My little Ollie has terrible teeth, once he became a senior dog we have had problems with rotten teeth and gum disease. Last year he had 13 teeth removed, he did have infection and I have never felt more horrible then I did at that time. My poor boy had been in pain, uncomfortable and smelly for some time.
We had his teeth removed and Immediatley his breath started to smell better. He spent a few days sore from surgery but then recovered nicely and was back to himself.
Recently though, he is stinky again. His breath is gross. So back to the vets, and she tell us that some of his back teeth have built up plaque and gingivitis. What do we do? She told us we could take him home, try brushing his teeth for a couple months and then recheck them. So thats what we did.
Ollie is almost 9 years old, so technically he is a senior. It’s not going to be easy trying to teach an old dog new tricks. How do I even begin to brush his toothy pegs at this stage of his life. It didn’t go well.
It was a lot harder than I thought. He won’t let me near his mouth. I tried everything. I even started slowly, giving him a small treat every time he let me near his mouth with the tooth brush. Still he fought me every step of the way. I had bought toothpaste for him at a pet store, as you hopefully know regular toothpaste is not good for dogs. Fluoride is toxic and can poison your pups. I then searched Pinterest to see if I could find any homemade remedies that might work. I found this one.
2 tbsp of coconut oil
2 tbsp of baking sofa
2 drops of peppermint essential oils.
Mix all the ingredients, so easy.
See his little head there in the back ground? He knows….lol
I pulled this recipe together and tried again on poor Ollie. He still didn’t like me around his mouth at all. He fought fiercely.
It smells so good, and to be honest I’m not sure how close I got to the back of his mouth to clean those teeth but I will say…the rest of the day his breath smelled much better 🙂
He is literally sticking his tongue out at me. He is so saucy. But I love him beyond all the stars and moons in the skies. He is the love of my life…stinky breath or not…I’d kiss him a thousand times over.
The little tigger baby tooth brush was not a hit, he hates it. So I tried a baby facecloth. They are thinner and smaller and I just wrapped it around my finger and then managed to get a good swipe at the back of his molars. It wasn’t the best swipe but it was a start. I told Paul we should market a glove for wiping teeth on dogs. Little dogs preferably or even senior dogs with only a few teeth. I’m going to give it a real try, If I can prevent him from having surgery or having anesthesia again then I will do my best.
This evening I went to Shoppers Drug Mart and bought a finger brush for babies. You slide it on your finger and it has soft bristles. I know it sounds better than my glove idea, but this thing is made of rubber so its going to be hard to feel inside his mouth with it on. I can see how it may work with babies, but a small dog I’m not too sure.
We’ll give it a go…..I’ll keep you posted.
Until next time lovelies,
Peace.
The Grace In Grief 