Topic: More problems with dog (especially for carolinej)

[lorna]

When Elsa had her yearly injection recently the vet said she needed dental treatment. I guessed as much as I had noticed her breath was not very sweet.
She was booked in today, picked her up at 4pm and she has had 20 (that's not a typing error!!) teeth extracted. Poor Elsa has only got 3 teeth left.
Caroline the nurse told me KC Cavaliers are prone to poor teeth and heart problems.
As she is only 8 I can't believe how many problems she has had. She is sleeping like a baby at the moment, they said to give her a little chicken, cut up small later this evening if she feels like it.

[carolinej]

Oh Lorna! Poor Elsa!!

Did you have any idea they were going to remove so many? Which 3 teeth does she have left? Will she be able to handle a solid diet now?

I bet she has sore gums today! It must be confusing for her, not knowing why she cant chew.

Gypsy's teeth are pretty good at the mo, as she had a scale and polish when they took her 5 out. I dont know how long that will last though, as she wont let me brush them. I dont know why KC have teeth problems, maybe its the small mouth holds food against them or something ???

I hope Elsa has a quiet night and recovers soon.  Gypsy sends her :-*

cj :)

[betula]

My collie only had three teeth when we had her.She quickly had to have two out.

She now has one tooth and I am happy to say she copes very well.

She still manages to catch and carry her play ball.

I hope Elsa feels better soon.

[carolinej]

She now has one tooth and I am happy to say she copes very well.

Well, thats some good news for Lorna to hear. Thanks Betula.

cj :)

[antipodes]

we had cocker spaniels and they are prone to teeth problems too, they get lots of tartar and some of our dogs had lost teeth (not quite that many!!)
their gums and jaws get quite tough, although crunching things will now be out for her! but she'll do well on soft food.
poor sausage, hope she's feeling better

[lorna]

Update on Elsa. When she woke on Tues evening (I thought she was still fast asleep on sofa!!) I was cooking  tea for Joshua and she came in to the kitchen and sat there pleading with me for food!! I shredded some boiled chicken and she scoffed it then went back to sleep, slept all night. Yesterday she slept quite a lot had her antibiotics and pain killers, Then the hungry look took over :) so yesterday she had 2 meals of chicken. I was rather pleased, the vet took the trouble to ring me to see how she was. Elsa always has boiled chicken every day plus Bakers Complete. The vet suggested pouring boiling water over the Bakers, leave for an hour then offer it to her. She gobbled that down. All in all she seems fine, I expect the pain killers are helping.
Caroline I didn't dream she would have so many extracted. The vet said although some of them were not terrible she obviously has problems and thought it better to get rid so that she doesn't have to go through this again in a few months.
Like Gypsy she wouldn't let me brush teeth but I have rubbed toothpaste round her teeth more or less all her life, she didn't mind that.
Young Lorna was very concerned but the Nurse told her they had lots of patients with NO teeth. She has the 2 large teeth bottom front and one large tooth top front.

[twinkletoes]

Poor Elsa.  It never ceases to amaze me how resilient animals are to pain and injury.  They hardly ever complain - unless it is REALLY bad and then they just lay down and doze or look at you with big watery eyes or just get on with it.  Sounds like she's well on the way to recovery though thankfully.  Big hugs for her.
Twinkletoes

[Sharonindauk]

awww poor babe, but so good to hear she is recovering so well.

I feed my babe a BARF diet and have no problem with teeth, i put this down to supplying Dave (the dog) raw bones, as you can see from my avatar, he doesnt really eat the bone but tries to chew off all the left over meat and the stringy bits work like dental floss, i would highly recommend to anyone to use bones for cleaning teeth as it is so much more easier than brushing (scoop out the marrow in the middle as other wise you will be picking up mr whippy ;) )

I recommend you take a look at this sight
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/ and put Bakers into the search, for the money you pay for Bakers you could get a lot better quality, a lot of rescues pacifically ask that you do not use Bakers for feeding due to the poor quality of the product.

a lot of butchers give free bones, i must admit i take full advantage of this and boil the bones up and pick off all the small bits of meat and make ice pops for dave with the stock and meat bits, even if you didn't pick the meat off the bones you would get a lovely stock to add to dry food.....

slobbers and sniffs ......

