Brushing’s better with a 4-legged friend

Every mum knows this scene. Dinner’s done. The kids have their PJs on. Now it’s tooth-brushing time, but your darling offspring just won’t co-operate.

Mars Petcare - dog

Every mum knows this scene. Dinner’s done. The kids have their PJs on. Now it’s tooth-brushing time, but your darling offspring just won’t co-operate.

“Every. Single. Night,” sighs mum-of-two, Hilary, from Melbourne. “At the end of the day, everyone’s patience is wearing thin. It’s just exhausting.”

Imagine if you could avoid tooth-brushing meltdowns with help from an unexpected ally. Enter the family dog. When you’re encouraging reluctant kids to brush, try rewarding them with a truly enticing offer. Once the kids have brushed, they get to look after Fido’s teeth!

“It sounds weird,” says Hilary. “But guess what? I tried it and it actually works. Both my kids are happy to brush their teeth if they know they’ll get cuddles with our dog, Chips, afterwards.”

It seems shared dental care time can become a sweet bonding moment for two-legged and four-legged family members will enjoy. You can even celebrate their progress on a sticker chart. Who doesn’t love seeing the stickers stacking up beside their name?

Sharing dental care is a great lesson in responsibility since the kids are looking after their own health as well as their dog’s.

And if doggy dental care seems like drama you don’t need, you’d be mistaken. There are some great products to make the job easier.

The Pedigree DentaStix range is one of them. The sticks are chewy and delicious, so it’s not difficult to get dogs on board. And if given to dogs every day, DentaStix are proven to reduce tartar build-up by up to 80 per cent.

When it comes to gum disease, prevention is always preferable to a cure, says Norman Johnston of the UK veterinary dental clinic, DentalVets.

Untreated, tartar build-up leads to canine gum disease, which seriously interferes with the business of being a dog. You can’t play with a stick or fetch a ball with gum disease, after all. And crunching bones? Forget about it.

And, says Norman Johnston, just because pets don’t display behavioural signs of dental problems doesn’t mean all is well.

Of course, dogs can’t tell you they have gum disease. So often, owners don’t realise the problem until it’s too late. And that’s painful for your pooch— and expensive for you.

For all the same reasons you look after your kids’ teeth, you want to care for your dog’s.

Yet sadly, research shows 80 per cent of dogs over the age three have gum disease. And even worse, a vast majority of owners believe their dogs’ teeth are perfectly fine.

Clearly, it’s a great idea to establish an oral care routine for your kids as well as your dog.

Says Norman Johnson, “It’s never too late to get started with any pet.”

And if your kids and your pooch need a little extra motivation, you’ll be interested to know Woolworths is giving away a free sticker chart and colouring book (but only for a limited time, of course).

Who knows? With a sticker chart, some Dentastix and toothbrushes for your kids, teeth time could become a family ritual you all come to love.

Originally published as Brushing’s better with a 4-legged friend