I'm wondering what everyone uses to brush/clean their chihuahua's teeth? My two girls despise dog toothpaste, but hate toothbrushes even more. So recently, I purchased some cleansing gel (PetzLife). Tinker Bell thinks it is okay with my rubbing it on her teeth, but my other girl ,Halo, will growl and make a big fuss when I try to rub it on hers. The Petzlife company do have another flavor, so I'm thinking of buying that one next. Has anyone had any success w/ this or any other brand/flavor type of dental cleaner?
Also, I tried the cleaner that you mix w/their water, but even when I tried to introduce it slowly into their water (by using a very small amt.), the girls did NOT want to drink their water.
Sorry I can't be of help here. I don't brush Bella's teeth. She chews bones and such and that is about it. Maybe another Chi mommy will know more and be able to help
We bought a kit that came with an arrow shaped toothbrush and beef flavored toothpaste. I think it was made by "Hartz" Radar does seem to enjoy it, but I still brush them every now and then. He seems to have bad tarter and breath problems. Poor little thing...his breath reaks!!!
I am sure several of the members here will have info on this for you. I am like Heather, we don't do teeth brushing here. I know several have talked about the beef flavored toothpaste like Radar_Love mentioned. I have seen some of that stuff in the pet stores before.
I give my girlies Bully Sticks. The are all natural and don't bloat their bellies like rawhide. I just had my annual check up with my Vet last month and he couldn't believe the condition of their teeth. We do feed them dry kibble too.
I'm afraid I'm another who cant help you! lol I dont brush Ellie's teeth but I give her chews and she eats dry kibble. I have recently been wondering if I should try and brush them but I wonder if she'll let me now as I have never tried to and she's not a young puppy any more. I dont know. Have you Googled it?
We haven't done much brushing either.. but we do the bones, dry kibble bit.. And Buddha and Gidget I had their teeth cleaned by the vet. A friend of mine has gotten the stuff to add to the water.. and she just uses gauze on her finger and some doggie toothpaste, not sure what kind though. And when there is a lot of build up she scales them herself. I'm going to be starting down this road soon though.. although none of them are bad at all.. I will need to freshen up a few of them before their dogs shows.. hehe
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My mom's shih tzu mix just had 11 of his teeth pulled, during his last cleaning! Oh, my! He is about 8 yrs. old. I felt so bad for him. Apparently the vets offer a vaccine now to help reduce tartar, but it is a series of vaccinations, not a one time deal. Not sure what I think about that.
I do my boy's teeth and recently got a tooth scaler to scrape off the tartar as opposed to paying $200 the vet charges you. The scaler is really easy to use as long as you have the trust of your dog. Also, I brush their teeth at least 3 times a week. They are use to it and now know what to expect. I would really try to do some sort of maintenance on their teeth if you can, it will pay off in the end.
I use an electric toothbrush, a small childs size one. The vibrating tickles their gums, and the first couple of times I tried, they hated it. I let them touch it with their paws so they could see it wasn't going to hurt them, and that seemed to be enough proof for them, so into the mouth it went like everything else within reach, LOL! They slightly gnaw on it while i am brushing, I think it actually feels good on their gums, and now they are pros! I also use Bully Sticks, and I have heard rave reviews about how well they keep dogs teeth clean.
Thanks for the info! Tinker Bell is pretty good about letting me brush her teeth, but Halo isnt. I'll have to try the electronic kid's toothbrush. I'm not sure what they'd think of the tooth scaler, but I'll definetly look into that, too.