Quote:
Originally Posted by bugstrider
Well, today in Henry's case, it was "worse case" scenario. What was suppose to be a two hour procedure with recovery ended up being much longer.... dropped off at 0900 and then picked up at 1600. I am very thankful that I made the 1.5 hour drive to this dental expert in a Grass Valley. Henry had two fistula from the K9's, one badly infected that required a double reinforced repair and then a molar was discovered so badly decayed that it was infecting the jaw bone. The vet stated that had our vet attempted this extraction, Henry's jaw would have likely been broken.
So class, what is today's lesson? Get your four legged family members teeth cleaned regularly.
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We have 2 dogs, one is a mini-dachshund and the other is a rescue. I think we spent about $2-3k on the mini dachshund's teeth last year (cleaning and extractions). Dachshunds are known for getting bad teeth, apparently. this year, we spent about $3k on both dogs teeth (cleaning and extractions most of which were on the big dog). The dachshund had infection and bone loss in several spots, but fortunately, they turned out to not be worst case ie, broken jaw or partial jaw bone removal etc....
So, the lesson for the day is not to get your pups teeth cleaned regularly, the lesson is to brush their teeth. I don't want to spend a couple grand a year on their teeth, and I prefer them to be healthy and not have to have a major cleaning, so I have started brushing their teeth. Both dogs are about 12-13 years old, so neither is super happy about it, but it's not been that bad. I have been using the pet toothpaste as recommended by the veterinary dentist that's been doing the work.
You can even get a "kit" from amazon that comes with toothpaste and a toothbrush.
The dachshund doesn't enjoy the process, but loves the toothpaste (so far we've used "poultry", "beef" and "seafood"). I don't smell the toothpaste, but they must taste it.
We were told that you really only need to do the sides. I just hold their top lip up with one hand and give a few passes with the brush on the outside of the side teeth with the other and then do the other side.
I really wish we'd started years ago, but I guess it's better late than never.