Need Advice on Oral Care....

[LuvMySissy]

The easiest way to get her used to brushing, is to wrap a piece of gauze around your finger. I have found the girls adapted much easier to my finger/gauze than any type of brush I tried. I had been using Petzlife Gel with Sissy before, and although her teeth improved with it, it still wasn't good enough. The gauze has made all the difference. I use it daily along with the Petzlife Gel twice a week. Both girls' teeth look great!!!!!!

[nvnvgirl]

Originally Posted by luv_my_yorkies

I have a dumb question....
Ok, I noticed that one of Petzlife's main ingredients is grape seed oil. Is that safe for dogs, especially small ones? I know that grapes are toxic for dogs and cause kidney failure...so is grape seed oil OK?I would love to try Petzlife on my dogs...but was curious about that. Any thoughts?

Wow...that's INTERESTING! All I know is there's several people who I've seen say they use it regularly and haven't had any problems. And my dh keeps saying" how do you know it's safe?"....sigh.....

[bren]

Originally Posted by LuvMySissy

The easiest way to get her used to brushing, is to wrap a piece of gauze around your finger. I have found the girls adapted much easier to my finger/gauze than any type of brush I tried. I had been using Petzlife Gel with Sissy before, and although her teeth improved with it, it still wasn't good enough. The gauze has made all the difference. I use it daily along with the Petzlife Gel twice a week. Both girls' teeth look great!!!!!!

hmmm...I wonder if gauze would work better than a brush for Max's teeth...I'm getting desperate!

[nvnvgirl]

Originally Posted by LuvMySissy

The easiest way to get her used to brushing, is to wrap a piece of gauze around your finger. I have found the girls adapted much easier to my finger/gauze than any type of brush I tried. I had been using Petzlife Gel with Sissy before, and although her teeth improved with it, it still wasn't good enough. The gauze has made all the difference. I use it daily along with the Petzlife Gel twice a week. Both girls' teeth look great!!!!!!

So, when you use the gauze, do you just use it with what? I mean on the days you don't use the gel?

[LuvMySissy]

Originally Posted by nvnvgirl

So, when you use the gauze, do you just use it with what? I mean on the days you don't use the gel?

I use the gauze every day. Then, two days a week I put gel on afterwards.

BTW, when I had questions about Petzlife when Sissy was diagnosed with possible pancreatitis, their co-founder answered all my questions quickly and followed up with confirmation with two different vet specialists.

[nvnvgirl]

Originally Posted by bren

Yea, poor little Max--he has the worst teeth and such stinky breath, like perpetual morning breath . I feel like the only time the little guy has fresh breath is immediately after I brush his teeth.
I don't know if the enzymatic toothpaste works yet...but hoping I'll have to let you know, too.

Thank you! I know...my Max has really bad breath after a day or so (I know, I have been so lax in this, b/c he hated it so much and it's always a battle to get the finger brush with the paste into his MOUTH ...he'll lick all the paste off but forget trying to put it into his mouth and then the paste gets all over his chin and is SO sticky! But his teeth are really getting so much tartar and I know I need to be pro-active in this. I feel like such a horrible parent it's not funny when he's got bad breath! The thought of anyone (not that that many people are around him, LOL) pulling back from him b/c he smells bad would break my heart, b/c he's such a sweet and loving little dog. So, I"m determined to be the "pack leader" in this case...I think

[LuvMySissy]

Originally Posted by bren

hmmm...I wonder if gauze would work better than a brush for Max's teeth...I'm getting desperate!

I tried several different brushes with Sissy and even the super soft finger brush made her gums bleed and she fought me every time I tried to get it in her mouth. Plus, I never saw much come off the teeth. She has never fought the gauze, you see lots of stuff come off, and she has never bled. My vet actually suggested using the gauze and they recommend it over any kind of brush. It is very easy to reach all the teeth front and back.

[nvnvgirl]

Originally Posted by LuvMySissy

I use the gauze every day. Then, two days a week I put gel on afterwards.

BTW, when I had questions about Petzlife when Sissy was diagnosed with possible pancreatitis, their co-founder answered all my questions quickly and followed up with confirmation with two different vet specialists.

Thank you...but I mean, when you clean their teeth with the gauze on the days you don't use the gel, do you just use dry gauze? Or do you put anything on it? And what type of gauze do you buy? I"m sorry....I'm an RN..and I know there's a lot of different types of gauze preparations, LOL...sorry to make this so complicated!

