 I had the same problem
The way I overcame it was to make it part of his bath routine. When I am done bathing him (this is generally once a week), I wrap a towel around him, including all of his legs. This way, he can't push the toothbrush away with his paws and he is basically immobile.
Next, I don't use toothpaste, just warmish water. I do have a special toothbrush that the vet gave me when he had his extra teeth removed.
At first he clamped his jaws together so tight, not much was happening, but I was able to start brushing the outside. I could hold his cheek out to get a bit more at the back. Eventually he will open his mouth and I'm ready to get a few brushes in.
I think the main thing is to not be too forceful, have lots of patience. You mightnot get the full brushing done the first few times, but he seems to have gotten used to it.
I think that doing it right after the bath helps too. Now, it is part of the 'regime'.
I have noticed that it helps with his breath a lot. After his extra teeth were removed (boy did that smell bad before they were taken out), I promised that I'd never let his teeth get bad like that again, so now I notice if his breath is bad, I'm sure there is food stuck in there that needs to be gotten cleared out. |