I wonder if there will ever come a time in the future when computers can do more than just show images and produce sound. Will computers ever advance towards omitting smells? For your sake I sure hope that things never get that advanced while Athena's alive because then you might not ever visit our blog.
Why's that? Because Athena has some STANKY fish breath.
In an attempt to provide Athena with all of the things necessary to live a healthy dog life (minus the fishy breath), we decided that it was about time we start brushing her teeth. We would also like to keep ourselves from hurling because Athena is excessively generous with her kisses and frequently takes it to the french kissing level.
Athena's love for all things that taste like food have allowed us to train her to love her toothbrush using peanut butter flavored toothpaste.
Here's how we taught Athena to love getting her teeth brushed:
- I started by simply putting a small glob of toothpaste on my finger and I let Athena lick it off.
- I put another small amount of toothpaste on my finger, but this time I put my finger inside of Athena's mouth and rubbed the toothpaste on her teeth.
- Next, I put some toothpaste on Athena's toothbrush and let her lick it off. I did this step several times before moving to the next.
- With toothpaste on the brush, I put it inside of her mouth and gently moved the brush around.
- I began brushing Athena's teeth gently in circular motions for only a few seconds.
Now that Athena has associated the toothbrush with really yummy peanut butter noms, she gladly lets me put the brush in her mouth to brush her teeth. It can sometimes be a bit difficult to get a good brushing action because Athena's tongue is moving back and forth a mile a minute, but I figure that even a little bit of brushing will go a long way in eliminating the fish breath!
Other fish breath odor eliminators that we use include:
- Fresh Breath Water Additive (we put a few squirts in Athena's water bowl each morning)
- Checkups Dental Bones (Athena gets a couple each week)
- Carrots (we give Athena small pieces of carrot during training sessions)
- Chicken flavored kibble (we just switched to this new flavor this week and have noticed that Athena's breath isn't so...fishy)
How do you keep your dog's breath smelling fresh...or shall I say fresh-er?
Stinky breath was a big problem at my house with so many pibbles all wanting to kiss the momma! So the happiest day of my life was when I discovered antlers. All my pups love them and as long as I keep a never ending supply available their teeth stay pearly white and breath fresh-er as you say. My vet however is not a fan as my teeth cleaning visits have dropped to almost never! :)
ReplyDeleteI second this recommendation! When our antler supply ran out earlier this year, Badger started getting bad breath for the first time. We ordered some more antlers, and now he's kissable again!
DeleteAthena does enjoy chewing on her antler, I'm glad it's helping to get rid of some of her fish breath!
DeleteI luck out that my dogs both have pretty decent breath, and very clean teeth. Most likely it is from the raw meat diet they get. I would recommend adding in a weekly turkey neck (not chicken neck, those are too small and can be a choking hazard for a dog Athena's size). The muscle fibers, tendons, and bones all help clean the teeth when they crunch their way through it, and a turkey neck has soft enough bones to be fully edible. (I don't recommend feeding cut cow bones like many people do, as the hardness of the bones puts dogs at risk of cracking or fracturing teeth.)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the turkey neck recommendation, I will have to look into getting some of those!
DeleteMy dogs have stinky breath. We try to give them chew toys and such that help with their teeth though so we don't brush them. Knock on wood, so far the vet hasn't said their teeth look bad! It's great Athena will let you brush hers!
ReplyDeleteThey chew on lots of bones & toys & it keeps their breath smelling freshy fresh. Except when Sadie goes on a poo-eating spree. We use Dog Smog Remedy for those times. It goes in the water just like Fresh Breath but helps with toots as well as breath.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of Dog Smog Remedy. I've got to look into that because Athena is the tooting queen!
DeleteI always hated brushing Elli's teeth. What a pain. Has to be done daily. Suchhhh a painnn. And then... YAY RAW DIET. :D
ReplyDeleteWhat a good pup Athena is :) Mom brushes my teeth too and I also love it! And I get carrots too!
ReplyDeleteGood advice! I'm just used to stinky dog breath lol.
ReplyDeleteLooking back, regular teeth brushing is something I wish I had started long ago. We did get a teeth spray, and Waldo Bungie taught us about something to add to their food which helps too. This is a good reminder, and so great to see how diligent you are with Athena!
ReplyDeleteYou've got some great tooth brushing technique! Good girl Athena!
ReplyDeleteI wish I had started my dogs on teeth brushing right away - but now we just used PlaqueOff in their food to help with tartar control and we give them bright bites to give them fresh breath. Oh, and we use baby carrots too! :)
ReplyDeleteThe Thean bean looks so cute with her toothbrush!
I'm going to look up PlaqueOff. Thanks for the suggestion!
DeleteWe started using baby carrots thanks to your recommendation =)
For some reason Ray doesn't have stinky breath. His breath just smells like air, but I've been brushing his teeth sporaticly to get him used to it. He does eat all kinds of fresh vegetables, chews his antler and rope toys, so hopefully we can keep the bad breath at bay.
ReplyDeleteYou are LUUUUUUUUUCKY that Ray doesn't have bad breath! Keep doing what you're doing!
DeleteOur pups eat fish flavored food and they don't have fish breath at all! Only after getting their fishy food wet food ball with meds packed inside in the morning but it's fleeting. I have noticed, however, in the last few months they've stopped chewing bones as much and they have more of that "doggie breath" that isn't so pleasant. We've been doing raw turkey necks once a month and Braylon's teeth seem better. Hades' teeth are terrible lately, not sure why. We need to get back on a brushing schedule. It's so hard when they lick a mile a minute the whole time!
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