Ahhh, nothing like a sweet puppy kiss to make your day a little brighter. That is unless your little dog has breath that makes you gag! Studies show that over 95% of bad doggie breath is caused by poor dental hygiene which is good news; this means you can do something to clear it up!

Cleaning Chihuahua teeth is the number one thing you can do to help keep his breath smelling, if not minty fresh, then at least better than a zombie’s. Cleaning Chihuahua teeth is not the easiest thing in the world but is important for keeping your baby dog happy and healthy.

Training is Key
Very few dogs appreciate having their teeth cleaned and cleaning Chihuahua teeth is no different. Your sweet little pup may turn into a Tasmanian devil when you first try to brush her teeth, but with training, she will learn to tolerate it.

Training Chihuahua teeth starts with getting him used to having his mouth touched and this is all based on trust. The sooner you start getting your baby-dog used to you playing with his mouth, the better.

• Start by just casually just rubbing your finger along the outside of your Chihuahua’s mouth, praising him for being a good dog.

• As he gets more comfortable with having his mouth touched, you can gently start to rub his teeth. Always stay positive, and don’t ever punish him for being uncomfortable.

• The next step to cleaning Chihuahua teeth is to put some dog toothpaste on your finger, let him taste it and then again rub your finger gently on his teeth. Never use human toothpaste on your Chihuahua’s teeth as this can make him sick. Specialized dog tooth paste is not only safe for your dog but also tastes much better to him.

Take things slowly; the goal here is to earn your pup’s trust. Cleaning Chihuahua teeth should be just another fun way to spend time with your dog. If you make a big, scary deal of it, you will end up with a very resistant doggy.
Using a Chihuahua Toothbrush

Once your little friend is comfortable with having his teeth rubbed, you can introduce him to a finger brush. These types of dog toothbrushes are the most useful for cleaning Chihuahua teeth as they are small enough for his tiny mouth. Even though your pup is now a pro at having her teeth handled, doesn’t mean she will immediately tolerate having this strange, new object put in her mouth. You will again need to take things slow and only put the finger-brush in her mouth for a couple of seconds at a time. At this stage you don’t need to be concerned with the quality of brushing, it’s just practice right now.
There are regular handled toothbrushes for dogs and many people simply use human toothbrushes on their dogs. Normal sized toothbrushes are far too big for cleaning Chihuahua teeth and you are better off sticking with the finger brush to use on your itty bitty dog.

Remember, keep things short and sweet and your little friend will soon look forward to having his teeth brushed. Start with just brushing a few front teeth and then gently scrub a back tooth or two. Practice every day until you can brush all of his teeth easily.

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How to Brush Chihuahua Teeth

Now that your pooch readily accepts the finger-brush, you can start to work toward keeping his little teeth pearly white. Here is how to have a successful cleaning Chihuahua teeth session:
1. Hold your pup on your lap or tucked under your arm so that you can hold him steady. By this point he should be pretty used to the whole cleaning Chihuahua teeth program and shouldn’t need to be held to securely.

2. Put a small amount of doggy toothpaste on your finger brush. You only need a drop about the size of a pea.

3. With one hand, gently lift your pup’s tender lips up and softly scrub the outside of all of his teeth. Don’t forget the molars!

4. Give your pup a short break from her Chihuahua teeth cleaning. Tell her she is such a good little girl and love on her a bit before going on to the next step.

5. Gently pry open her mouth with one hand and use your finger brush to softly scrub the insides of all of her tiny teeth.
If you brush your little dog’s teeth several times a week, your Chihuahua teeth cleaning session should only take about a minute. This short ritual could save you time and money down the road as small dogs can be prone to having bad teeth if not taken care of over the years.