Touch Your Dogs Mouth During The Day
Start by practicing with your dog when he doesn’t have anything in his mouth. The last thing you want to do when handling your dog is to scare him or make it an unpleasant experience.
Get your dog used to you handling and touching his mouth. Don’t do this during playtime because it could lead to mistakes and some accidental bites if your dog confuses your hand for the toy.
Praise your dog for calm behavior and give him plenty of treats after the exercise. Start out just by placing your hand over his muzzle. Don’t try to open his mouth. Just let him get used to the feeling of your hand on his nose.
Then work your way up to a simple oral inspection of his teeth by lifting his lips to expose the teeth.
You Are Maintaining Your Dog’s Oral Health
Another reason you might want to open your dog’s mouth is to check his oral health. It’s a good idea to periodically inspect his teeth and gums for excessive tartar buildup or signs of disease.
If you train your dog to peacefully let you open and check his mouth, it will make your vet’s job much easier the next time he has a checkup.
You also need to open your dog’s mouth to brush his teeth. Although, with the flavorful doggie toothpaste on the market now, many dogs are more than willing to behave for this routine. Many of them see it as a game and happily try to chew the toothbrush as you do your job.
Depending on how reluctant your dog is to take medicine, this might be another scenario where you are forced to open his mouth.
Even though some dog owners can hide medication in treats or cover them in peanut butter to trick their dogs into eating them, not everyone is so lucky.
Some clever dogs will take the treat and just spit the medicine back out. In this case, you might have to open your dog’s mouth to place the medication far back enough on his tongue to make sure he swallows it.
Something is in Your Dog’s Mouth
More often than not, you’re going to be opening your dog’s mouth because of reason number one, which is (unfortunately) the more difficult scenario.
If your dog has something in his mouth that he shouldn’t have, chances are it’s something he really wants and will not give up easily.
It might be a health concern. Maybe he’s grabbed something that’s not edible and could be a choking hazard, like a child’s small toy or a bunch of small rocks. Or perhaps it is edible, but still dangerous. Many dogs like to grab food or table scraps when they get the chance, but not everything we eat is good for our dogs. It could be toxic for him like raisins, or a choking hazard like small bones from cooked meat.
It could even be a concern over the value of the item your dog has in his mouth. Dogs don’t understand the difference between a cell phone and a chew toy until they’re taught. Your child’s favorite stuffed animal looks a lot like a plush dog toy, and he doesn’t understand the sentimental difference.
Handling Exercise: Opening Your Dog’s Mouth
The best way to open a dog’s mouth is to place one hand over the muzzle, with your thumb and forefinger behind the canine teeth. Place your other hand under their chin. Use both hands to gently open the dog’s mouth. Be sure to give plenty of praise and positive reinforcement during the process.
Have you ever tried to pry your dog’s mouth open? It’s not an easy task. Your dog’s jaw is extremely powerful, and if he doesn’t want to open his mouth, he won’t.
Add to that the fact that some dogs will become frightened when you are aggressively trying to open their mouth.
A fearful dog with your hands near his mouth is a recipe for a dog bite, unless you learn to approach it calmly and train your dog consistently to open his mouth for you when told.