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The best in health, wellness, and positive training from America’s leading dog experts

Dental Health

Dog Toothpaste: Is It Necessary?

Of course, you can't just pick up your own tube of human toothpaste and start brushing your dog's teeth. Just like our dogs don't have the same dietary requirements as we do, dog toothpaste differs from toothpaste for people in several ways. It's important to use a toothpaste made specifically for pets

Dog Has Bad Breath?

facial and otherwise. The beard

The 3 Most Common and Preventable Canine Maladies

What is the worst part about these strikingly common conditions dogs get? They are all entirely preventable. Obesity, periodontitis, and overgrown nails affect more dogs in the United States than any other diseases, and can be just as harmful.

How to Prevent Your Dog From Developing Periodontal Disease and Cracked Teeth

veterinary dentists say they are responsible for far more than their share of broken molars in dogs who chew them. Large bones

Save Your Dog’s Teeth with Home Care

Cooper, my service-dog-in-training, trotted briskly at the side of my power wheelchair as we headed to the veterinary clinic, a mile from home. He was overdue for a routine dental cleaning, and my regular veterinary clinic was not within rolling distance. I decided to take a chance on a new vet, since it was just a standard dental cleaning. I dropped him off and rolled back home, relieved that I was finally able to afford the procedure.

How & Why You Should Manage Your Dog’s Dental Hygiene

The good news: you can give your dog a thorough brush job in just two minutes a day. The bad news: few dogs fancy having their teeth brushed, and there ain't no Holy Grail of Canine Tooth Brushing, despite my attempts to extract one from Angela Mees, DVM, who owns a practice limited to veterinary dentistry in suburban Atlanta.

How to Properly Care for Your Dog’s Teeth

and some of her deciduous incisors (front teeth). Some of her adult incisors are emerging

Chewing Improves Your Dog’s Teeth and Gum Health

Many people think of their dog's chewing as just a puppy thing" but the fact is

Could a Raw Dog Food Diet Replace the Need to Brush?

Many raw dog food diet proponents claim that the nutrients and/or chemical composition of a raw diet keeps dogs from developing gingivitis or periodontitis. We’re not aware of any studies that have proven these claims, but the persistence of the anecdotal evidence of this phenomenon (to say nothing of its evolutionary success) suggest that there are dental benefits to a diet that includes raw, meaty bones.

Fractured Teeth in Dogs

Between runs at a recent agility competition, I was chatting with Katie and Nora, a couple of handlers I often see at trials. Coincidentally, all three of our dogs had received an annual health examination from our respective general practice veterinarians recently, with all dogs earning good reports. And all three of us had been told by our veterinarians that our dogs had broken or chipped teeth. My veterinarian had noted a slab fracture of the upper fourth premolar" on the health summary report for my 10-year-old Border Terrier

Canine Dental Care

Some dogs have sparkling white teeth (or at least, whitish teeth that are free of tartar) throughout their lifetimes, with absolutely no thought or effort required of their owners. Those are the lucky ones – the owners, I mean – because more than 80 percent of dogs develop a form of canine gum disease by the age of just three years, according to the American Veterinary Dental Society. The owners of those dogs – that is, most of us – should be brushing our dogs’ teeth regularly to prevent the accumulation of plaque and tartar that precipitates gum disease. Proponents of raw dog food diets believe that the mechanical action of chewing raw meat and bones and the superior nutrition provided by the diets help maintain healthy teeth. That may be true, but for dogs on more conventional diets, regular brushing is the most effective method of keeping a dog’s teeth free of tartar and plaque.

Your Dog’s Mouth

The mouth is the site of the two most common canine diseases.

Latest Blog

How to Improve Your Dog’s Leash Manners

I occasionally teach a “leash manners” class at my friend’s dog-training center. In the first class, their hands are all over the place, and cues are, “NO! NO! STOP it!” I almost always see a tiny improvement in week two.