Need help cleaning your dog’s teeth? Try this!

Daily Brushing?!

A few blogs back I discussed the importance of keeping your dog’s teeth healthy.  It’s so important for their overall health that I wanted to revisit it specifically because I constantly find it difficult to brush my MuttButs teeth every day.

That is what is recommended by many veterinarians, daily brushing.  I’ve even been told that if I didn’t keep up with it on a daily basis, then it may not even be worth the bother doing at all.  Wow!  That got me thinking about a way to try to brush their teeth daily without all of the hassle.

After all, pet dental cleanings can start at several hundreds of dollars and go up exponentially if any teeth need to be pulled.  Riedi had a cracked tooth last year and I can tell you that having just that one tooth pulled was not cheap!

I’ve tried lots of things with my MuttButs.  The pet toothbrush isn’t much different that that for people and they fight me so much that I never feel like I’m doing it right.  I’ve tried the finger brushes and OUCH! that hurt.  My MuttButs think that they are supposed to bite down on it.  My finger isn’t a treat!

I’ve also tried the water additive, but I use one water bowl for both Riedi and Margi, so I never know if they are both getting the correct amount.  I’m also a bit lazy…….. I often forget to add it to the water.  My MuttButs are so good at taking pills that if it doesn’t come in pill format, I have a hard time getting it into my routine and keeping it there.

After that expensive dental cleaning that Riedi had, I decided that I was simply going to have to come up with a way to brush his teeth that was easy.  After a while of thinking it over and consulting with my MuttButs, we finally come up with a solution we all agreed on.

Try DIY Boondoggles

I was learning how to make fleece toys so that I could offer it as a DIY project at one of my Dezi & Roo home parties.  I know that there are various toys available that are meant to help “brush” dogs teeth, so I thought that these fleece tugs might work just as well.

I’ve been googling them and evidently they are called boondoggles!  I never knew they actually had a name.  They make great chew and tug toys and since they are made of fleece, they are machine washable and not expensive at all to make.

I made two boondoggles and put some pet toothpaste (not human!) on them and gave one to Riedi & one to Margi.  They were chewing on them like crazy!  Since they have braids, their teeth can really work out as they chew on them.  Margi’s even had a little bit of blood on it, which I thought was actually a good thing because it meant she was getting it between her teeth.  I found that they really liked it and it got their back teeth when I played tug with them,  This is so much easier than thinking about brushing their teeth every day, but never actually doing it.

You can see from the pictures that both Riedi and Margi love them.  They especially liked when I played tug with them.

I’m now scheduling home parties where your guests can make their own fleece boondoggle toys to take with them.  Contact me today to schedule your party.  Don’t forget that you will earn your host rewards and a portion of the proceeds goes to an animal related charity of the host’s choice.

How exactly do you make a boondoggle?

It was much easier than I thought it would be.  I started with two different color fleece fabrics.  I cut them into 3 inch strips by 30 inches long.  Then I tied a really tight knot in the end.

Open the knot up so that the same colors are on opposite sides.  Fold the top (1) down and the bottom (2) up.  Thread the right (4) strip over the top (1) strip and under the bottom (2) strip.  Then thread the left (3) strip over the bottom (2) strip and under the top (1) strip.

Pull them really tight.  The tighter you pull them the harder the tug will be.  Continue these steps until you reach the end of the strips, but leave enough room to tie it off.  You can trim any excess.  Next time I will use solid fabrics.  I was using what I had around the house and the fabric is pretty, but it doesn’t have the desired look I was going for.  Good thing the MuttButs don’t care about what colors they are!

As with all toys, your pets should not be left unsupervised with them.  Once they are done cleaning their teeth, you should take them up so that they so not chew part off.

Remember, brushing your pet’s teeth is preferred, but if you have a hard time like I do, you might give this a try.  After all, this is better than not doing anything and letting tarter build up.  Let me know if you have come up with any other ways to clean your pet’s teeth.

Making boondoggle dog toys is also a great after school project too.  You can even make them for shelter pets or as toys to give out as a pet is adopted! MuttButs loves helping the shelter animals!

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