Malika -
How old is your dog? That has a lot to do with his/her tolerance and how well any brushing is going to work. The reason I say this is because if your dog has years of tartar build up and cronic halitosis (bad breath) and cracked teeth, and the enamel is worn down to exposed nerves? It will be very painful for anyone to stick a brush or any foreign object into his/her mouth and quite possibly stitches could be needed for you unnecessarily.
The breed of the dog may also be a factor here. I have Pitbulls. Their teeth interlock. After a while the enamel literally erodes naturally to expose the dentin and not much can be done except extraction. A dog will let you know when a tooth is bothering him/her. They tend to get grumpy, snarly, snap, A lot of people have no idea especially if they feed soft foods, bad teeth can be kept secret longer. People who feed hard kibble are sooner to notice because most dogs either loose weight, refuse food or cry out when they begin to eat. A thorough inspection by a veterinarian should be done at that point. My largest dog lost nearly 30 lbs before we figured out he wasn't eating "WELL". He was trying to eat, just not as much. Upon a visual inspection? I noticed a tooth was cracked. Also noticed his canines were worn - this unfortunately is how Bulldogs teeth wear due to the placement of locking teeth. They look eroded, but they aren't painful. Concave if you please. And sharing more knowledge from my vet ANY dogfood that is high in sugar, and ALSO dog treat that are high in sugar and carbohydrates? Will erode dogs teeth at a higher rate than you'd imagine. CUT BACK ON THE SWEETS, and watch the people food. I actually Floss Caspers teeth now - he is very tolerant but I've had my hands in ALL my pits mouths since they were pups. Casper has his own toothbrush, as do they all. We use a pearl size dab of baking soda and dab a damp toothbrush into it and brush then use a spray bottle to rinse. No one minds it. You may have better success with a straw bottle like for irrigating. I use a soft bristled brush as gums are gentle.
As far as bad breath? LOADS of things are on the market today - BUT you have to remember that BAD BREATH is from the stomach - NOT necessarily teeth. He may have a bit of food lodged in his mouth, or you may try changing his brand of dog food. If he's on food with CORN as an ingredient? Find a food that has NO grain in it - and mix the two until hes on NO Grain food completely. If he still has bad breath? Then get him an item called GREENIES. There is also a product out called Denta Sticks. They're shaped so that the tartar buildup works its way off. YAPPY MINTS are also for bad breath - but I believe you can find holistic herbs - maybe it's Requiums Charcoal.....for bad breath. It's a natural charcoal.....not BBQ briquets. You feed it to them for their stomachs and it helps bad breath. Also MILKBONE brand - NOT the knockoffs - are excellent a couple a day for inbetween tartar control.
Also if you have a butcher there? Ask them for a hip socket off a cow. We used to boil marrow bones (leg bone sections that were cut into 1" pieces and stored for later ) for our smaller dogs, to make sure there were no impuirities, but I've also given natural uncooked bones and like GN said - the larger uncooked ones? Don't splinter. ONLY COW - NEVER EVER CHICKEN or PORK. They gnawing of that particular bone is a great way to clean teeth - AND --just FYI - with a young wee one in the house - BE ABSOLUTELY SURE that you are able to take the bone FROM the dog because dogs get VERY possessive of bones. Instruct your son to not at any time go near the dog when he has a bone. AT ALL. My son has a deviated septum that hangs out of the bottom of his nose - and a scar on his face where he messed with our pit TWICE - would NOT listen and now his face is witness to his stupidity. Our therapist agreed. Twice bitten - Told 100's of times - his problem.
Susie* brought up a very valid point - TALK to your dog with whatever you are doing. We do this before we do things, while we are doing them, and thank them afterwards, and they get a reward. I've done this with whatever animal or creature I'm handling. Seems to calm them, and I'd rather like to be explained what's happening to me no matter if I understand or not - It's the tone.
Hope something here is of help to you --------
I do have a suggestion for you if you're going to TRY to get your pooch to get used to the tooth brush........for about a month? DIP it in peanut butter and sit on the couch watching tv and allow him to lick the peanut butter OFF the toothbrush while you IGNORE him licking it just talking to him in low tones saying mmmmmm Goood boy/girl......thats good isn't it? Then put it up.....and don't say a word more about iit.....eventually maybe a month into this wet the tooth brush, dab it into baking soda, then dip into peanut butter and do the same thing every night........same time.......eventually work it so that you are brushing teeth.....and have a spoon full of peanut butter waiting for him when you brush his teeth.
