Brushing teeth

[Po'ele]

I was having some success brushing with the CET toothpaste, then I noticed it had sorbitol (sugar based) ingredients so I switched to Petz life and Po'ele does not like it and actually nipped me, something he would never do normally. I give him a bully stick once a week for enjoyment and tooth cleaning. I ordered PetzLife Oral Care Spray, Peppermint. Suggestions and comments are very welcome.

[Nettle]

I've never brushed a dog's teeth yet - I find raw meaty bones do the job a treat.

My vet says that aloe vera gel rubbed into the teeth with a finger once a week should keep teeth clean if bones aren't on the menu, and with established tartar, rub in daily and after about 2 weeks the tartar is soft enough to rub off with a fingernail. Aloe vera is completely safe to be swallowed.

You were right to stop using the paste with sorbitol in it - makes me wonder the stuff that's put in supplies for our dogs!

[misskris]

Just wondering Nettle, did your vet say Aloe was safe for dogs? A dog we (my family) owned years ago died from stomach cancer. When they tried to figure out what brought it on, the vet had us explain anything that was out of the ordinary (kibble, treats, etc.) that she ate. The only thing we could think of was that she had some sores on her body, so we frequently put aloe vera on her wounds (fresh from our garden) and she licked it as soon as it was applied all the time. The vet did say that the aloe "MIGHT" have caused the cancer, but couldn't have been sure. He told us that aloe vera isn't good for dogs if ingested in large amounts...BUT this was at least 10 years ago, so, the theories might have changed. Just wondering since I now have a puppy and would love to know if the theory about aloe vera changed since she often gets a little scratched up while we run around in the yard ... and I've been avoiding putting aloe on her small cuts. Thank you so much!

[Nettle]

My vet is of the opinion that aloe vera is safe, but don't let that stop you researching independently. As aloe vera is often sold in a form that is taken internally, I would have difficulty in believing it could cause cancer, though I would find it easy to believe that processed food full of additives might (not saying this is what you fed, just extrapolating the theory of your vet). My vet is pretty good on holistic things, and I tend to believe him, but please do check out for yourself as well.

You could try raw chicken wings instead.....

[misskris]

Agreed, many times, it's difficult for vets to get the "full story" because they are so busy. And, you're correct, that my parents weren't too educated on dog food back then, so they probably fed her bag food, although I know my Mom would never buy anything from a grocery store with tons of additives, the food probably had a lot of "hidden" additives that we weren't educated about.

Thanks for the advice and I agree about the aloe, I haven't seen anything regarding aloe causing cancer in google searches, so it seems ok to me!

[Cathy.Doggins]

If you guys are looking for some great advice, from a vet, regarding canine teeth check out this site: [url removed by mod due to site content]

The thing that I like about this site is that if you can't find what you're looking for, they have a question section that you can go and ask your question and then, once a month they choose a set of questions that they get answered by their vet!.

Hope this helps.