Grade 2 Dog Teeth Cleaning?

Question

While at the vet yesterday I was told that my dog needs a professional teeth cleaning. She is a grade 2... but looking online... she is not at all that bad. I have tried brushing her teeth many times. She hates it so I don't seem to get much done. Does anyone have any advice on keeping the teeth and gums healthy? She is a 3 year old Husky.

I will have the vet clean her teeth very soon but I want to know how to keep this from happening again.

Answer 1

Your vet should have suggestions for this.

Regular brushing does help. Try desensitizing her and counterconditioning her response to it before tackling a full brushing. This means starting with just showing her the brush and rewarding her for not backing off from it. Once she's happy to see the brush, start placing it near her mouth and rewarding. Progress like that until you can put the brush in her mouth (not moving it around yet) and she's happily anticipating her reward. Add toothpaste only when she's ready. You may even want to start by just placing your finger in her mouth before using the brush to get her used to having something in her mouth. One session per day is plenty and keep it short. Stop while she is still relatively happy. If you always quit when she starts to balk, she may start to associate these sessions with the negative part instead of the happy part.

Using hard chew treats/toys also helps: bully sticks, raw meaty bones (or marrow bones), some people use greenies (I don't trust them). Ask your vet.