The well-known phrase “like trying to teach an old dog new tricks” rings true when introducing a dental care regimen to your pet.  Chances are unless the animal has been accustomed to brushing and general dental maintenance since a young age he will not think highly of this change.  Therefore it is imperative for the success of the dental care plan to slowly introduce your pet to the product(s) you wish to use.  If you want your four-legged companion to get used to teeth brushing the following steps are recommended:

1. Let the pet look at and smell the product. 
2. Sit on the floor with your pet and give a command like “let’s brush your teeth.”  While doing this touch your pet’s teeth with the toothbrush.
3. Take the brush way while giving positive reinforcement to your pet.  Using phrases like “good boy” or “good brushing” helps your pet understand that he was acting appropriately.
4. Repeat the command (make sure you us the same wordage so you don’t confuse your pet) and touch the teeth’s again and continue to give praise.  This shows your pet that the toothbrush is not dangerous or harmful but can be fun and he will be rewarded with praise.
5. Repeat the command again but this time brush one tooth instead of just touching the brush to your pet’s teeth.  Take the brush away and follow up with praise.
6. Repeat this step at least five more times in different areas of the mouth and then stop for the day.  Be sure you praise your pet thoroughly after each brushing session and offer a treat at the conclusion of the training.
7. Repeat these training steps once a day for several days. At this point the goal is not to clean teeth but simply get your pet used to the activity.

After several days of practice begin actually cleaning the teeth but only do one quarter of the teeth. Do another quarter the next day and so on. It may be several weeks before the entire mouth can be done in one cleaning.  This gradual process is the most effective in introducing teeth brushing to your pet.