Plaque Attack
Plaque Attack For Dogs Review - Does Plaque Attack Work?
Chances are, you feed your pet proper pet food. Even if you don’t, you care about the health of your pet (or you should) and want him/her to be as healthy as possible. This is the motivation behind most people (including me) deciding to take caring a bit further to tackle bad pet breath – even if only for selfish reasons (it doesn’t smell that great).
Our pets have become more and more important us over years, after all. I can remember see older folks throwing table scraps to their dog/s in my neighborhood as I grew up and I – being the overly nice kid that I was – used to feel bad for them because they only got scraps to eat. When I took my inquisitive self over to them and asked them about it (the owners – not the dogs – I was nice not crazy), they told me it made no difference since they were dogs. Just over ten short years later, the difference is amazing.
It’s not that I’m saying there’s anything wrong with feeding our pets on scraps. At the time, I thought it was next to criminal but, in reality, it’s what’s always been the norm and it’s perfectly okay. What cannot be denied, however, is the fact that pet owners care a lot more about their animals nowadays.
I’m one such example. Like most pet owners, I buy proper dog food for the family dog (not quite sure what breed he is but he’s adorable). I choose brands based on their nutrient content and also try to make sure he gets enough exercise so he stays healthy. I also mentioned that he’s adorable right? That makes it fun to play around with him but, unfortunately, his breath isn’t all that adorable – or it wasn’t (not that I’m saying an animal’s breath is ever adorable but doesn’t it make for great dramatic effect?).
If you look inside your pet’s mouth – chances are you won’t like what you see. I don’t mean the razor sharp teeth – or I kind of do – but not just the teeth themselves. In most cases, the teeth and gums will be in a pretty bad state for months or dog years of plaque and tartar build-up. All this mess promotes the growth of bacteria and germs that cause a pretty bad smell and the root of the popular insult; dog breath.
In their defence, their breath doesn’t have to smell bad at all. Maybe it did a few years back but science has caught up and this is where Plaque Attack comes in (and my review begins). This product comes as a spray and instructs you to spray it into your pet’s mouth at various frequencies – depending on how bad the state of your pet’s teeth is. Its intended purpose is to kill the bacteria that cause bad breath and remove tartar and plaque – just like the human equivalent does. I decided to find out for myself if it does what it should.
It cost me twenty dollars and was best investment I could ever have made into a pet. Admittedly, it took a few days before I noticed the effect, but within a week I could actually play up close with my dog and not recoil as he breathed heavily against my face. That’s when it first occurred to me that Plaque Attack might be something – but it hadn’t done what its name suggests yet. I could still see all the mess on his teeth and gums. It was to be another week before I noticed any difference in that area but – when I did – it was rapid and amazing!
It was a typical morning after a long walk with him (I did say I keep him exercised) and I went for the spray bottle and was about to do the usual morning spray ritual. Where a few days before there had been thick layers of discolored plaque and tartar, there was substantially less – so much so that it made a huge difference to the overall healthy appearance of his face. I was very impressed.
Over the next few days I routinely checked to see if there was any further improvement. Day, after day, went by and it was hard to see the change when I was looking that often. I did, however, recognize the day when his teeth actually showed completely, i.e. there was no more tartar or plaque. This was just a couple weeks into my experiment and - even though the colors on his teeth were still off – I felt like I’d got more than my twenty dollars’ worth. I wasn’t even expecting it to get any better – but it did.
It was about a month after that. By this time I’d stopped my daily checks and was content with the state of his mouth. I was, however, still doing the once daily “maintenance” spray advised and this meant I was still seeing his teeth routinely. It was one of these times that I realized how white his teeth looked! Not as white as you’d expect a person’s teeth to be but far whiter than any dog’s teeth I’ve ever seen. It was then that I really became a believer.
As impressed as I was by that time, I couldn’t help being curious about the safety of this “magic spray”. A lot of pet products don’t use the best – or safest – ingredients so I had to do some checking to make sure I hadn’t gambled his health on his teeth. I was pleasantly surprised, however, to find that they only use human-grade ingredients in the spray and that it’s perfectly safe for both cats and dogs.
Another thing I checked out was potential alternatives. Some vets can administer a “professional” cleaning – similar to what we get at the dentist – but there are lots of drawbacks to this route. First, it’s usually very expensive and can easily run into hundreds of dollars for such a cleaning - especially if you take care to select a reputable vet. Not only is this option expensive, but most cleaning like these use sketchy products that – while they might get the job done – aren’t safe for your pet. Some of the drugs they might use have negative side effects while Plaque Attack uses all natural ingredients – infinitely healthier. Also, not many pets (if any) enjoy getting taken to a vet’s office to be restrained for a prolonged time as he does his work. Chances are, you’ll get quite a struggle and he won’t like you for it at all.
