Protect Your Puppy's Oral Health
Just like babies, puppies require a lot of attention to ensure they're healthy. Oral health is a particularly important area of concern. Neglecting a pet's oral care puts them at a greater risk for many unfortunate scenarios, including dental disease and infection. Start your puppy off right with healthy oral care habits from the beginning.
Create an Atmosphere of Comfort
A healthy mouth will require that you, and a healthcare provider, be able to look inside and navigate the animals' mouth freely. It's best to establish a high level of comfort early on. When you fail to do this, the dog can become fearful whenever someone touches their mouth, making it virtually impossible even to get a look inside.
When the dog is in a relaxed state, start by gently opening their mouth and rubbing your hands across their gums and teeth. Doing this even when you aren't looking for something keeps the dog comfortable and will make future examinations easier.
Buy Chew Toys
Chewing is a common practice for a dog of any age, but it's an especially common practice for puppies. During the teething process, finding something to gnaw on can be soothing. Ensure you're buying suitable chew toys to protect the puppies budding teeth.
When a puppy is allowed to chew on hard, dangerous objects while their teeth are developing, and quite fragile, there is an increased risk that they could chip their tooth. Stock up on suitable chew toys to discourage dangerous behaviors. The ideal chew toy is one that is hard, yet slightly flexible to accommodate their teeth safely.
Choose Food Wisely
At the core of good oral health in puppies are quality food choices. If you aren't providing the animal with food options that fit into this category, you can't expect that their teeth will be as strong as they need to be. First, try to keep your puppies diet full with dry foods, instead of wet foods. Wet foods are more likely to get stuck between their feet and cause decay.
Hard foods help with removing bacteria from the teeth as they operate as somewhat of a scraping tool. It's also best to keep treats at a minimum. Feeding a puppy too many treats can harm their developing teeth and even lead to obesity issues in the future.
In addition to at-home care, it's a good idea to take the puppy to a professional, such as at Windsor Veterinary Clinic PC, for periodic checkups. These checkups combined with your efforts will keep the puppy healthier.