Eglu Cube Coop and Accessories

[Bramble]

Hello! Well this time I'm stressing about my dog, rather than my chucks (it's always one or t'other, usually both).

Anyway, she's an eight year old retired greyhound who is going to the vet for her booster tomorrow. I'm stressing that the vet will say she needs to have her teeth cleaned which will need her to be knocked out. I clean her teeth with a toothbrush and doggy toothpaste most weeks, and she has a dentastik or similar most days, but as with most dogs, her back teeth are are bit yukky and whilst she was racing I suspect her teeth had never been cleaned, so they weren't in the best state when I had her.

My question is, how bad do you think they'd need to be before the vet says they need to be scaled etc under general?

I know, I know, I'm just stressing but don't want to put her through that unless it's absolutely necessary.

Thanks for listening to my whine but I get very wound up when we go to the vet!!

Edited September 3, 2010 by Guest

[The Dogmother]

The best way to keep her teeth clean is to feed her on raw meaty bones every day.

 

A friend has a retired Irish lamper, whose teeth were ground down. We suspect that this was to stop him eating his catch, but will never now the truth.

 

I have PMd one of the mods so they can move this to the correct forum section.. 'My Family and Other Animals'

[Bramble]

Whoops, sorry it's in the wrong place - just proves I'm in a stress if I can't even post in the right section!

Thanks for your reply!

[Chucky Mama]

Greyhounds seem to be prone to dental health issues. I don't know if it is just those retired racers or all of them. Whilst it is worrying having a GA for a scale and polish, having it done sooner rather than later will preserve the teeth. If you leave it too long the tartar will push the gums back, infection will get in, the roots start to become exposed and the tooth is done for. If there is a hard build up of tartar on the teeth you can brush until the cows come home and you will not make a difference. Brushing is really great for keeping the plaque down so that the hard tartar doesn't form. Once it has formed though you need to either s"Ooops, word censored!"e it off with a handheld dental scaler (if your dog will let you - quite difficult for the back teeth) or have it taken off under GA with an ultra sonic scaler. Once you are back to clean teeth again, brushing and using dental chews etc will help to prevent it reforming, or at least slow it down.

[lillybettybabs]

Get some Plaque off (pets at home sell it)

Bit expensive but not as expensive as having your dog put under and teeth de scaled.

Worked wounders on my three they all have pearly whites now, we just feed them a raw bone once a week and a pizzle stick everyday.

[Bramble]

Get some Plaque off (pets at home sell it)

Bit expensive but not as expensive as having your dog put under and teeth de scaled.

Worked wounders on my three they all have pearly whites now, we just feed them a raw bone once a week and a pizzle stick everyday.

Thanks for the tip about plaque off, I've heard mixed reviews of it, but as you say it HAS to be worth a go, doesn't it? Did your dogs have tartar on their teeth when you started to use it, or have you just used it as a preventative?

[Bramble]

Greyhounds seem to be prone to dental health issues. I don't know if it is just those retired racers or all of them. Whilst it is worrying having a GA for a scale and polish, having it done sooner rather than later will preserve the teeth. If you leave it too long the tartar will push the gums back, infection will get in, the roots start to become exposed and the tooth is done for. If there is a hard build up of tartar on the teeth you can brush until the cows come home and you will not make a difference. Brushing is really great for keeping the plaque down so that the hard tartar doesn't form. Once it has formed though you need to either s"Ooops, word censored!"e it off with a handheld dental scaler (if your dog will let you - quite difficult for the back teeth) or have it taken off under GA with an ultra sonic scaler. Once you are back to clean teeth again, brushing and using dental chews etc will help to prevent it reforming, or at least slow it down.

THank you! I've done a reply to this, but seem to have lost it somewhere, that's not happened before, maybe I'm losing it completely. Will just keep fingers crossed for tomorrow !!

[Chucky Mama]

Get some Plaque off (pets at home sell it)

Bit expensive but not as expensive as having your dog put under and teeth de scaled.

Worked wounders on my three they all have pearly whites now, we just feed them a raw bone once a week and a pizzle stick everyday.

Thanks for the tip about plaque off, I've heard mixed reviews of it, but as you say it HAS to be worth a go, doesn't it? Did your dogs have tartar on their teeth when you started to use it, or have you just used it as a preventative?

