Pet Dental Month
Jodi Webb
Turns out August is Pet Dental Month. In our house, every month is dental month since Simon and Maggie get pretty regular brushing. I have to confess with me it’s more that I want to prevent bad breath than that I worry about gum disease(I know, terribly shallow of me). But hey, just so the job gets done, right?
For us teeth brushing is a rather lengthy task. For Simon, our cat, brushing is a two human job—one to hold him and convince him that nothing bad is happening and another to swoop in and brush. Any suggestions for cat teeth brushing would be greatly appreciated! Maggie is a little more agreeable. I brush, brush, brush—then she backs a couple of feet away. I put down the toothbrush, convince here to move closer to me grab the toothbrush…and so it goes until we eventually hit all the teeth.
Every pet is different so my only suggestions are:
1. Get your pet used to the idea of tooth brushing by playing around their mouth with the toothbrush from the time they’re a puppy/kitten.
2. Toothbrush regularly—not only because it helps prevent things like gum disease but because it helps them not become ‘shy’ of an unfamiliar chore.
3. Use pet toothpaste—first, animals(and humans)aren’t supposed to swallow regular toothpaste and the pet toothpaste has great flavors like beef and chicken.
August 15th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
[...] Pet Dental Month [...]