How to brush your pet's teeth

Brushing Your Pet´s Teeth

STEP 1: Introduce a brushing program to pets gradually. Avoid over-restraining your pet and keep brushing sessions short and positive. A cat or small dog can be held in your lap. Praise and reassure your pet throughout the process.

STEP 2: At first, dip a finger into beef bouillon for dogs or tuna water for cats. Rub the soaked finger gently over the pet’s mouth and teeth. Make the initial sessions short and positive.

STEP 3: Gradually, introduce gauze over the finger and gently scrub the teeth in a circular motion.

STEP 4: Finally, you can introduce a soft toothbrush designed for pets. Use a sensitive or ultra-soft brush designed for people or a brush designed for pets. Special pet toothbrushes are available from your veterinarian or specialty pet store. Don’t use toothpaste designed for people because it could upset the animal’s stomach.

For more information, visit PetDental

Walk-thru baby gates...

Originally I saw one of these at a friend's house who also had dogs and cats... At the time, I was using the older version (stretch across wood version that you pushed the bar down on)... Having fallen over it a few times when I 'thought' I was going to step over our version, I was up for a new idea when I spotted one of these at her house... 

My husband had been opposed to permanently attaching the version of the gates that had come before the newer ones... He felt it would damage the wood frame in a doorway, so the stretch-across version was the best I could come up with...  


Originally, this version was very expensive when it came out on the market and most of us couldn't afford $150 or more, especially when you needed more than one to quarter off various parts of your home... Pricing them today, you can find them as low as $39 if you shop around, Google or NexTag it... 

Our fosters and dogs generally have 'free roam' of the house and backyard... I block off areas of the house I do not want them in unless I have invited them in (such as our bedroom)... So one for the bedroom door was a must... Once we had one, we wanted more (like Ruffles potato chips!)... Because you don't need to screw into the door frame, but just toggle back using pressure, it doesn't damage the wood frames... They have all kinds of 'prettied-up' versions now in various motifs and styles according to your tastes and decor, by the way... 

If you have a dog that consistently charges the front door or a door you frequently go out of, these baby gates work wonders in training... Using our infamous squirt bottle and a baby gate, you can quickly teach them the 'back' command if the door is open and the baby gate is installed across the doorway frame... Give the command and if they don't respond, follow it up with the command again and a water squirt... Again, it doesn't take much for any dog to learn to stand back from an opened door and they can only pass through when invited by the owner... It only takes one dog escaping and running into the traffic for an owner to deeply regretting not having one along with the command taught!

Lick... lick... lick...

Licking is a natural thing for puppies and dogs to do... Puppies lick their mother's mouth instinctively as a signal they are hungry... Depending upon the shelter dog's personality, we have found some dogs continue licking - especially with their 'guardian angel' who pulls them from the shelter!... Sometimes to the point it is annoying...


Our past experience has also shown a puppymill puppy who licks his owner as well as himself each night as he drifts off to sleep - almost as a pacifier or prelude to falling asleep... At times, this particular dog has 'licked-thin' the area on his front paws... Another rescue licks her owner each night (but not herself) until she falls asleep, but will lick during the day as well --- almost to the annoying level.

There are two three trains of thought to this habit...


1) Ignore it - especially if it doesn't bother you

2) Exchange the licking for something else - like a Kong filled with peanut butter (although this can be a bit messy at times, depending on when the licking session is and where it occurs)

3) Stop the habit - using something like bitter apple

We have been told the bitter apple trick doesn't work, but because it evaporates so fast if not used in the gel formula, this is probably why...

It almost has to be used instantaneously... And that is not always convenient... But here is one example of having the product work... Catching a dog chewing the edge of a piece of furniture, squirt the furniture then immediately a SMALL amount into the dog's mouth... They won't like it - they'll hate it because dogs can taste sweet as easily as they can taste sour (unlike cats)... The dog has to connect the smell of what you squirted on the edge of the furniture (mentally) with the taste he has in his mouth... Left for even a few minutes, the product evaporates and becomes ineffective...

If you have a dog that is constantly licking you (and you have no open sores or wounds on the area), you can spray bitter apple on the area they favor licking... Again, it has to be immediately for them to get the idea "When I lick there, I get an awful taste in my mouth"...

Personally, I've usually ignored the habit and/or used the word "no", then gently pushed the dog away... Generally, they get the message fast enough if you are consistent enough...

