How many times has it happened to you that you have to get away from a person because you can't stand their bad breath? Turns out this is a mouth problem It does not only affect people, it also affects dogs and is that oral hygiene is not something only for humans, dogs also get gingivitis, tartar and bad breath.
Fortunately these are things that can be prevented or solved, as the case may be, so that when someone approaches to pet your dog they should not walk away scared by their bad breath or to prevent even worse things such as the loss of teeth, which can occur due to not having the proper care, regardless how old your pet is.
Do I clean them or does he clean them?
You may also ask yourself this question since it is not usually so common to see a person brushing their dog's teeth, the truth is that if there are special toothbrushes for dogs And there are also special finger covers for that (like those used with babies), although no dog will find it pleasant that they are poking in their mouth, but it is necessary.
You can try both (brush and cover) and thus you will see which is the most tolerable for your dog.
For him to do it himself, you will not wait for him to take his toothbrush and brush his teeth by himself, but if He will do it with special tools that you can provide, such as bones, which have different classifications. There are staghorn bones, which are collected every time the animal molts them and will not only help your dog clean his teeth, but also provide calcium and other nutrients that will help him stay healthy.
Another option is natural bones, which are preferable to be raw (you can get them at any butcher shop) since when cooked they dry out and tend to form splinters that could hurt your pet the false myth that dogs should not be given bones.
You must have care when selecting bone size, as this must be proportional to the size of the dog to avoid that it can swallow it in one go and it gets stuck in its throat, which would cause damage.
There are also so-called pressed bones that are made from the skin or leather of some animals and are completely edible. With this type of bones, what you should take care of is that you do not give them immediately after their food, because would you be giving them a double portion. On the contrary, it is a good alternative for the periods between meals, especially in the case of large dogs that require larger amounts of food.
The fun of cleaning teeth
We have already seen how bones, in their different presentations, are capable of helping the dog to keep your teeth clean, but if you want to go a little further and give your dog fun, there are also rubber or string toys (or combinations of both) that help remove food debris and the appearance of dental plaque or tartar while your dog has fun playing with them.
There is a type of toy that is very fashionable and that are the well-known Kong, these toys not only stimulate the intelligence of the dog through a challenge by containing a prize inside, but also help your teeth cleaning according to the material with which it is made.
One thing you can add to this whole topic of canine dental hygiene are the mouthwash for dogs, which you can get in any specialized store and are composed in such a way that the fact that the dog could swallow it will not represent any problem, since they do not know how to spit.