Why you should brush your dog teeth daily if you don’t already
Do I have to cut my dog’s nails ? How often? In all cases and races ? Is it good to clean your ears ? And the teeth
should we also brush them Every day ? They are recurring doubts in all kinds of forums about pets and also questions that are repeated in veterinary consultations. And they have clear answers both from the hand of specialists and pulling common sense.
Teeth
Veterinarians warn that oral cleaning of dogs is much more important than what is usually given . Those of small breeds, due to the properties of their saliva ( pH ), tend to be “prone to accumulate tartar or coarse in their teeth,” explains Dídac Domingo.
And that accumulated plaque causes calcium to precipitate, which ends up causing oral problems that can become serious, in addition to a very annoying bad breath when living with the animal at home.
I recommend cleaning your teeth and doing it with specific products for them. If you want to extend the life of the animal, so as not to have to do many dental oral hygiene in the veterinarian
it is better to clean the dog’s teeth at home once a day, ”adds the veterinarian. And he warns that if good dental hygiene is not maintained on a regular basis the dog will end up losing pieces.
The bad breath of the animal is a clear indicator that it is accumulating tartar or presenting problems derived from poor dental hygiene, such as infections or phlegm .
With brush and toothpaste ?
When cleaning our animal’s teeth, the brush and toothpaste specific to dogs and cats is, if the animal is not aggressive or nervous, it is recommended. In very small dogs it is more complicated to brush them well.
Specific products that facilitate the task are marketed , such as liquids that can be mixed with water and that help keep teeth clean. There are also sprays or products on the market that can be applied to the gums.
It is not a minor matter. If a lot of tartar builds up, infections in the mouth can occur and if this infection is not treated it can “colonize” other parts of the body, Pifarré warns. “In a dog with a heart problem it can cause death,” adds the veterinarian.
The ones
Dogs’ nails should be cut whenever it is not an animal that comes out a lot. In this case, the wear and tear of your mobility will keep your nails at bay, with an adequate size. If the nails do not exceed the pads of each leg, it is not necessary to cut .
“It depends a lot on each dog; In principle they would not need to trim their nails if they are animals that wear them naturally. But in small dogs or animals that do not go outside much and do not have enough wear, the nail grows a lot and then it must be cut, ”explains Dídac Domingo.
Therefore, check your nails from time to time to see if they are too long or not. When we see that they twist or that the animal adopts strange positions to walk or run because the nails are a nuisance, it is obvious that they have to be cut, and fast.
How long and how to cut?
It is very important not to overcut. In the case of dogs with white nails, it is easier to observe in the nail how far the living tissue (fleshy color) reaches and thus know how far to cut.
Never get to the part of the living tissue .
If the nails are black and the tissue part is not observed, experts recommend being very cautious or going to the veterinarian. If you cut too much you can cause injury and pain to the animal.
To trim the nails you have to do it with patience , because there are animals that if they are not accustomed can be nervous and even aggressive especially at the beginning. There are tutorials on YouTube, in specialized channels such as Animal Expert, which can help in the case of beginner owners. For the first few times, the guideline set by a veterinarian can be of great help.
Cutting the dog’s nails is in most cases an acceptable task at home. In case of doubt about whether or not to cut and how to do it, the recommendation of the experts is common sense: go to the trusted veterinarian. There are scissors for dogs and also specific files .
Too long nails in addition to causing discomfort to the animal can also end up generating wounds in the legs or favor suffering sprains in its limbs. In the case of the spurs , if they end up penetrating the skin they can cause an infection , in addition to the pain that our pet will suffer.
How often?
Regarding the frequency with which we have to check and cut the nails, Domingo explains that “the frequency is usually every month or every month and a half, although as we have said there are dogs that never need it.
There are animals, such as mastiffs , that have spurs (also called fifth finger), nails that can get nailed if they grow too much. You always have to cut them. If in the front legs the first finger does not touch the ground and the nail grows too much, it must also be trimmed.
On the other hand, nails that grow excessively or are very fragile should put us on alert. “Having long fingernails can be an indicator of a disease , for example in dogs suffering from leishmaniasis, ” explains Domingo.
And in cats?
In the case of cats there is a debate between supporters and detractors to cut the nails. “If they are cats that do not go outside, I am in favor of trimming the cat’s nails to prevent them from snagging with a tissue. I cut my nails once a month, ”explains veterinarian Maria Pifarré. If on the contrary, they are cats that go out and are with other cats, it is advisable not to trim the cat’s nails so that it can defend itself well or climb trees.
Ears
As regards the hygiene of the ears, in dogs prone to otitis, specialists recommend cleaning them very carefully every week. If they have droopy ears they may be more problematic animals, because the external auditory canal has less ventilation, so you should be especially careful with the hygiene of the ears.
How to clean them?
“I recommend cleaning your ears every three weeks or a month with ear cleaners,” Domingo explains. Of course, there are dogs that do not need it because they do not practically form any earwax or have any problem with otitis.
The ears, after washing, should dry thoroughly on the outside. It can be used when the dog is bathed. “I recommend that it not be done more often than once a month if the dog has no skin problems. If they bathe in excess the dogs lose the film of fat, like an oil that they make in their skin in a natural way and that is a first protective layer; If you have to clean your ears more than once a week, the animal has a problem and we must go to the vet, ”says Pifarré.
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