Taking care of your dog’s health and grooming needs is vital if you want a healthy pet. To that end, here are our 6 easy home remedies to get tartar off dog’s teeth. Some of them can sound troublesome and annoying but dental hygiene is as important for dogs as it is for people.
In fact, it can be viewed as even more important because dogs tend to stay quiet about oral pain and ignore it for as long as possible. This, in turn, can lead to some pretty unfortunate health problems down the line, not to mention a lot of toothaches.
Home Remedies To Get Tartar Off Dog’s Teeth
Figuring out how to get plaque off dog teeth is something a lot of dog owners don’t realize they are going to have to do before they get their dog. The very idea of brushing a dog’s teeth can seem even laughable to a lot of dog owners.
After all, dogs don’t get their teeth brushed in the wild, right? Indeed they don’t but they also don’t live as long as they otherwise could. Additionally, when you keep your dog on a mostly soft food diet (which does have many benefits) you remove the main way for how to get plaque off dog teeth – chewing bones. So, you’ll need to find another way to do that. Here are our 6 suggestions:
- Introduce some dry kibble into your dog’s diet. While soft food is usually better for nutrition, kibble’s benefit for dental health shouldn’t be ignored. That’s why most experts recommend a combination of both dry and soft food in your dog’s diet.
- Give your dog more (healthy) treats. Treats are awesome for training so many owners skip them when they decide that they don’t want to train their dogs. The added benefit of treats, however, is that they are often dry too and help with dental hygiene.
- Add powder supplements to your dog’s soft food. There are many food powder supplements for soft dog food that can work quite well.
- Get a few good chewable toys. This is a must both for dental hygiene and for keeping your dog happy, active, and entertained in general.
- Brush your dog’s teeth at least once a week. This can sound complicated but we’ll explain it in detail below.
- Consider introducing bones to your dog’s diet. This point is a bit controversial so we’ll explore it in more detail below as well.
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Why Is It Crucial to find The Right Home Remedies To Get Tartar Off A Dog’s Teeth?
Ignoring your dog’s dental hygiene can lead to many of the same problems as the ones that can happen to us. The most common ones include:
- Bad breath
- Cavities
- Gum disease or Periodontitis
- Gingivitis
- Loss of teeth
How To Train Your Dog To Tolerate Getting Its Teeth Brushed?
Brushing your dog’s teeth is actually much easier than it sounds. All it takes is knowing the right approach and having a bit of patience. Here’s a simple step-by-step guide:
- Get your dog “introduced” to the toothpaste and the toothbrush. Don’t try to use them yet – just show the dog the brush, let it sniff it, put some paste on your finger, let the dog lick, and so on. You can do this several times in the span of a few days to get the dog used to these items.
- Train your dog to tolerate you rubbing its teeth with your fingers. Obviously, wash your hands first, and only rub your dog’s teeth for a few seconds at first. After rubbing, give your dog a treat. Rub only individual teeth at first and slowly increase the number of teeth and the duration of the exercise.
- When you can rub your dog’s teeth for up to a minute with your pet protesting, get some gauze and start rubbing your dog’s teeth with that.
- Once the dog is used to the smell of the paste, the feel of its teeth getting rubbed, and is familiar with what a toothbrush is, start actually brushing your dog’s teeth.
Are Bones A Good Way To Help With Dog Tartar Removal?
We are mentioning this tip separately as it is a bit controversial. The problem with bones is that they can sometimes get stick in your dog’s throat or, even worse – in its stomach and intestines. Puncture wounds are also quite possible and dangerous.
At the same time, there are ways to avoid this and bones are indeed one of the best home remedies to get tartar off a dog’s teeth. What’s key about bones is that they must never ever be cooked.
Cooked bones are much more likely to splinter and hurt your dog. Raw bones, on the other hand, are much more edible. The types of raw bones most experts recommend include chicken, turkey, lamb, and beef bones. As long as they are not cooked and they are not too small and sharp (nor unmanageably big), your dog should be alright.
Still, even with raw bones a lot of experts warn that the risk is just not worth it. While accidents are less likely, a dog can still choke even on a suitably sized and soft raw bone. So, observing your dog closely while and after eating bones is definitely recommended. And, given the fact that there are so many other great home remedies to get tartar off a dog’s teeth, it’s not a bad idea to skip bones altogether.
Can A Groomer Or A Vet Help With The Plaque and Tartar Buildup On Your Dog’s Teeth?
Indeed they can. Most vets and all dog groomers will happily take care of your dog’s dental hygiene. At the end of the day, that’s a big part of a dog’s health. However, considering that plaque will keep building up constantly, it’s wise to organize a few home remedies for tartar – you can keep going to the vet for a toothbrushing every week, after all.
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