How did we ever live without Xpens?

I'm not sure how I ever lived before without Xpens (exercise pens)... We at TLC prefer the ones from Dig It because they are coated with epoxy and therefore easy to clean, don't destroy your floors and don't rust... But also because they are economical from that particular website...

I personally prefer the type that has a walk-thru door, but that's really a matter of taste more than anything else...  I tend to buy the 10-panel versions because you can easily fold them back into an 8-panel, 6-panel, etc. when space is at a premium.

And when you don't need them?  They readily fold up and slide underneath your bed or couch, behind a dresser, in the back of the closet, etc.   If you are headed off to the beach or a park, it's a quick item to throw into your trunk and then you don't have to worry about your pet and other unleashed dogs charging them...

We STRONGLY recommend the purchase of this item to those who have adopted from TLC, especially with puppies who are already Xpen-trained while they are our fosters... Not only does this establish a space of safety for them, it also keeps your home from being destroyed as you go through the potty-training period with a new puppy... Pitty pads are easily put down inside an Xpen, it keeps puppies from exploring and causing harm to themselves by chewing on electrical cords, eating foods they weren't supposed to, etc.  It only takes a second for something bad to happen while your eyes aren't on them, the phone rings, your attention is pulled away - it happens to the best of us!

We also use them to introduce new dogs to old ones... We set up an Xpen in the backyard ("their" territory) and put the new foster inside, as the dogs have the opportunity to meet each other by scent and not physically... Gives the new guy a sense of security while introductions are going on too...

Doggie gates are a great thing, but they aren't quite as mobile as Xpens are - you have to have a space you can stretch a doggie gate out across... With an Xpen, it is self-supporting and so can go just about anywhere... I have even taken the panels apart that the hinge seam (easy to do), then stretched it around my tomato plants in the summer so the dogs weren't able to go digging in the fresh soil underneath them!  Worked wonders!

Again, what did we ever do without them before???

Training - the infamous WATER BOTTLE - OH NO!

I almost feel like I am an old 'granny Chi-weenie' with something we use frequently --- a spritz bottle filled with water to correct bad behaviors we encounter as we rehabilitate...

We use these at adoptions and I use them a lot around the house... There are probably 6 (?) at various points in our home, all in easy access for when needed at a second's notice...

We use them for just about anything - "QUIET" at the exact same second we spritz their butt with the water... takes only a few times with even the most stubborn of dogs for them to catch the drift - we bark, we're not supposed to, the bottle squirts water at our behind along with that word, we're not supposed to be barking...

I've used the water squirt bottle to break up dog fights (easier on your body parts too!), "BACK" when I am trying to teach a dog to not charge an opened door, "EASY" when I am trying to settle dogs down when meeting a new foster for the first time, "NO" when a dog is chewing on a piece of furniture they shouldn't be, etc.

The trick (with anything regarding dogs) is consistency (hence them being all over the house within quick reach) and practice... Doesn't take long for any of the shelter dogs to connect that water and the squirt bottle with something they weren't supposed to do... To the point, you can eventually just pick it up and the behavior ceases!

The birth of TLC's "Tips & Tricks"

Not my idea originally, but spawned from comment a few volunteers have made...  How much they have learned from me as a volunteer... "We should really start writing these things down somewhere"... Hence the final birth of TLC's T&T... 

Why I do certain things, I do not know - they seem almost instinctual somehow... Many come from simply watching and observing dogs as they interact among other dogs... Others come from pulling dogs out of shelters (usually off the kill lists) and searching for the 'hot buttons' and clues that will help me help them towards a furever home... Finally, I give an infinite amount of credit to Cesar Millan for the work he has done as a Dog Whisperer... While I practice the 'take what you like and leave the rest' in his methods, his work has helped me look outside the box and pay more attention to the pack dynamics and use them as a rehabilitation tool... I have never had the need to 'pin' a Chihuahua to the ground as he's had to pin large Pitties and other breeds -- and we have a foster Chi right now with a pinched nerve in her neck, so I wonder how many of the general public have tried some of his methods needlessly -- but there is MUCH of what Cesar teaches that can be applied (and modified) to anyone's dog if you FIRST observe what's wrong and react to it LAST after careful analysis and observation...

If this helps just one Chihuahua, then the effort spent to start this archive is well worth the time and energy!

Live long and adopt ALWAYS!