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Took all four pets- 2 dogs and 2 cats to the vet yesterday for the first time in years. Seniors needed senior panels and general check ups. Lucky the Bichon has suffered so bad this year with allergies and sensitive skin problems. She is especially allergic to fleas and even with meds we have a big problem. She is supposed to be white but has been nibbling so much on herself she is more pink than white.
During the check up doc found her teeth were covered in fur!! Never thought about it but when they chew on themselves they chew out that fur and it gets stuck in their teeth. And while all 4 needed dentals little Toby the 5 year old Maltese's teeth were worse than 12 year old Lucy's.I used to try to brush their teeth but when their gums would bleed I would stop. If i can afford it I will get dentals on them every other year.
Also found out age is not the deciding factor for teeth cleaning. Doc said it has to do with the results of the blood work so necessary before the procedure. All 4 pets will be put on a course of antibiotics before teeth cleaning which will start next week.
Having pets can be very expensive but if we want healthy pets we need to make sure they get regular vet care and with a vet you trust.
Dogs need their facial hair around their mouths kept trimmed, too for that reason. Those little guys you can't see the upper lip hair getting licked in and twisted around their front teeth. LIke a Shih Tzu
I used to try to brush their teeth but when their gums would bleed I would
stop.
Whoops - dogs just like people get gingivitis - bleeding gums is a symptom of this - just like in people. You should continue brushing their teeth and gums. The bleeding will stop as the gums get healthy. My boy chews a kong or a chuck-it rubber ball, and I occasionally give him a raw hide. No bleeding and healthy gums - for him all the chewing "brushes" his teeth.
Neither one of my dogs will chew raw hide or kong. Strange. Once we get the dentals I'll start with that special mouth wash or gauze and doggie toothpaste.
Took all four pets- 2 dogs and 2 cats to the vet yesterday for the first time in years. Seniors needed senior panels and general check ups. Lucky the Bichon has suffered so bad this year with allergies and sensitive skin problems. She is especially allergic to fleas and even with meds we have a big problem. She is supposed to be white but has been nibbling so much on herself she is more pink than white.
During the check up doc found her teeth were covered in fur!! Never thought about it but when they chew on themselves they chew out that fur and it gets stuck in their teeth. And while all 4 needed dentals little Toby the 5 year old Maltese's teeth were worse than 12 year old Lucy's.I used to try to brush their teeth but when their gums would bleed I would stop. If i can afford it I will get dentals on them every other year.
Also found out age is not the deciding factor for teeth cleaning. Doc said it has to do with the results of the blood work so necessary before the procedure. All 4 pets will be put on a course of antibiotics before teeth cleaning which will start next week.
Having pets can be very expensive but if we want healthy pets we need to make sure they get regular vet care and with a vet you trust.
If I may ask, why did you wait so long to take them to the vet? You spend a lot of time posting here about pet issues....... One dog has chewed herself raw? Unforgivable. How cruel. This has got to be some kind of hoax. Dogs with their teeth covered in fur?
I'm a moron for even responding to this bizarre thread.
By no means was she raw. Your reading comprehension is very lacking. I would never let her get raw. Her fur is pink from the enzymes in her saliva.
All my pets go to the vet when they are sick and sometimes when they aren't. I simply do not believe in annual vx for the cats. I know I said I took them for the first time in years...I meant it was the first time in 3 years I had any serious senior panel blood work done. Every year the dogs have to have kennel cough meds and rabies shot just to be able to go to the groomer which they do every 6 weeks.
The regulars on the cat and dog forums know about all I've been through with Oscar and his IBD. And Lucy with her skin issues. This vet might simply have checked closer in the mouths than the other vet I've usually seen. this is the first time anybody mentioned fur in the teeth yet Lucy goes to the vet whenever she has a skin issue. Bichons are notorious for skin issues.
Interesting that i started this thread as a way to share what I learned about dentals and age and dogs who nibble on themselves yet all you got out of it was that I'm cruel. You must be the kind of person who sees the glass half empty instead of half full.
I accept your apology. Maybe it would have been more clear if I said it was the first time I took all four pets TOGETHER to the vet in years. And I won't be doing that again for a very long time. The cats screamed bloody murder which made the dogs nervous. But this particular vet is not in our town and we did not want to make a bunch of back and forth trips. the cats came through their dentals just fine. The dogs go in tomorrow for theirs. Fingers crossed.
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Never thought about it but when they chew on themselves they chew out that fur and it gets stuck in their teeth. And while all 4 needed dentals little Toby the 5 year old Maltese's teeth were worse than 12 year old Lucy's.I used to try to brush their teeth but when their gums would bleed I would stop. If i can afford it I will get dentals on them every other year.
One dog has chewed herself raw? Unforgivable. How cruel. This has got to be some kind of hoax. Dogs with their teeth covered in fur?
