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Yuck! Dog Breath!

Dog breath and dog ownership have always gone hand and hand. Let's face it, you can't expect your best friends to lick their butts, route through the garbage, and eat dog food one minute and give you lemon drop kisses the next minute. However, there is a major difference between minor changes in your dog breath and chronic bad breath. Chronic bad breath may be more than a social problem.

The American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Veterinary Dental Society declared February National Pet Dental Health Month. Their aim is to reminded pet-owners that dogs require good oral care. At Sniffbutt, we've decided to extend National Pet Dental Health Month to help spread awareness.

Poor canine dental care can lead to common ploblems such as Periodontitis, Gingivitis, and Tooth fractures to more severe problems such as Bacterial Endocarditis, Kidney damage and joint.

Most vets recommend a combination of professional cleanings (by the veterinarian) and daily or weekly maintenance in the home (by the dog owner).

The key of a professsional cleaning is to make sure that your dog's teeth and gums are clean. A veterinarian will anesthetize your dog, scrape all of the plaque buildup from above and below the gumline, and then polish the teeth.

The key to daily or weekly home maintenance is also to remove the build up of plague. However, home tools includes items such as tooth brushes and tooth paste, dental wipes, and/or disolving liquids.

Toothbrush

Brushing a dog's teeth is not natural for you or your dog, so you both must learn the mechanics and, most importantly, must learn to trust one another. This can only be accomplished through a process of slowly introducing your dog to the toothbrush.

First, get your dog used to the toothbrush. The easiest way to accomplish this is to associate the toothbrush with treats. Peanut butter is always a crowd pleaser. In the first session, let your dog lick the peanut butter off the tooth brush. Do this a couple of times, so your dog associates the tooth brush with something good. This can be done in one night or over several nights for more timid dogs.

Slowly introduce the toothbrush to the dog's mouth and brush their teeth as you would yours. Be sure brush the gumlines as well as the teeth. Don't worry if you can't reach all the back teeth... chew toys like cotton rope toys will help in cleaning these areas.

Toothpaste

Do not use human toothpaste. As a human, you are able to brush your teeth and spit out the tooth pastes. Unless your dog is Lassie, it is doubtful that they will spit. Swallowing the flouride in humna tooth paste can upset thrit stomachs and make them sick.

If you find it hard to use a toothbrush on your dog, try a finger brush.

Fingerbrush

If you find it difficult to use a tooth brush, try a finger brush. Many times smaller dogs' mouths make it difficult to brush their teeth. In these cases , a finger brush is perfect.

A finger brush is like a tooth brush that fits on a finger. These smaller brushes along you to massage the gumline and vrush the teeth with a much smaller opening in the dog's mouth and is usually easier to manipulate.

A toothbrush is usually more effective, but a finger brush is better than nothing.


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Greenies
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Eliminate offensive “doggie breath” and clean teeth with delicious, satisfying Greenies dental treats. Buy 5 or more bags and pay only $11.95 a bag!!
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GRNpad$14.95, 3/$41.85, 5/$59.75padSize: 
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Breath Friend
padBreath Friend
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Squeeze a small amount of this taste free gel onto your pet's gums with your finger or swab. Your pet's saliva will spread the gel through out the mouth to break up plague. Alcohol free and all natural.
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br09padRegular price: $10.95padSale price: $8.95padSize: 
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Suzie's Tartar Control
padSuzie's Tartar Control
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Suzie's Tartar control is an extremely easy to use product! Simply add 1 tablespoon per 1 quart of water. The tasteless, odorless liquid will help to loosen tartar which help gum health and fresh breath.
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suztarconpad$13.95padSize: 
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