ear and teath cleaning
Moderators: Pike Ridge Beagles, Aaron Bartlett
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vince z
ear and teath cleaning
Looking for some home remedies for cleaning a dogs ears. Also looking for info on how often to take them to the vet for teeth cleanings. Any info will be appreciated. Thanks Vince Z.
For ears, I'd buy a drying solution such as Epiotic because I don't know of a home remedy (I know they used to use urine, even in people's ears...yuck). You'll have to judge how often is necessary - every 3-4 weeks for a beagle should be plenty, and if we have an extended wet period or give them a bath, we do a cleaning whether the ears are dirty or not to dry them out. Just a few drops and a little cotton-ball rubbing keeps them clean and infection-free. It's not that expensive, and since you only use a few droops to a squirt per ear, a bottle lasts a long time.
Teeth cleaning depends a lot on the dog. One of mine always has spotless teeth, and another always has a lot of tartar build-up. They get the same type and amount of food, biscuits, and rawhides. Regular chewing should keep them pretty clean. An actual vet dental requires general anaesthesia, and the typical dog doesn't need more than a few of those in a lifetime, and some dogs will never really need one. If your dog needs to be put under for surgery, it's a good time to have one done. My tartar-ridden one averages a dental every 18-24 months. He's got a growth on his leg that's coming off next week, so he'll get a dental done then. You can also buy dog-specific toothpastes that have enzymes in them to help break-down tartar. I don't know how effective they are. You can also buy a tooth scraper and do some limited teeth cleaning by yourself if you can keep the dog still, but I doubt you'll be able to get much done around the gumline.
Teeth cleaning depends a lot on the dog. One of mine always has spotless teeth, and another always has a lot of tartar build-up. They get the same type and amount of food, biscuits, and rawhides. Regular chewing should keep them pretty clean. An actual vet dental requires general anaesthesia, and the typical dog doesn't need more than a few of those in a lifetime, and some dogs will never really need one. If your dog needs to be put under for surgery, it's a good time to have one done. My tartar-ridden one averages a dental every 18-24 months. He's got a growth on his leg that's coming off next week, so he'll get a dental done then. You can also buy dog-specific toothpastes that have enzymes in them to help break-down tartar. I don't know how effective they are. You can also buy a tooth scraper and do some limited teeth cleaning by yourself if you can keep the dog still, but I doubt you'll be able to get much done around the gumline.