[carolinej]

Lorna, good to know she is settling in to her new mouth ;D She must find it really strange. I know Gypsy runs around like an idiot and keeps shaking her ears when I give her a haircut, so imagine what it must be like to have no teeth and lots of gums ???

So are the teeth that are remaining in a position to work together for her to bite, or will they miss eachother :-\?  Did Petplan cover the  extractions? They seem to have so many exclusions.

cj :)

[lorna]

Have been a bit busy today but Elsa seems fine. She is eating well, a couple of times she "clawed" at her mouth which worried me, I managed to distract her, I was worried in case she opened the gums. She spent a long time in the garden with me.
Sharonindauk, will click on the link you have given tomorrow, I am interested to see what info it gives. Thank you.
Caroline, my Insurance doesn't cover dental (the vet said not many do) However, the vet gave me telephone numbers and because I am on Pension Credit it seems I may get some help. Haven't seen the final bill yet, it wasn't ready when I picked her up. I was going in the morning but I may postpone until Monday, at least it will give me the weekend to get ready for it ;D
At the end of the day I have still got her and she is managing very well.

[carolinej]

At the end of the day I have still got her and she is managing very well.

That is so true. You cant put a value on pets.

I looked in Gypsy's mouth this evening, and she has 2 what look like puss filled ulcer things in her gum above a tooth that has a piece of root exposed. The vet decided not to take it out when she had the others out, as it didnt look too bad. (it did to me, as it is a greyish brown colour all over, as if the nerve has died )

So its back to the vets AGAIN for us on monday if it doesnt get better!

cj :)

[lorna]

Caroline, hope things are not too bad tomorrow. Let us know. When we lost our last Labrador I said no to having another dog. A . because I was at work and B.
didn't think another dog could take Sadie's place, so we were without a dog for 5/6 years. The minute I retired late husband said "Good now we can have another dog!!" By this time Charlie was in a wheelchair and had problems walking. I thought a Labrador was too bouncy and was worried that Charlie would be knocked over. SOOOOOOOOOO Elsa came in to our lives. Elsa has been to the vets more times in past 8 years than ALL our Labs and German Shepherds put together!! :)

[carolinej]

I think Kcs think it is their mission in life to get us on first name terms with the vet! ;D

Although Gypsy is ill all the time, it is well compensated by the wonderful temprament. I dont think I could cope with a bouncy dog.

The ulcers seem smaller today, so I am hoping they are starting to get better. If they are smaller again tomorrow, I will see if they go completely on their own. It doesnt seem to be bothering her at all.

I did her flea and tick treatment this morning. She hates it. At least I wont end up with fleas or ticks, as I think I end up with more on me than the dog ::) You arent supposed to have them sleep with you for 24hrs after treatment, but I dont think she'd be having any of that. So I always do it early in the morning, and hope it doesnt affect us when she sleeps on the bottom of the bed (I know dogs arent supposed to, but my son started it, and I cant handle the sleepless nights listening to her whining ).

In another week, I'll clip Gypsy and put the fur into a net on our apple tree. The birds like to use it to build their nests. I am a bit late this year though, as the blue tits have already started to nest in our bird box. I wonder if the residual effect will stop any fleas or ticks in the nest ???

cj :)

[lorna]

 So I always do it early in the morning, and hope it doesnt affect us when she sleeps on the bottom of the bed (I know dogs arent supposed to, but my son started it, and I cant handle the sleepless nights listening to her whini

cj :)
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Such a bad habit ;D Mind you my feet are never cold ;D