brushing bulldog teeth ...

[bulldogs4me]

I have a routine with daily grooming but brushing teeth is suppose to be a weekly event but I must admit I'm a little lacking on this ... well Alex my son was messing with Diesel's lips because they are floppy and we both think its fun to play with them ... well Diesel has a canine tooth that is discolored! I went to the store yesterday to get toothpaste because I was out but wanted to know what everyone else uses ... there are a lot of choices out there and would like some advice on bulldog dental care.

 

[cali baker]

Funny you just posted this b/c today I bought the Nylabone Dental Kit for my boys; comes w/toothbrush, toothpaste, and a finger-brush thingy. I rubbed some paste on them tonight and they seemed okay w/it. I've never brushed their teeth b4 this so i have little experience to share.

 

[KaidasMom]

We tried this out to brush Kaida's teeth with and she thinks she's getting a treat, so it makes dental care easy. Smells good too!

 

[Vikinggirl]

I use the arm and hammer dental kit on our guys , but any brush will do, and you don't necessarily need anything but water, it's the brushing action that's cleans the teeth, not the paste. Paste just gives a taste, so the dog may let you do it more with a beef or chicken flavoured paste. It's the same for people , the toothbrush is what cleans our teeth , but the paste gives us fresh breath, and a nice flavour. Water and brushing, or water and baking soda would also do the job.

 

[bulldogs4me]

I've been up til now been using Dental Wipes and I'm thinking they are just not doing a good enough job so I got some new Nylabone Finger Brushes and some Arm & Hammer Advanced Pet Care Toothpaste ... so I am hoping that will do the trick.

 

[malaviKat]

Chance's dad HATES brushing his teeth so I do all of the tooth stuff. All of the toothpastes we have are beef, chicken, PB or liver scented and that smell doesn't come off your hands for a day. (You can't avoid getting it ON your hands, either, since bullies have so much lip/cheek.)

We have tried the brushes made for dogs, the finger brushes, the regular brushes all with the aforementioned toothpaste(s). We've tried human toothbrushes with water (or doggy toothpaste). We've tried a baking soda paste (which honestly worked quite well) on a damp rag. We've tried water additives. You name it, we've done it.

What I found worked best was using some of those teeth cleaning toys with a bit of the toothpaste on it. Dogs clean their teeth best from chewing so either those toys or harder toys (like antlers) helped keep the teeth clean. When I give him a treat with soft stuff (like pumpkin or PB) that's when I know he will need his teeth cleaned a lot.

My absolute favourite product right now is Tropiclean Teeth Gel. We used it every other day for about a week and almost all of his staining and plaque disappeared. You can actually use it every day. Just coat the teeth with the gel and make sure your dog isn't eating or drinking for half an hour before or after application. After the staining is gone, just use it once a week for maintenance. It smells like mint so his breath smells amazing afterward and he doesn't have dirty doggy mouth smell for a few days (then we reapply). The company has water additives and tooth cleaning kits but we haven't tried them. In the interest of full disclosure, we did hear of one person whose dog had sores on his gums after using it. Not entirely sure whether it was caused by the gel or coincidence. We haven't had any problems.

 

[TubbysMom]

When is a good age to start them off with brushing?

 

[bulldogs4me]

When is a good age to start them off with brushing?

the sooner the better in my opinion

 

[sheshistory]

Thanks for starting this thread - I just vowed to start doing my bullies' teeth since they don't chew enough in their older age to really clean their teeth! Great info.