Sitting at my computer completely immersed in my work, I am startled by something brushing up against my ankle. I look down and I see Mikki, grabbing his stuffed toy and dropping it back on my foot, repeatedly. He wants to play! “Cute” I think, as I pick it up proceeding to engage in a tug of war with him. But as we’re playing, I notice a nasty odour emanating from his mouth. IT’S AWFUL!  I chuck the toy across the room, ending the game in disgust. This isn’t the first time its happened over the years but it’ll be the last, I think to myself. Not all dog owners consider brushing their dog’s teeth as part of their daily routine. But responsible and caring dog owners know that their beloved pet needs assistance in that department and that no amount of branded dental food chews will help, except serve to exacerbate the problem of bad breath.

The cause of the bad breath is usually the tarter build up on the teeth as a result of the very foods most of us choose to feed our dogs-dry and canned-both of which contain high amounts of carbs. This ultimately leads to periodontal disease and tooth loss, with 80% of dogs affected by this disease over 3 years of age, so it is very common. Added to this, Miniature Pinscher’s are one of the most affected breeds prone to dental issues. The best solutions to support oral health is by brushing and a good natural diet. A natural raw diet with the absence of damaging carbs will not cause these plaque/tarter problems, which is why we plan on switching Mikki’s diet as soon as we can. But I’m not going to talk about diets here as most of us feed commercial dry diets, including me (least for now). So last year I went and bought Mikki a doggy toothbrush and toothpaste set and I’m glad I at least tried it out. Although the tarter staining is still present (he’ll need a descale at the vet to remove this), his breath has improved by a country mile.

Arm & Hammer Dog Toothpaste Set

In case you weren’t aware, dogs cannot use human toothpaste as fluoride will cause intoxication so it cannot be used as a long term solution to keeping your Miniature Pinscher’s mouth healthy. It is highly probable that they’d be repelled by the strong menthol scent. Doggy toothpaste comes with a dog food-type odour but it’s not unpleasant for us to smell. I have since tried a few different toothpastes and the Arm & Hammer brand seems to be the best. So as Mikki had never had his teeth brushed in his life, I knew there was going to be some resistance. This is how it went.

Using the little brush that came with the toothpaste-as Miniature Pinscher’s have little mouths-I put on a small amount of paste and stroking him in reassurance, promising him a nice treat afterwards, gently tried to open his mouth. Which he immediately snapped shut, giving me a bewildered look. After repeated attempts and several fresh squirts of toothpaste smeared all over his mouth, I felt my impatience creeping up on me, heating my face up before hitting me over the head like a house brick. So I pulled his jaws open and shoved the toothbrush in there and began desperately (and failing) trying to brush in a back and forth movement. He slobbered everywhere and writhed around in his bed injuring me in the process (ok, it was just a scratch on my wrist) but I soldiered on.

The whole thing sounds awful 😭😭but it was the only way to get things done, initially. Now if your Miniature Pinscher is anything like mine, he will push his tongue back and forth in an attempt to swallow all the product before you’ve had a chance to brush both sides of his mouth. This resulted in me having to use way more product than I needed to, having to reload the brush with paste a second time. But these teething problems (pardon the pun) will have to occur before your Miniature Pinscher gets used it. So now that Mikki has become more used to it, this is how I do it-

• First take your dog’s snout firmly, pull up the side of his lips, keeping his teeth together (jaws shut) and slide the brush in between his lips to the side; get one side done, the front teeth, then the other side
• Then allow his mouth to open, keeping a few fingers in there to prevent his tongue from helping swallow the toothpaste and brush the inside of the back teeth especially the hard to reach top ones. Lastly, brush his tongue

I cannot advise you if you believe you run the risk of being bitten. Touching your dog’s mouth is very intimate for them and not all dogs are suitable for this activity in which case I’d ask a vet for professional for advice. I brush Mikki’s teeth once every morning. Goes without saying not all dogs will react like mine did and there’s no price for introducing brushing in puppyhood. If you begin brushing your adult Miniature Pinscher’s teeth, you can slow down and even prevent severe dental disease. Its not too late. Consider changing your Miniature pinscher’s diet for better long term dental health.

He never did get that nice treat…much to his dismay🤬