Because of Stella’s Frenchie face we really struggle with the regular brushing of her teeth. Her short snout and big tongue don’t leave much room for a toothbrush, and even when we manage to get the toothbrush in her mouth it tends to get blocked by skin and her fighting back.
We’ve almost completely given up on brushing her teeth with a regular toothbrush, we even have some really nice smelling toothpaste for her – Petsol.
We have however found some really good alternative products off the back of this which I want to talk about, which have reduced our need to brush her teeth so regularly but we also feel confident that she’s keeping well on the dental hygiene front.
Alternatives to toothpaste for your dog
Food
First and foremost is Stella’s regular food. We’ve said it a bunch, but Tails.com is honestly super good. We have her on the hypoallergenic brand, but also have her ticked for ‘healthy teeth and gums’, meaning they incorporate that in to her recipe. Her food is amazing compared to other brands we’ve used and it helps her with allergy and iffy tummy issues too.
Treats
We’ve used the usual Dentastix a bunch, specifically the minty ones because Stella’s breath can get a bit grim. But there’s a couple of other dental treats we really like, these being Greenies dental chews – I prefer them to Dentastix for Stella because they are smaller, and seem softer and easier to chew, given that French Bulldogs can be prone to choking it’s a no-brainer there.
We’ve also started buying dental treats for when we take her walking, they’re not the only thing we give her, but they’re nicer than some of the meatier things. For these we tend to like breaking up Scrumbles Gnashers, which are quite biscuity and she really likes them. A smaller version but similar product we’ve also had is Treattricks dental bites.
We have also tried Woofbrush by Lily’s Kitchen but to be honest they’re terrible for Stella, they’re really tough to chew through and she ended up choking a bunch when we got them, if you have a dog that loves to gnaw at something it’s great, but if your dog likes to scoff things down then I’d steer clear of them.
Mouthwash
Recently I found Beaphar’s mouthwash in Wilkinsons and thought I’d give it a try. You put a little bit in your pet’s water bowl and it helps sanitise their mouth (we don’t put it in every bowl, we use it maybe twice a week or so). It does seem to have improved her breath noticeably. So I’d recommend giving that a go to.
Honestly I love the toothpaste we’ve got Stella. The Petsol stuff really sorts her stanky breath out, so we do try to use it when we can, but because it’s hard I think a mix of everything we’ve got tends to work. We give her a greenie’s dental stick most days, along with her regular diet and treats. If she is a little stinky in the mouth we’ll then add some mouthwash, but we try not to over-do it because her stomach can get a bit funny with simple diet changes.
Do you have any products you love to keep your dog’s teeth healthy? Let us know, or if you want to be super ace, Stella’s wishlist always has dental treats on them and you can buy her some!