All breeds have their vulnerabilities. Our beloved chihuahuas may come ahead when it comes down to ear infections, but their teeth are more prone to dental problems than the average dog. Because of this, it’s essential to be able to brush your dog’s teeth thoroughly every day.
This is often easier said than done. Many dogs don’t like having their mouth touched, and if your dog is older they may already be suffering from dental pain.
Touching your dog’s mouth is probably one of the most dangerous things to desensitize. Not only is it a sensitive space for your dog, it’s also the closest to their teeth. If you can’t desensitize this area without the risk of getting bit, it’s best to not try until you think that risk is diminished.
This also means not putting your groomer at risk. There’s nothing worse than getting severely bitten by a dog, only to find out the owner is well aware that the dog bites and didn’t warn you.
If your dog is comfortable having their under eyes and ears touched however, you’ve got a solid starting point for working on the mouth. We’ll start there.
Touching the Cheek
If your dog is fine with their eye area being touched, the cheek is a much more comfortable area because it’s farther away from the eye. Start there and reward your pet for letting them touch you there.
Let touching the cheek be a full lesson with 10 or so repetitions. Many dogs enjoy a good cheek rub, so this is often a very safe place to start mouth touching.
On the next lesson, touch the cheek 2-3 times, but then move to the corner of the mouth. Make touching the corner of the mouth your focus area for several lessons, or until the dog is eager for the treat in exchange for a touch.
When this occurs, move to touching the closed lips just behind where your dog’s canine will be. Work here until your pup is happy to do this in exchange for a treat.
Lifting the Lip
When your dog is comfortable having one side of their mouth handled, gently take your thumb and flick the upper lip upwards just a little in exchange for a treat. It’s not necessary to even see a tooth, just that the lip moves upward slightly from your thumb.
Keep doing this until your pup is comfortable with this. It may take several sessions of 10 repetitions each.
If your dog ever walks away, ducks their head, or tries to avoid this in any way, go back to the previous step.
Once your dog is completely comfortable having their lip flipped upwards a little bit, you can move to lifting the lip all the way up.
Switch Sides
Once your pup is completely comfortable having their lip lifted to expose a tooth, switch sides and work on the other side of the mouth. Start at the cheek on the opposite side and move forward through the same steps until you can lift the lip on both sides.
Once you can examine your dog’s teeth on both sides, mouth desensitization is fairly well established. Although you’ll need to touch all of your dog’s teeth with a toothbrush to brush them, this will come with tool desensitization later.
All of the outward touching you need to brush your dog’s teeth can be done through the mouth desensitization you’ve done.
Similar Posts:
- Introducing Hindquarter Desensitization
- How to Desensitize Touching Near Your Dog’s Eyes
- Introduction to Tail Desensitization
- Touch Desensitization: Feet
- Introduction to Ear Desensitization
