore subject for me right now, but I just wanted to say that if you do not brush your dog's teeth PLEASE do!

My Yorkies had yearly dental appts where they would get their teeth cleaned (instead of brushing since they wouldn't let us), and the day before Thanksgiving my little girl Cali passed away while she was being put under anesthesia to get her cleaning. She was only 5.5 years old and never a health problem in her life. It was an unexpected accident, but what I wouldn't give to have her back...

Please take care of your pets.

Oh my gosh, I am so sorry for your loss. How devastating.

 

[asscherisme]

I don't brush my dogs' and cats' teeth, they get greenies and our vets have said they have better teeth than theirs. No joke. I don't brush my horses' teeth BUT they get an annual filing and cleaning by the equine dentist. It's pretty cool to watch actually.

I bought some greenies yesteday and gave it to them when I got home and both my cats loved them. This morning when I picked up the bag they were very excited. I'll see how it goes.