Dental Health

JBB Dog Training

James B Barnes
3.13.19  3:28p


With March and Spring Break starting, the last thing on your mind is brushing your dogs’ teeth. Most pet parents don’t think it’s necessary either, after all the dogs don’t seem to mind the loss. They wouldn’t even know what dental care was if you could ask ‘em, it’s just not part of their world. Recently while speaking with my friends after one had gotten a cavity filled I found that some people also consider dental health care optional for people too. Ladies, date better men. Yuck!



The human mouth is very similar to an open sore; which is why it’s so vitally important to take care of it. Tooth infections can spread and move to the eye or further and that can prove fatal. Human mouths have a type of Porphyromonas called P. gingivalis, while canines have a different type called P. gulae. They’re related but not transferable between the species. This means that your dog is also vulnerable to dental related illnesses, just like you. By age three 80% of dogs and cats have some sort of periodontal disease.



If you’re like me, you don’t have a ton of free time so hearing that you should add another task to your list is just exhausting. Thankfully, other people have already thought about this! There are a huge amount of dental chews online and in stores in any pet store you go to. When you go out and look for them, make sure to bring your dog if you can. They’re the ones that are gonna be chewing on it so why not let them choose the thing? No harm in it.



In the next few paragraphs I’m going to discuss the products I have tried and how they worked for us. I am not being paid by anyone to talk about these procuts, I just work in a building that sells some of these items so these are the ones I know the most about.



WHIMZEE makes a great long lasting dental chew that is vegetable based. There are lots of different shapes and sizes and textures to encourage all types of chewers. The upside is that these definitely help scrape plaque off of their teeth and are totally edible so you can feel safe knowing that they’re meant to be digested. Obviously, with any chew toy make sure to supervise your dog so they don’t choke or cause injury to themselves somehow.



Since I’m working with my dogs on becoming “handle proof”, or as close as we can get, I do use Well&Good brand toothbrushes, toothpaste, and some teeth wipes to wipe down their teeth and gums every other day or so. I try to keep them on a fairly consistent brushing schedule, but sometimes things happen. That’s when I’ll toss in some extra dental treats to help back me up. I usually give them the StarMark Everlasting Dental Chew. Once they’ve chewed heavily for an hour or so I exchange them out for something else, wash the StarMark chews off, and then throw them back in the freezer.



While we’re on the thread of frozen treats lets talk about what level of durable chew is appropriate for what age pup. I work with a lot of pet parents that got a new puppy and want to see them try to chew on a giant cooked hambone right away; unfortunately that can lead to broken milk teeth and/or impacted adult teeth.



The average cost for removing impacted teeth is $800 and then you have a toothless and achy pup with months of painful recovery to follow. Once your dog is healed up from that you have a few options. You can feed wet food and use soft toys or you can try to find a veterinary orthodontist to fit your dog for dentures. That’s a whole ‘nother article though.



Young puppies shouldn’t be chewing on things that are too hard for you to press your thumbnail into a smidge. Most pet stores will have puppy specific chew toys so you can introduce the right thing to chew on instead of your hands. Before they’ve lost their milk teeth and until their adult set has grown in try getting cheap plush toys. I know, I know, but stay with me here. While you’re out, get some low sodium beef or chicken broth and some small plastic sandwich baggies the size of those plush toys.



Pour the broth into a bowl and soak the toys in the broth. Try and keep as much broth in the stuffing as you can and place each toy into its own sandwich bag and then drop tose bags into the freezer for a day. Now you have a handful of long lasting, high value toys that will help soothe teething pains. When a toy has been shredded you can take the skin of the toys and then stitch them together to make a “new” toy. I like to reuse the skins so I don’t spend too much money on toys. Gotta stay in budget!



Adult dogs have some more leeway with what they can chew on. You can start introducing the softer, more porous bones, like ribs, once the dog is between seven and eight months old. Around then they’ve goth their adult teeth in and it’s safer to give them harder bones. No matter how old or how independent your dog is always make sure to supervise their chewing. The one time you walk away is going to be the one time they get a wild hair up their keisters and choke on a piece of the bone they snapped off.



What are some chew toys that help your dog keep their teeth clean? I’m always looking for more things to spoil the kids with!