Chihuahuas are prone to dental issues. Daily toothbrushing can help maintain their oral hygiene so they don’t lose quite so many teeth at their next dental. The gold standard for at home care is toothbrushing for 2 minutes every day. Unfortunately, if your dog fights toothbrushing this isn’t an easy task.
We’ve made the process easier by introducing them to mouth handling in an earlier part of the course. If you’ve skipped directly to this section because this is the problem you have with your pet, I strongly suggest you start at the beginning and work your way forward.
This course is ordered in such a way as to build a foundation of trust and treats before we get to more sensitive tasks. This is one of those more sensitive tasks we have built towards.
Things to Consider
One more thing to consider before working on this is that pain can make dogs act differently than they normally would. If it hurts to have their teeth brushed, all the treats in the world are not going to have them build a positive association.
If your pet:
- Bites for their face at the groomers, particularly the beard
- Bites for toothbrushing
- Hates to have their mouth/beard brushed
- Drops their food or treats sometimes when eating
These are signs your dog may have dental pain. This isn’t always easy to spot. One time, I brought Rocco in for his regular dental, and they found a shattered molar in the far back. In hindsight, he’d been slightly more resistant to toothbrushing—turning his head away instead of eagerly getting brushed—but he hadn’t stopped eating or chewing bully sticks, so it never occurred to me a tooth might be broken.
I confess I didn’t examine his back molars while brushing. I just thought he was getting fussier about toothpaste flavors.
Although he didn’t show any signs of pain, he was so happy after the dental, it was obvious he felt better. Imagine pain so bad it feels better to have a tooth pulled clean out. I felt very bad.
If you notice any of these red flags, ask your veterinarian to look at their teeth and see if they need a dental. They may need to have teeth extracted and heal, but they will feel so much better if you start toothbrushing with a clean slate.
I am aware right now that veterinary care is at an all time high as far as expenses, and that you may not be able to afford it. If that is the case, please take a look at our financial articles, such as this one on Vet Billing and this one with a list of possible places that can cover different types of veterinary bills, and see if your pup qualifies for any of them.
Assuming your pet is in good health and their teeth are not hurting them, let’s go on to desensitizing the toothbrush.
Presenting the Toothbrush
Just like with all our other items, the first step is to put the toothbrush on the ground for your pet to look at. Read your dog’s reaction to see how they feel about it. Do they immediately investigate the toothbrush and then look up expectantly for treats? This is a good sign. Reward your pet for any positive interaction with the toothbrush.
If they’re hanging back at all or show any signs of anxiety such as tight lips, nervous glances, or creating distance between the toothbrush and themselves, it’s a sign they’re not as comfortable.
Look at this as a way of communicating between yourself and your dog. By putting the toothbrush on the ground, you are posing the question, “How do you feel about this?” and by their body language, they are expressing to you their answer.
How they respond determines how you move forward. If they are fully comfortable with the toothbrush right away, you can just reward 2 or 3 glances/positive interactions with the toothbrush before moving on. If they’re at all fearful, you’ll have to build up their happiness around the toothbrush first.
You can build their happiness by tossing them treats to them at the distance they feel is comfortable, and working towards them getting closer to it over a series of sessions. See our homework for nervous dogs to get an idea of what a week of sessions might look like.
Touching the Toothbrush
Once your dog is completely comfortable with being around a toothbrush, it’s time to challenge their comfort by putting your hand on the toothbrush. Many dogs are fine with nail clippers, brushes and tootbrushes when they’re not being touched by people, but become uncomfortable when they are.
This is because these things only hurt/touch them when they’re in human hands. The rest of the time they are just lying there. By touching it without grasping it or lifting it up, you’re helping create a baby step towards seeing the toothbrush as nonharmful.
Touching the toothbrush is a nice bridge because you’re not picking it up or wrapping your hands around it, you’re just making contact.
Touch the toothbrush and immediately reward your pet at the same time. Watch for your pups reaction. Did they shrink away the moment you reached for it? Tense up? Use any anxious body language?
This is a sign that they may be fine with the toothbrush by itself, but certainly not when a human is handling it.
If this is the case, you may have to work up to touching the toothbrush by only reaching half way for the toothbrush, rewarding at the same time.
If your pup is fine with the toothbrush being touched (or at least, not too nervous) repeat touching the toothbrush and rewarding your pup at the same time 10-15 times. Repeat sessions until your pups only response to you touching the toothbrush is to be happy/excited/look around for those treats.
Picking up the Toothbrush
When your pups only reaction is to look for treats when you pick up the toothbrush, it’s time to up the requirements for treats by picking up the toothbrush. At the same time, give your dog a treat. Set the toothbrush down.
How did your pup react? If they were fearful, you may have to pick a half way point, such as getting it into your hand but keeping your hand (and toothbrush) on the ground. Work on rewarding them at this low level until they are comfortable, and then continuing on with picking it up.
If they were mostly fine (a little nervous is okay, fleeing or creating a lot of space is not.) Repeat sessions of 10-15 treats until your pup is completely fine.
Even if they are completely fine with you picking it up the first time, do at least one complete session of 10-15 repetitions before moving on. The goal is to build a lot of happy association with the toothbrush, and one treat each step doesn’t really do that.
Similar Posts:
- Do Dental Sticks Help With Plaque Reduction?
- How to desensitize your dog to mouth handling
- How to Brush Your Chihuahua’s Teeth
- Nail Trim Desensitization: Part 2
- Nail Trimmer Desensitization
