I had company over the other day and someone commented that my dog had bad breath! I had never thought about it but after doing some research, it is beneficial to brush your dog's (or cat's) teeth. Okay, so off to PetSmart I went. Have you realized how expensive pet toothpaste is? It is, like, quadruple what we pay for our own toothpaste and the tube is half the size. About 60% of the ingredients I can't even recognize, so I went home to see if I could find a "do it yourself" dog toothpaste. This recipe is super simple, cost efficient and works!
Here's what you'll need:
- baking soda
- oil (olive, veggie, canola - you choose)
- water
Basically take 2 teaspoons of baking soda and add about 1/4 teaspoon of water. Mix it together and then add a tiny bit of the oil of your choice. I used olive oil because I already add that to their dog food anyway. It doesn't need to taste good, chances are they are not going to like the process very much the first couple times anyway.
Now you can take that home-made paste and clean your dog's teeth. I was able to use a pet toothbrush that I bought from PetSmart for $5 but you can put your finger in a cloth, and apply the paste that way as well. If you want a pet toothbrush, grab this one from Amazon for $2.59. It just slips over your finger and will make the job super easy. Lift up your dog's lips and get into all the nooks and crannies really well. I wondered about adding a drop of mint extract as well—do you think that would leave them with minty fresh breath?
The Paw Plex has a great article on how to properly brush your dog's teeth. Give it a read if you have never done this process before, it will definitely help. The credit for the main image above goes to them.
Comments