Pets are a very important part of our family.  They live, eat and sleep with us.  When we are feeling sad, pets comfort us or cheer us up.  They have strange ability to make us laugh, even when we are having a bad day.  Dogs help us keep healthy, by taking them for walks in the fresh air, so we get exercise also.  Our cherished companions love us unconditionally.  It is our responsibility as owners to make sure they live as happy and healthy life as humanly possible.  This is very little, for the happiness they bring into our lives.         

There is nothing worse than your wonderful dog breathing on you, or your cat snuggled up near your nose when they have bad breath.  The most common cause of this is the tartar buildup on its teeth or gum disease caused by untreated tartar.  Tartar is composed of small, decomposed food particles.  Oral bacterial love and thrive in this and form plaque.  The oral infections and plaque cause the dogs gums to recede and become infected, giving your pet bad breath.

You can prevent this from happening by brushing your pets teeth every day and taking them to the vet for regular checkups.  Manufacturers make special toothbrushes and toothpaste just for dogs and cats.  Never use human toothpaste on your pets, as it could harm them.  There is flavored toothpaste available that dogs and/or cats usually like so this makes brushing their teeth a little easier.  For smaller dogs and cats there are finger brushes, which you put the toothpaste on.  The vets or pet supply places often carry these.

Another great way to keep your pets teeth healthy is giving them dental chew bones with enzymes to help prevent plaque and bacteria.  Many rawhide chews stop plaque forming because they contain enzymes, but always use extreme caution when giving your dog rawhide as it is not digestable and if eaten in chunks can cause a fatal blockage in their stomach.  This same caution should be held with all dental bones such as Greenies, etc.  Chlorophyll, found in these chews, neutralizes odors making your dogs breath sweeter.  The down side is that they are high in calories so you should not feed your dog too many of these, especially if your pet is overweight.

Cooked chicken, fish, turkey and pork bones are dangerous to your pet as they splinter, so these are definitely a no-no.  Please never give your pet cooked bones of any kind as the bone softens from the heat and can splinter in your dogs body causing severe damage.  However, raw marrow and knuckle bones and many other raw bones can work wonders for the teeth and are really enjoyable for your pet!  Always supervise your pet when chewing bones and do your research to be sure you are picking the best bone for your dog's chewing strength and size.  (Feel free to ask us for advice in our Pet Forums)

No matter how well you clean your pets teeth or what chews you give your dog, as they age most will need a dental cleaning performed by your vet.  Never put this off, as it is extremely important to the health of your animal.  Cleaning your pets teeth is very similar to having our teeth cleaned except they sedate your pet.  Because of todays technology, this procedure is extremely safe and the vet uses monitoring systems for the safely of your dog. 

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