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I can't stand to look inside his mouth but he's been acting funny lately. He's had his head down as if he had a headache and he would hide behind a chair. We thought he might be sick but he was eating and he still got all excited about going for a walk.
Tonight I found a big tooth under the chair. It's one of the big curved canine teeth. Dog is a Pomeranian, really cute and this tooth was huge, like a tusk. My previous Pomeranian lost his lower front middle teeth at about age 10 but never lost those big teeth. This current dog is almost 13 years old. The last thing we need is more vet bills. Should I look inside his mouth? Should I take him to the vet? Could it get infected? Are all his teeth going to fall out? Is this at all normal? I am so freaked out by this and I don't know if I can even come back to this thread for a while.
OP, my kitty Mabel (1991-2007) lost a bunch of teeth. Typically she would be eating dry food, and one would fall out, and she would totally freak out (as would I when I found the tooth).
Mabel's freak-out typically lasted 1 day. By the next day, she would be eating normally again.
IIRC I took her to the vet the first time this happened, and the vet said she may have had some congenital issue where her teeth were prone to coming out. (Her littermate Satay didn't have this problem.)
Again, it never affected her eating! She had a hearty appetite and was a bit tubby. But I loved her dearly ...
I don't think it's a huge problem. I had a dog that broke one of his canines and he was fine. However, most of the questions you are asking are better asked of a vet. The answers you would get would be more specific to your little guy and would ease your mind.
Agreed, as much as you may dread vet bills (I think that's the biggest bane of a pet owner, the high cost of veterinary care) if your dog has one or more bad teeth it needs to be addressed as soon as you can. Bad teeth can cause gum inflammation, swelling, discomfort to the point of not being able to eat, and can lead to death if the problem is not addressed and infection takes over...minimally, a bad tooth may become infected and fall out, but often there is more than one tooth involved, affecting gums and surrounding tissues. If let go, infection from a bad tooth can get into the bloodstream and affect the heart and other organs, and in extreme cases can cause death. But any time an animal has dental problems, it's fairly safe to assume that they are having discomfort in the mouth...not something you'd want your pet to deal with long-term.
Definitely a visit to the vet, at the very least to get an assessment to see what's going on. Hopefully this may have been a single tooth that went bad, loosened and fell out. But get him assessed; the vet will be able to see if there are any ongoing concerns that need immediate attention, can give you information on how to keep your dog's mouth healthy, and will be able to help you prevent any further issues from developing.
I've known a few people whose small dogs lost their teeth. One was a Pomeranian. The Pomona was elderly and had no teeth only ate soft foods. I don't know details but she did say the last few were removed by vet. It was a very welled cared for no expense spared I'm sure. I wonder if it's possibly not uncommon for miniature breeds to loose teeth.
Open the dog's mouth and see if a canine tooth is missing. Root included, the canines are rather long.
Are the teeth dirty? If they are covered in tartar, I suspect that you have to pay for a tooth cleaning. Dirty teeth can actually cause heart problems. Poms have a tendency for heart problems, anyway, so best to take care of the teeth
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Dog is a Pomeranian, really cute and this tooth was huge, like a tusk. My previous Pomeranian lost his lower front middle teeth at about age 10 but never lost those big teeth. This current dog is almost 13 years old. The last thing we need is more vet bills. Should I look inside his mouth? Should I take him to the vet? Could it get infected? Are all his teeth going to fall out? Is this at all normal? I am so freaked out by this and I don't know if I can even come back to this thread for a while.