Also, THANK YOU for mentioning the part about Sissy and the poss. pancreatitis, since that's our biggest concern...Max DID have it once and I think that's part of the reason my dh is so concerned about a "spray" that will dissolve tartar....I can use your post as a backup if I need to and it's well-grounded, so I really really appreciate it!

[LuvMySissy]

Originally Posted by nvnvgirl

Thank you...but I mean, when you clean their teeth with the gauze on the days you don't use the gel, do you just use dry gauze? Or do you put anything on it? And what type of gauze do you buy? I"m sorry....I'm an RN..and I know there's a lot of different types of gauze preparations, LOL...sorry to make this so complicated!

Also, THANK YOU for mentioning the part about Sissy and the poss. pancreatitis, since that's our biggest concern...Max DID have it once and I think that's part of the reason my dh is so concerned about a "spray" that will dissolve tartar....I can use your post as a backup if I need to and it's well-grounded, so I really really appreciate it!

I use the gauze dry, nothing on it. Even on the days I use the PetzLife, that gets rubbed on the teeth after I "brush" with the gauze. I buy the gauze in rolls, then just cut what I need (hope that answers your question). There is a particular type I like best I get at Target, but I think it is just a generic. The gauze is about 4.5" wide and is the type that would get wrapped around a square gauze pad to secure it in place.

My concern with the PetzLife was with the grain alcohol. I was told it is minute in quantity and assits the breaking up of the tartar. The vets confirmed they have done many studies on the formula and have never had a pet of any size or type become ill from daily use. The amount used is about pea size. Daily use is only in the beginning for no more than 90 days, then maintenance use of 2-3 times per week.

[Erin]

I have lots of Petzlife if you all need it.

We love it! Speaking of which, I need to go brush some teeth!

[luv_my_yorkies]

Found this info on the petzlife official website:

ingredient: grape seed extract


Hi, you guys called and sent some info about your product for teeth. I also
visited your site. Lots of great testimonials. I noticed that one of the
first ingredients is grape seed extract. I know that for some unknown reason
grapes and raisins can be toxic to dogs, sometimes causing renal failure,
and I was concerned about grape seed extract's safety. I'd really like to
try your products and perhaps carry them in my store, can you ease my
concerns?

Thanks in advance,
Sharon Wolff
Bella's Pet Boutique

HI,


I think the issue of grape and raison toxicity, like chocolat toxicity is really blown out of proportion by the media. Yes, they can be a problem....in large quantities. I've had many clients over the years that feed their pets a couple grapes or raisons as a snack, with no problems. But you obviously would not want to give a five pound chihuahua a cup of grapes Many Hunters use to give their hunting dogs a chocolat bar halfway thru the hunt for a "boost". Again no problems. I don't recommend giving dogs chocolat and some dogs are more sensitive to it than others, but again in small quantities it usually won't cause a problem..


Grape seed extract is not toxic. We use a product called proanthozone for allergies in dogs and cats and it's active ingredient is grape seed extract. It's a great product, my own dog takes it for his allergies. We sell it in quantities ranging from 10mg to 50mg. My dog takes 100mg a day and he is a 65lb Border Collie mix.

Hope this helps.

Dr Susan


I'm not sure if this makes me feel it will be 100% safe for my 2.9 pound baby....hmmm.....you can never be too careful I guess.

[MommysBabyRoxy]

yeah, me neither, my Yorkie girl is only 2.7 lbs, and I'm not willing to take any chances... I'll keep to giving her stuff I know is safe, and feeding her stuff thats good and yummy!

[MissPinkBarbie]

This is great! Many different options...

((BREN))- DAisy's teeth look fine to me..her breath is nothing odd either..but I def should start the habit of brushing her teeth now. I would hate have her go through losing teeth in a few years!

Jodi, I think that "gauze" method sounds like something Daisy can handle! LOL

Thanks for all the responses!

[PANAMA69]

I use Petz-life too and Petrodex Natural Toothpaste

[MissPinkBarbie]

You know, I was planning on getting those disposable "finger brushes"...I remember seeing it in a GW Little catalog.

After reading some of your responses, I've changed my mind. I wanna make sure I'm cleaning her teeth thoroughly!