Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Brush Your......dogs.....Teeth! Please!

I'm one of those people who KNEW that it was recommended that you brush your dog's teeth on a daily basis. But my life is VERY busy - some days I'm doing good to brush my own. So I would brush the Poodles' teeth occasionally -maybe a few times a year.



But after our dental visit the other day, and after Brooke read the article in the February edition of Dog Fancy Magazine, and she decided to check all the Poodles' teeth. We discovered that Delilah had a tooth that was loose and appeared to have a hole right in the center of it.

So first thing this morning, Delilah, Brooke, and I headed out to the veterinarian clinic. It was time for Delilah's yearly visit anyway.



Thankfully, the "hole" we saw wasn't decay, but actually the tooth had loosened and come down so that what we saw on either side of the "hole" was root. But her tooth is loose and, if it doesn't come out on its own, she'll need to go back next week for an extraction.


So now the result of my neglect hit me fully. I love all my Poodles - but Delilah is my heart. It makes me very sad that something I've neglected to do may have caused her pain - and led to the loss of a tooth. Now, she is almost nine years old and, according to the magazine article, most dogs experience the loss of their first tooth due to dental neglect by the time they are three years old. But regardless - I've learned my lesson. So we went to the store and bought a new tube of doggy toothpaste and a new doggy toothbrush. All the Poodles had their teeth brushed by either myself or Brooke. Then they got a dental treat.



So we now have a new routine.




Yes, cats need their teeth brushed, too.




So save yourself the guilt I've been feeling and brush ALL the teeth in your household! :^D Dogs and cats, too!

5 comments:

The HomeScholar said...

Ginger, We've brushed our dogs teeth before, but it's hard to imagine brushing a cat's mouth. Isn't that much like herding a cat? Bathing a cat?
Blessings,
Lee
--
The HomeScholar
www.TheHomeScholar.com
www.thehomescholar.blogspot.com
"Helping parents homeschool through high school"

Unknown said...

Well, it's not so bad if you use the liquid from a can of tuna. :^)

And Brooke says Libby isn't too bad with her baths - she gets one every month. But she does absolutely love to be brushed and Brooke brushes her every night and Libby is the softest cat I've ever felt.

Teeny said...

ahhhhhhhhhh - going RIGHT NOW to brush Samson's teeth...thanks for the reminder ♥

Jodi said...

Those were very fun and cute, love the cat one!

Cynthia said...

I'm pretty sure we've never brushed our dogs teeth.