That's the Taste He's Been Missing!
They get their teeth brushed every two days. Our two little dogs, that is. We have second-tier health insurance for them, should some dreadful misfortune strike them into ill health or an unforeseen accident plunge them into some kind of catastrophe. It is adequate coverage. It's only the gold-plated pet insurance plan that covers dental procedures for dogs. And since small dogs in particular and some breeds like our own, are particularly susceptible to health problems related to their teeth and/or gums, it's in our best interests, and theirs, to do what we can to ensure their teeth are clean, and well taken care of. Hence, teeth get brushed, regularly.
Sounds kind of nutty, but you get used to it, and so do they. And they're healthier for it, and we (he) get to feel fairly virtuous about the routine, like we're doing them a great big favour. The toy poodle has a tendency to hide under the wing chair in the family room, until he's enticed out for his tooth brushing. The miniature poodle is smarter; she knows it's inevitable, so she makes herself available and toughs it out. Both of them enjoy the clincher, which is once the serious business of the brushing itself is done and over with, each gets to lick the remaining tooth paste off their respective tooth brush.
In fact, they're both surprisingly obliging, and sit still while the brushing process is progressing. I don't brush their teeth, he does it. He has the patience and the confidence to do it, I just don't. I confine myself to brushing their hairy little coats in the evening. And they don't mind those ministrations either. But shoving a little toothbrush into a tiny dog's mouth and vigorously applying it upper and lower, just isn't my thing.
We usually try to get them a doggy toothpaste that most appeals to them, and that, normally, is chicken-flavoured. So the after-licks are treats, you see? However, last time we shopped (he shopped) for doggy toothpaste the only type available was vanilla flavoured. We needed it, so he opted for it, and they don't seem to mind at all, finding the taste agreeable. Like us, they also have a sweet tooth...ha-ha.
Sometimes when I look for our toothpaste in the holder where it belongs, and cannot find it, I will discover that it's been mistakenly placed into the mug that holds the dogs' toothpaste and brushes. So I guess it shouldn't have come as one big surprise when, this evening after dinner when he was brushing his teeth for what seemed an inordinately long time (I was awaiting my turn at the electric brush) he suddenly laughed out loud and said, "no wonder!".
The toothpaste, he thought, tasted much better than the Colgate we use generally does, so he took his time brushing. Then realized that the sweet taste he was so relishing was not Colgate at all, but rather the dogs' toothpaste. Well, seems it did the job.
Glad we don't also share electric tooth brush heads. Ugh.
posted by Pieface @ Friday, March 24, 2006
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