Cleaning teeth

In the 14 years I’ve been feeding a raw diet to the dogs, I’ve almost never had to brush the dogs’ teeth because chewing on meaty bones tends to keep the tartar off.   However, I noticed recently that the boys have more tartar than I’d like on their premolars.   My vet recommended CET Oral Hygiene Rinse 8 Ounce.   (<- That’s a link to Amazon, which is a heck of a lot cheaper than the one I bought at the vet’s office).   (BTW, my vet’s typical recommendation for clean teeth is a raw diet combined with the oral rinse when necessary.)

Since I wanted the tartar off faster, I also purchased the CET Enzymatic Poultry Toothpaste and a toothbrush (but was smarter and bought it on-line).

After 1.5 weeks of rinsing and brushing Ronan’s teeth once almost every day, the tartar is more than half gone.   I just do a cursory brushing since it’s not easy to maneuver around the tongue and teeth.   After the tartar is gone, I may stop the brushing and just use the oral rinse occasionally.  We’ll see how it goes.   Ronan loves getting his teeth rinsed and brushed.   Next is Thistle’s turn– we’ll see how he likes it.

Incidentally, I tasted the oral rinse and can’t say it’s that pleasant tasting, but it isn’t too bad.  The dogs don’t seem to mind it.  I did not taste the poultry flavored toothpaste… yet.   😛