Idea for a new style of dog/pet toothbrush, feedback needed

[MrBiz]

So this idea for dogs (without the smart tech and price tag) popped in my head after looking at similar ones designed for humans, see Smartbrush Founder's Edition Bundle & Accessories | Feno

Value Provided- Convenience for the owner (not having to dig around in your dogs mouth), and less agitation/time for the dog. Coincidentally I looked up the above product on Reddit, and seen people actually begging for a pet version, there isn’t anything even similar that is available. Did some research and also talked to a dog groomer friend and apparently a lot of people have issues cleaning their dogs teeth and digging in their mouth, she thinks it could be really useful, but I wanted to get opinions from the forum

Seems like one could include the device, toothpaste, and set of bristles. Bristles and the toothpaste would be something that’s consumable and the customer comes back to you for (recommended to change out dog toothbrushes every 3 months)

Potential issues I see is needing a mold or something similar to fit different dog sizes, and potentially a scent/flavor or something to bite on to keep it in their mouth. Regardless, the human version is supposed to be used for like 30 seconds, that would beat digging in your dogs mouth manually for minutes. Less time for the dog, you don’t have to get slobber over your hand, less chance of being bit if agitating the dog, less work overall while reaching harder spots

Any feedback on this one? Any pet owners or anyone in general with insights are appreciated, thanks everyone

 

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[Bounce Back]

Ideas are a dime a dozen - especially one that would take hundreds of thousands (or not more in R&D) in my opinion.

That aside in theory it sounds great. But if folks struggle with getting a silent toothbrush in a dogs mount how are they going to hold a dogs mouth closed on this device while its whirring around inside?

 

[MrBiz]

Ideas are a dime a dozen - especially one that would take hundreds of thousands (or not more in R&D) in my opinion.

That aside in theory it sounds great. But if folks struggle with getting a silent toothbrush in a dogs mount how are they going to hold a dogs mouth closed on this device while its whirring around inside?

That was a thought of mine as well, although I don’t think the primary use would be necessarily to make a bad dog be ok with it, but to make it more convenient and less messy in general. Dog electric toothbrushes are definitely a thing, but you still have to dig around and go from tooth to tooth instead of it being done at once

As far as R&D, yeah it’s an unknown quantity and could be a bit, but kickstarter and similar things do exist if it proves viable. I plan on joining dog groups on social media directly and gauging interest/feedback in the time being

 

[Fastlane Fil]

I would:

• Go to dog groups, found 10 threads discussing tooth brushing and ask 100 people who brush teeth if they are interested - either in comments or via DM.

=>

• I should get some 20 replies
• I would also ask 20 random people walking the dog outside what is their opinion
  • I would get some "data"
  • I would practice doing inconvenient things

BTW our family is also dog owner, but we don't brush the dog teeth

 

[BellaPippin]

The minute the site loaded I went "LOL good luck putting that in a cat's mouth" even a dog isn't gonna sit still for 30 seconds with something strange whirring inside their mouth. Closest would be a toy with bristles they can bite into and as a by product they get some brushing action. That exists, but typically is still not enough per vets. A rubber toy might rub their gums but there's a reason it needs to be bristles, it's like you brushing your teeth with your finger. The tartar will still be there. I've been trying to do this with my cat but he only licks it, not every cat will bite into the toothbrush, so it's still a waste.

If you haven't trained them as puppy/kittens the only way to do this is re-training. My oldest cat NEEDS her teeth cleaned and they just quoted me $1700 for a cleaning with xrays. Yeah I can't. My other cat was just in the ER and I just spent upwards of $2k on him. I HAVE to train her to let me brush her teeth, but I can't even get close with the normal brush, a finger or my hand. She doesn't like her mouth touched period. I gotta re-train the behavior to be able to touch her mouth enough and then slowly progress to her having a strange object poking around her gums.

I'm guessing it's similar with dogs. It's a habit you need to train and there's videos for that, it just takes time and effort from the owner. I've thought about this for the past few months and there's no shortcut IMO, it's a behavioral thing. There's no magic instrument, animals don't put up with uncomfortable things just bc it's good for them. You gotta train it into them or bust.