Dog Dental Care
Keep Your Pet’s Teeth and Gums Healthy

Did you know that February is National Pet Dental Health month? It's a good time for us to step back and think about whether we are taking care of our dog's dental care.

A good bit of this is preventable, and there are a few simple steps for dog dental care that we can take to protect our pets' dental health. The most obvious is that we should have our pets' mouths examined and their teeth cleaned once or twice a year--just like us!

Preventing periodontal disease and cavities in pets is actually simpler for your pets than it is for you. Pets naturally clean their teeth when they chew.

Hard foods and dog dental treats have the cleaning action of a natural diet (in the wild) for them.

Instead of sticking to their teeth, hard food and treats actually help to clean their teeth through friction and they help to exercise their gums to keep them strong.

Fresh Doggie Breath

By practicing good dog dental care, you can prevent tooth decay and periodontal disease. You will be rewarded because you will avoid seeing your pet chew tenderly because of pain due to toothaches or cavities.

Giving your dog hard, crispy dental treats with healthy ingredients will also help with tooth and gum health and occasional bad breath. Also try my recipe for charcoal dog biscuits. And, best of all, pets with healthy teeth live longer!

Foster Your Dog's Dental Health!

• Make a yearly or semi-annual appointment with your pet's veterinarian to have his teeth and gums checked and his teeth cleaned. This doesn't have to be just for teeth cleaning--combine the checkup with another visit.

• Give your pet hard dental dog treats, bones or cookies for rewards or snacks. These can help to remove food particles and exercise teeth and gums. Just make sure that you are giving treats occasionally--and that they are not a substitute for your dog's food. Also check for calories. Some treats are higher in calories than you would expect. This is especially important if your dog has a weight problem.

• Responsible dog dental care allows for special occasion treats. It's OK to give your pet a fancy gourmet treat or a treat that's cute or funny once in awhile. Dog chews and special occasion treats like the dog treat recipes that we offer here (used by Natural Pet Bakery) are made with good wholesome ingredients. They look rich and sweet, but they are actually made with a minimum of sugar and we've worked hard to get that yummy decadent look without losing the natural quality of our treats. Many of our pastry recipes will serve as great "chews" for your pet.

• Don't feed your dog meat bones. Most veterinarians don't recommend letting your dog chew on bones, as small splinters can break away from a bone and actually puncture your pet's intestines. In addition, bones can chip your pet's teeth or cut their gums.

• Don't feed your dog rawhide. A lot of dogs try to gulp down big chunks of rawhide instead of chewing on it until they have smaller pieces. Rawhide poses a choking hazard for this reason.

• Chew toys like Nylabones and Nylafloss help with your pet's dental care. Dogs will entertain themselves for hours with these and they help to keep their teeth clean. And all the while they are exercising their gums and teeth.

• Last, but not least, good dog dental care requires that you clean or brush your pet's teeth on a regular basis. There are special brushes and devices available to help you with this. And, if you start when your pup is little, it becomes routine and won't be a big deal.

By taking a few simple and easy steps for dog dental care, you can significantly prolong your pet's life general dog health--and make life more enjoyable for both of you!

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