The cheaper – more pet friendly – but still inferior alternative is something that’s been practiced for a while now. Pet owners (not including me this time) have been brushing their dogs’ teeth for years. While I’m sure it helps somewhat, brushing his teeth in that way has absolutely no effect on the germs in his mouth and only marginally improves the plaque and tartar situation. Also, brushing your pet’s teeth is unavoidably uncomfortable for him as it feels very unnatural and probably leaves his mouth sore and tender. Add that to the fact that he’s likely to struggle – and liable to bite – if you persist, and if he’s particularly feisty, you probably don’t want to be brushing his teeth like that.
One other alternative that rivals the Plaque Attack spray on comfort is the use of special dog biscuits that clean as he eats. I’ve tried these and they’re purported to freshen breath while having a positive effect on tartar removal. Some of these brands do a decent job and his breath did become tolerable while I used them. Unfortunately, he didn’t seem very keen on the taste and it was hard to make him eat it – especially since its efficacy was just mediocre. Sure enough, within a few weeks I was back to square one and dealing with his bad breath while searching for the right solution.
From a comfort perspective, the Plaque Attack spray presumably tastes okay and takes a couple seconds to administer. Once the initial clean-up process is over (after a couple weeks in my case), it just takes a spray each morning to keep the job done and his mouth healthy clean. It’s great to be able to pick him up whenever I want and play with him without having to turn my face the other way. I can tell he enjoys the closer interaction too. Perhaps even more rewarding is the fact that my young sister - who simply adores him – can play with him as much (and as closely) as she likes as well. I used to try and minimize her contact with him so she wouldn’t be exposed to all those germs but it can be really hard to keep a kid from a beloved pet. Now, thanks to Plaque Attack, I can let her interact with him as much as she wants without fear of her getting sick or turned off him by his teeth or his breath.
Plaque Attack, on the other hand, is non-invasive and doesn’t require you to practically abuse your pet’s mouth in the name of better oral health. A spritz once per day does far more than the most vigorous (and painful) brushing can hope to accomplish. It removes plaque, and tartar, gradually while almost immediately freshening his breath and killing all those nasty germs.
One other scary thing I found out was that Plaque Attack can actually save your pets life! Those germs in his mouth can migrate to the kidney, liver, and even the heart where they’ll do way more than cause bad colors and odor. The idea of a little oral spray potentially saving his life was a bit much to swallow (no pun intended) at first but if an infection of those organs is anything like it would be for us – I’d say it’s probably a life saver.
Vet bills for visits and antibiotics to treat these infections are ridiculously expensive – again, just like their human counterparts – and are rife with severe side effects. It’s definitely easier or owners – and their pets – to take a couple seconds to spray every morning and provide insurance against this unpleasant prospect of such an unfortunate – though admittedly uncommon - eventuality.
Finally, it’s great from a cosmetic perspective. Whiter teeth and a cleaner mouth means you can be as proud of your dog, or cat, as I am. You’ll feel much more comfortable allowing guests to play with him when you know they won’t meet a surprising turn-off and even be the envy of fellow pet owners who have yet to discover a good solution. Despite my initial smugness, I shared the “secret” as much as I could – kind of like I’m doing right now – and love the idea of spreading this growing trend. If only for selfish reasons, it makes sense to share this product once you’re sold on how amazing it is because sooner or later you – or maybe your son/daughter will end up playing with a neighbor, or a friend’s, pet and you won’t want them up close and personal with a dirty mouth. In short, it just makes sense to spread it like I’m doing and you definitely won’t regret trying it yourself. I’m as big a skeptic as anyone and it takes a lot to make me a believer in anything.
With all this in mind, I’m definitely sold on Plaque Attack. It does what it says it will, fairly quickly, and has made a huge difference to how much I can comfortably interact with my dog. It’s really cheap – at just twenty dollars for a spray bottle that lasts months – and it makes him so much better to look at as well. Then you take into account the fact that it can literally be a lifesaver and it seems almost essential to invest in the health of a beloved pet. I wouldn’t want my son, or daughter, to have a dirty mouth and – even though I’m not saying our pets are just as important – we’re supposed to want the best for them too!