Doggie Dental Dilemmas: Suzy Azalea Gives Tips on Keeping Your Pooch's Teeth Healthy

From Suzy Azalea

Humans aren’t the only creatures who need excellent dental hygiene. Suzy Azalea frequently gets questions about doggy dental problems from owners who say that their pets have been showing the following symptoms:

• Halitosis or bad breath
• Red and puffy or bleeding gums
• Increased salivation
• Reluctance to chew or crying out when chewing
• Missing or loose teeth

These are definitely signs of poor dental hygiene in dogs. A proper inspection of the dog’s teeth can be done by lifting the lips all around the mouth and looking at both front and back teeth as closely as possible.

From Suzy Azalea

What are the dangers of these symptoms? Plaque buildup can result into calculus, a hard coating on the teeth that is usually brown or yellow, which grows bacteria that slowly eat away onto the teeth. Suzy Azalea adds that the other symptoms, such as halitosis, periodontal disease, and tooth loss, can follow soon after.

Suzy also reminds owners that this kind of damage isn’t limited in the dog’s mouth—that same bacteria can do serious damage to a dog’s heart and kidneys as well. Addressing the dental problem immediately is always the best bet.

Suzy offers pet owners some very valuable tips about a dog’s dental care at this point. As plaque often turns to tartar and calculus from 24 to 48 hours, brushing is recommended. Use a finger brush or a long toothbrush designed for dogs. Never ever brush your dog’s teeth using human toothpaste. In many instances, what is good for a human is not good for a dog, and this is one of those cases. Use special enzymatic toothpaste specially formulated for dogs.

Find more excellent dog care tips and tricks from Suzy Azalea’s Facebook page.

From Suzy Azalea

Suzy Azalea: Dog Training 101

From Suzy Azalea

New dog owners always look for training tips from dog-breeder Suzy Azalea. The owners are often anxious to get their new dogs housebroken and used to attention expected to be heaped upon them. For most cases, it is recommended that training is started as early as possible. Older dogs can still be trained, but the best results often come from dogs that have been used to this kind of training and activity as puppies.

It is important to make sure training is done as gently and humanely as possible. Positive motivational methods are primarily advised as an upbeat training session will make the dog more comfortable and more motivated to continue. Owners should also carefully gauge how their dogs react to them on a normal basis indoors. Suzy Azalea says that if the dog isn’t responsive indoors, it is far more unlikely to respond outdoors, where there are many distractions.

From Suzy Azalea

As much as possible, commands that can’t be enforced should be avoided, as the dog might understand that such a command is optional and needn’t be done at all. The dog must understand that any issued command is imperative. One command to one response: it is advisable to give the command once, and then gently reinforce it. Avoid using a loud tone—the command needs to be calm and authoritative. Yelling at the dog, especially if it is still a puppy, will only frighten it and place it under even more stress.

More of Suzy Azalea’s dog training tips can be found at her Facebook page.

From Suzy Azalea