August 26, 2008
Lance needs to clean up his act
Y’all know Lance is the light of my life. He’s always been a friendly and fun companion, but more so since our old Buddy died. I can’t imagine how much tougher that would have been if I hadn’t had Lance to help me get through it. He’s become much more outgoing since he adjusted to the loss of his companion, too. You’d need an animal behaviorist to explain it, but my take on it is that he feels like it’s okay to monopolize my time and space now that there’s not another dog around to share me with. I live a pretty solitary life. There’s no one else around to share a laugh or a cuddle with, so Lance is pretty good company to have. Well, most of the time. There’s one thing he does, though, that makes me crazy. I’ve told you about it before, but … wait for it …
And there it is. I managed to dodge just in time on that occasion, but Lance is a face-kisser and manages to plant one on my mouth from time to time. Shall we talk about dog bad breath now? Yes, let’s! Lance was born with a heart condition and can’t go under anesthesia, so he’s never had his teeth professionally cleaned. I do what I can, but the beagle has a major case of halitosis going on. He’s also got that bad doggie habit we don’t like to talk about. If I don’t run outside & grab the pooper-scooper the minute he goes, he cleans it up himself. Yeah, that habit. Then he dares to try to kiss Mom on the mouth? Not happening!
Like I said, I do what I can. I have doggie toothpaste and one of those little doggie toothbrushes, but you’d think I was torturing Lance if you heard him squeal every time I use them. He wiggles and squirms so much that most of the toothpaste ends up on me or on his face instead of in his mouth. I keep trying, though, because he’s got some really ugly plaque build-up and the nastiest mouth odor you can imagine. I picked up his Science Diet today at the pet warehouse place. I cruised the dog care aisle, as usual, looking for something I haven’t tried yet that will help with his nasty breath. Those green chews that everyone loves? They’ve been known to choke dogs to death, so I threw the last batch out and won’t try those again. I did see a new brand of doggie toothpaste, but it’s $19.99 for a small tube. That seemed pretty steep, so I passed on it. When I got home I went online and started looking for something more affordable. Wouldn’t you know that I found my answer at the same place I told you about a couple of months ago when I found my own favorite dental health products at discounted prices. Yep, the very same SmileWarehouse.com that carries my Oral-B toothbrushes for half what the drug store charges also has dog plaque remover for Lance. I feel a “Duh!” moment coming on! I shopped there several times and never noticed that they carry oral care products for pets. It turns out they have a product called Triple Pet Plaque Off that will help eliminate plaque and tarter build-up when I add it to Lance’s drinking water. I’m not saying that I’m going to start letting Lance kiss me on the mouth any time soon, but I think maybe our “in your face” games are going to become a lot more pleasant in the future. Smilewarehouse.com has a whole line of pet oral care products in addition to the stuff we all use for ourselves. You should check them out before the next time you re-stock your toothpaste and tootbrushes, and check out the pet care products while you’re there. Just sayin’.
Technorati Tags: dental care products, dog dental care, doggie bad breath, oral care, pet oral care
Posted by skeet @ 7:08 pm • Health & wellbeing, Home & Family
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August 26th, 2008 at 7:32 pm, Whim Says:
Lance is such a cutie!
August 27th, 2008 at 1:24 am, Anele Says:
A few things, the poo eating issue…good old fashioned pineapple can help take care of that. Apparently it makes it quite unpalatable to dogs and some have been known to never eat the stuff again after one time but if you make it a regular treat, he could easily drop his habit. If not, you can try Forbid powder. jefferspet.com/ssc/product.asp?CID=0&mscssid=4143UKHAGH3R8GUPCGKAAEH6EM3C1484
For the bad breath smell, parsley is a natural breath neutralizer. Nolvadent is a good alternative too. It’s what our baby used after her dental surgery as an antiseptic. You can get it at jefferspet.com too.
I know he squeals when you try to brush but I need to stress to anyone reading how important that is. It’s because of peridontal disease that we had to end up putting our baby to sleep last year. I wish we had brushed her teeth from day one had we known she was prone to it. It is a regret that haunts us to this day.
August 27th, 2008 at 9:47 am, skeet Says:
He is Whim, and a real sweetheart most of the time. The rest of the time … he’s an imp!
August 27th, 2008 at 9:49 am, skeet Says:
Mahalo for all that, Anele. I haven’t given up on brushing his teeth - I know how essential it is, even if he doesn’t!
I need you to explain about the pineapple. What exactly am I supposed to do with it? Mix it with his food? Dump it on his … offerings? I’m not quite getting it!
August 27th, 2008 at 11:23 am, Anele Says:
You want to feed him pineapple, like a tablespoon or two with each meal, they say spinach works too. Something about the way it comes out makes them cringe. I’ve heard a lot of good things about it. I did a little search and this article seems to be a good source:
paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_PoopEating.php
August 27th, 2008 at 2:21 pm, skeet Says:
Mahalo for the clarification, Anele. He recently rejected raw carrot (healthier than dog biscuits, so I tired.) I’ll try a little pineapple in his kibble & see if he’ll go for it. Mahalo for the links, too!
August 27th, 2008 at 5:00 pm, therapydoc Says:
Too bad they can’t just pop a stick of gum.