 

Plaque off is great stuff but nothing other than scaling can deal properly with heavy duty tartar. Definately worth giving when the teeth are in good shape though (great for cats with gingivitis too )It depends how bad your dog's teeth are really. Remember they are not getting any younger and it might be better to have a quick GA now for a quick scale and polish rather than a longer one in a few years for extractions.

[Jools]

While I was feeding my two terrors raw meaty bones daily, they had beautifully clean teeth and the freshest of breath. Unfortunately one of them has health problems (thyroid / pancreas / liver) which mean he can't tolerate that diet anymore, so both are now back on a more conventional (and bland) diet. Their teeth (and breath) are definitely suffering as a result, but I do still risk the occasional bone for them to chew on as it really does make a big difference.

 

One of my previous dogs had his teeth cleaned under anaesthetic a couple of times without any problem, even as an old fella. While no-one wants their companion to endure a general anaesthetic un-necessarily, I do agree with ChuckyMama that teeth are best seen to sooner than later.

 

Good luck!

[Bramble]

Thank you CHucky Mama and Jools, I will try to stop stressing about this, I should know this time tomorrow what the vet thinks and as you both say, a scale and polish has to be better than extractions etc further down the line. I'm just not cut out for the stress of dog and chicken ownership, am I!!?? (At least chucks don't have teeth!!!)

[lillybettybabs]

Get some Plaque off (pets at home sell it)

Bit expensive but not as expensive as having your dog put under and teeth de scaled.

Worked wounders on my three they all have pearly whites now, we just feed them a raw bone once a week and a pizzle stick everyday.

Thanks for the tip about plaque off, I've heard mixed reviews of it, but as you say it HAS to be worth a go, doesn't it? Did your dogs have tartar on their teeth when you started to use it, or have you just used it as a preventative?

 

I bought a two year old lab that had alot of tartar for her age, i tried to liquid solution which didn't work.

It is a graduale thing (took about three months) but she has lovely white teeth now, they more tartar the longer it will take to remove.

Food has a part to play in tartar build too, ours are raw fed now which helps with keeping teeth clean

aswell as stopping stinky farts and breath.

[The Dogmother]

Food has a part to play in tartar build too, ours are raw fed now which helps with keeping teeth clean as well as stopping stinky farts and breath.

 

This made me laugh - Ruby is fed mostly raw and Rosie comments that her farts smell of 'rose petals and fairy guffs'! While I wouldn't go that far, they are far less noxious than her dad's 2 which are fed on tinned rubbish.... Apart that is from the day when she helped herself (in true lurcher fashion) to half a dozen eggs that I had stupidly left near the edge of the kitchen surface. Oh well, at least they were free range

 

I hope the descaling goes well, bear in mind that Greyhounds have very little body fat, so you'll need to keep her warm when you get her home.

[SarahJo]

Good topic - my 5 yr old "Springer Collie X " has tartar. The vet gave us toothpaste to use BUT OH is notorious for not brushing her teeth unless I nag him. He will take her for boosters in November and hopefully the vet will make him understand the imprtance of brushing

 

Some dogs are definately more prone to dental build up - and I will try some plaque off too

 

Hope your dog is ok Bramble, try not to stress too much, it seems quite a common problem.

[Chucky Mama]

You can get little cloth finger 'brushes' (not rubber finger brushes) which are usually excepted much better by dogs as they are not as large in their mouths and you have more control over them than a brush - much easier to reach the gum margin on the back teeth

[Bramble]

Thanks for all the posts guys, I am trying hard not to stress and will let you know the outcome tomorrow!

Willow is a superstar at having her teeth cleaned, she even "grins" at me so that I can get to her teeth, as CM says it is the ones at the very back which are difficult.

[Space Chick]

My terrier Henry had to have teeth out aged 12, and was fine under general (I was a nervous wreck mind!).

 

My vet said the with improvements in anaesthetics they are successfully operating on older dogs and cats than they used to.

 

He's 15 now

[Bramble]

Morning all! Just thought i would update the kind omleteers who replied to my hysterical post on Wednesday!!

We went to the vet yesterday and the vet was actually very impressed with Willow's teeth, she said that it was obvious I cleaned them regularly and its just the one right at the very back of her mouth that is not great, but she said to just carry on with what we're doing and just keep an eye on that one

Thanks for all your advice, will try to remain calm next time!!

[Chucky Mama]

Have a go with some Plaque Off maybe then.

[Bramble]

THank you, I will definitely give it a go, shopping trip at the weekend, me thinks!!