Merlo's routine: how a Cavapoo learned to love brushing

Merlo is a six-year-old Cavapoo, apricot, opinionated, and the face of Petdentist®. He is also the reason I started paying attention to dog teeth at all. After more than 35 years looking after human mouths, I assumed brushing a small dog would be easy. It was not, at first. This is what actually happened.

The first attempt, which failed

I did what most owners do: bought a pet toothbrush, put paste on it and went for his mouth. Merlo left the room. The second evening he left the room when he saw the tube. I had made the brush the point, and a dog has no reason to care about a brush.

The second attempt, which also failed

I switched to a finger brush and tried to be quicker about it. Quicker just meant more surprising. He tolerated it for a few seconds, then wriggled off my lap and sulked under the table. The lesson from both attempts was the same: I was starting with the technique when I should have started with the taste.

What worked: three days of nothing but taste

I put the brush away. For three evenings, after his walk, I put a dab of Petsmile Say Cheese on my fingertip and let him lick it off. That was the whole session. By the third evening he was waiting by the kitchen drawer where the tube lived. The paste had become a treat, and that changed everything that came after.

Week two: a finger on the front teeth

Same dab, same time, but now I lifted his lip at the front with my other hand and rubbed the paste on his incisors for a second before he licked it off. He did not mind; the paste was still the point. By the end of the week I could lift the lip at the side and touch the back teeth.

Week three: the brush, with paste on it

I chose the bamboo toothbrush because its head is small enough for a Cavapoo's mouth and the bristles are soft. I put the pea of paste on the bristles and held it out. He licked it off, as he had my finger. Then I lifted his lip and brushed two teeth on one side, short strokes at the gum line, and stopped. He looked at me as if to ask where the rest of the paste was. The next evening it was four teeth. By the end of the week, one side of his mouth.

Week four onwards: the whole outside

His full routine now takes about forty seconds: paste on the brush, lick, right side back to front, left side back to front, bottom teeth, lick the rest off, done. We brush the outer surfaces only; his tongue looks after the inside. He gets a small treat afterwards, and on the evenings I am late he reminds me.

What else is in Merlo's routine

• A weekly look inside his mouth on Sunday evenings, both sides, two minutes, so I notice anything that has changed.
• A chew most days with the tyre rope flosser, sometimes with a smear of paste in the tread. Supervised; he is a rope-shredder when nobody is looking.
• The probiotic powder over his dinner, half a scoop because he is under 7 kg. It supports normal digestion; it does nothing for his teeth, and the brush is the dental part.
• A yearly vet check. Home care keeps his mouth clean; it is not a substitute for his vet, and nothing we sell is intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition.

What I would tell myself at the start

1. Taste first. Three days with no brush in sight.
2. Finger before brush, front teeth before back teeth.
3. Seconds, not minutes. Stop while the dog is still interested.
4. Same time every day, attached to something that already happens.
5. The right brush size matters more than the brand of brush.
6. If the dog refuses the flavour, change the flavour, not the dog.

Merlo's photographs are on our homepage and the About page. If you want to know which flavour, brush and routine would suit your own dog or cat, tell us about your pet and we will point you in the right direction.

Questions people ask

How long did it take Merlo to accept brushing?

About three weeks from the first fingertip of paste to a full brush of the outer surfaces, with the two failed attempts before that not counted.

Does Merlo use a large breed brush?

No. He is under 7 kg, so the compact bamboo brush suits him. The long-handled large breed brush is for medium and big dogs.

Is Merlo's routine the same for a cat?

Nearly. Cats need shorter sessions, a lap position facing away from you, and the same taste-first week. Our cat brushing guide goes through it.

Read next: Caring for your dog's teeth at home, Choosing a toothpaste flavour for a fussy dog, Shop best sellers.

About the author. Dr Deepak Songra BDS (GDC 68552) is a dental surgeon with more than 35 years in clinical practice and the founder of Petdentist®. He is not a vet. He lives with Merlo, the Cavapoo you will see across this site.

This article is general information about daily care, not veterinary advice. Petdentist® products are non-medicinal daily-care products for dogs and cats and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you are worried about your pet, please see your vet. Petdentist® is the trading name of Pet Dentist L.L.C-FZ, Meydan Grandstand, 6th Floor, Meydan Road, Nad Al Sheba, Dubai, UAE. UK orders are dispatched from Northampton.