Marlin says THANKS! Post 14

[Freedom]

Lesson for All Dog Owners

Well, I dropped off one of my foster dogs this morning for his dental. He is very healthy, apart from his mouth. Stinky breath, lots of gray matter caked on his teeth. His front lower teeth are loose and sit straight out in front of him, OR straight up as they should be. So we knew there were many, many problems in that mouth.

I called at 3 to see how he was doing and what time to pick him up. He had 32 extractions! He was already missing 4 teeth, they fell out some where along the way. Only 6 teeth remain, 3 lower each side. He will be on soft food the rest of his life. They said to wait for the end of the day to get him, let him rest there and have them give him the pain meds. He will come home with pain meds as well.

The poor, poor doggie! All because his owner, from the time he was 9 weeks old, indulged him with treats, soft foods, canned foods, people foods, etc.

Please, think about your pet's old age. Feed them properly!

[Catlady711]

Well, I dropped off one of my foster dogs this morning for his dental. He is very healthy, apart from his mouth. Stinky breath, lots of gray matter caked on his teeth. His front lower teeth are loose and sit straight out in front of him, OR straight up as they should be. So we knew there were many, many problems in that mouth.

I called at 3 to see how he was doing and what time to pick him up. He had 32 extractions! He was already missing 4 teeth, they fell out some where along the way. Only 6 teeth remain, 3 lower each side. He will be on soft food the rest of his life. They said to wait for the end of the day to get him, let him rest there and have them give him the pain meds. He will come home with pain meds as well.

The poor, poor doggie! All because his owner, from the time he was 9 weeks old, indulged him with treats, soft foods, canned foods, people foods, etc.

Please, think about your pet's old age. Feed them properly!

I only wish more of our clients realized this fact. It's so sad to see them turn down every recommendation regarding dental care because they think it's unnecessary. Even when you explain the risks and show them pictures of horrible dental cases and even after you explain they can die from bacteria in the bloodstream, they STILL say no and then claim they love their pets. It's sad and makes me angry at the same time.

[kallisto4529]

ok I have what maybe a dumb question but what is considered proper treats and food to feed them?? mine does not get people food but he does get treats and i try and make sure his food is natural, its not raw food its from Nutro, and I try and find him all natural treats to feed him, nothing soft. Plus he gets lots of stuff to chew on, kong, bones etc. Am I doing ok you think???

[Freedom]

Sounds good, kallisto. As a basic rule, it is the dry kibble which is good and the canned and pouched stuff which leads more quickly to tartar build up. Like you said, nothing soft. And kong and such are tough chews. Good treats include carrots, raw sweet potato, raw potato, and apple pieces. Als I believe things like he hard milk bones are good.

The only thing you may want to consider (and I must admit I do not do this) is start brushing the dog's teeth. You work up to it and do it daily. You must use dog toothpaste, as human paste is not good for their teeth. We have more enamel than they have.

There is also a mouth rinse you can use. It is something you add to the water bowl. I am thinking of doing that, what with 13 pets in the house just now.

(And if you can't imagine brushing your dog's teeth, just think: I am supposed to brush the CAT's teeth as well!)

[jennielynn1970]

My assistant at school has two golden retrievers. They are both on a raw diet, and they get some kind of veggies blended with yoghurt as well (not sure what that's all about, it sounded like slop to me). But they are both healthy dogs, and she also brushes their teeth daily. They actually come up to her at night, and lay their heads in her lap to get their teeth done!

[Freedom]

Marlin would certainly appreciate some PT prayers; he has heard that they DO work! (If you don't know what happened, please check Post #1)

He is just not a happy bichon at this time. He IS doing better since an emergency vet visit at noon today -- a SUNDAY!!

Marlin would not eat or drink at all after his dental surgery on Friday. He was "supposed" to start drinking and eating baby food sometime on Saturday. Nope. He would take 3 or 4 laps from the water dish, yelp on the last one and walk away.

He was also "supposed" to have his pain meds and his antibiotics morning and evening. I have a pill popper (pill syringe). After trying and giving him a rest, I finally got the Saturday morning dose in him -- at 10:30 AM. Saturday evening came and went with no success getting any pills in him. Sunday morning same thing. And he got to the point that he would freeze up, start growling and tuck his chin in the moment I entered the room. Every 7 or 8 hours he was going out and peeing. I don't know WHERE it was coming from, he wasn't taking anything IN! (Yeah, I did know, he was getting dehydrated.) So I knew I had to call the vet for guidance. Without the pain meds, he was going to get worse and worse!

So they had me take him in. This was another vet in the practice, not the vet who did the dental work. He checked the mouth, said it all looks good, healing up and only one small area still bleeding a little bit. Took Marlin's temp, no fever. Then the vet tech took the leash and they walked Marlin to the back. They were going to give him a Metacam shot (pain relief for 2 or 3 days), his pills, and some subq fluids. So I am waiting in the exam room, and hear all this yelping and howling and I thought, "oh no! Poor doggie!" A few moments later, the 3 of them (vet, vet tech and Marlin) come walking back down the hallway. Another vet tech is coming behind carrying a bunch of stuff.

Marlin refused to enter the room in the back! ALL that fuss was trying to walk him in the room! It is the same room where he had the surgery on Friday. (His surgery lasted a bit over 2 hours) While they could have picked him up and carried him in, the vet decided there was no point stressing him (and all of them) and they should just haul everything they needed down to the exam room and do it all in there. So that is what they did.

Back home an hour later, he looked MUCH better, that pain relief really makes a big difference. His face wasn't so drawn and tight. Then he ate a jar of baby food. OH JOY! I waited 2 hours and gave him 2 more jars. Didn't want to over do it on that empty, empty stomach and have him get sick.

This evening, I took him to an open air POPS concert. It did him good to come with the group (yes I took all 4 dogs). So I think we are back on track. He still has a way to go to feeling well, but he does feel better. (Still need to get his pills in him tonight. )

Sorry this is so long. It is so tragic that he has to go through this, and it upsets me as well. Sharing a trouble does make it seem a bit less. Thanks for reading.

[mr.chiwawa]

oo poor pup. Mister and I are sending tons of love his way in hopes that he wont be in pain. And hugs to you for caring about him enough to have his poor mouth fixed