We are looking at rescuing an 8 pound Yorkie, sentenced to be put down. It's a kennel dog (AKA puppy mill female) and cannot have any more puppies at 6 years old due to complications of a problem litter she had. We desperately want to save this little girl from death, but have a concern about possible huge vet bills.Getting her spayed and having a thorough vet exam and shots is no problem, that's a given, but I'm wondering about her teeth. I have a family member (a professional dog groomer) going to see her this afternoon to give her a visual examination, including the teeth. Family member took a course on basic teeth care, cleaning, examination etc, but not dental work.It's about 200 miles one way, so can't really go there myself until we go get her to give her a new home.My question here is: Can anyone tell me the rough cost, in Canada, of dental work on a small dog? Broad question, I know, but things like having extractions done, pulling some or all her teeth. We really want to save this little girl, but cannot afford to spend thousands to do it.In about 2 1/2 hours I have to give a yes / no answer over the phone on whether we will take her or not.I am really out of touch with vet costs, so thought I would ask here. I know I could call a local vet here and ask, but I know there are a lot of dog owners here who perhaps may know.Thanks.

Perhaps Los Algodones has some good cheap vets. That's kind of a joke.

Better off asking a vet that does dental work in your local area. Give him/her the story too.

Call your local vet. The procedure itself is probably not that expensive but much of the cost is based on how much anesthesia, pain meds and other items based on a dog's size which causes a large fluctuation between animals. Also, costs vary from vet to vet. Costs at our old vet were much higher than our knew one so to get accurate info you really need to talk to who would do the procedure. If you are worried about cost work with your vet prior to see if you can pay in installments.

Sadly the vet costs to do dental care can be very expensive. I had to have one cracked tooth removed from a 4 year old healthy standard poodle and it was $1200. My friend was told to have a complete dental on her 12 year old mini poodle was around $1500. It will definitely depend on how bad the teeth are. But most vets require putting the dog under anesthetics to do even the simplest cleaning.Yorkie’s teeth require regular brushing and scaling. If she is coming from a puppy miller she has likely not had any dental care. But a good groomer should be able to tell you what the teeth look like visually. It is not hard to tell if a dog is in need of expensive dental care or just a routine cleaning.

Prices can vary greatly but probably at least $500 for just a cleaning. I have heard any dental work can be dangerous for the dog also.

Cost of dental work on a small dog? | Good Sam Community

Scottiemom
Nomad
Dec 18, 2019
She is beautiful!
Pawz4me
Explorer
Dec 11, 2019
Adorable!
BobsYourUncle
Nomad
Dec 11, 2019
A couple more photos:

And after a hard day at the office! :B
Pawz4me
Explorer
Dec 10, 2019
toedtoes wrote:
Congrats on her coming home!

I always tell adopters that the animal will start off on "I don't want them to send me back" good behavior for several weeks. As they start to realize they aren't being sent away (to another home) again, then they will start showing their true personality and will start to push the envelope a bit to see what they can get away with.

Yep. The honeymoon period.

Now I have had a small handful of fosters who were the same from Day 1. Their behavior never changed much at all. Those were the dogs who were naturally calm and laid back. And IME it's a bit different with a puppy mill/back yard breeder dog. Unfortunately some of those never really show a naughty side because they never get over the fear. :( Hopefully one day your little girl will be totally naughty in a funny/harmless way, and you'll know that she knows she's okay now.
BobsYourUncle
Nomad
Dec 10, 2019
toedtoes wrote:
Congrats on her coming home!

I always tell adopters that the animal will start off on "I don't want them to send me back" good behavior for several weeks. As they start to realize they aren't being sent away (to another home) again, then they will start showing their true personality and will start to push the envelope a bit to see what they can get away with.

Lol! Thanks, something to look forward to! :B
toedtoes
Explorer III
Dec 10, 2019
Congrats on her coming home!

I always tell adopters that the animal will start off on "I don't want them to send me back" good behavior for several weeks. As they start to realize they aren't being sent away (to another home) again, then they will start showing their true personality and will start to push the envelope a bit to see what they can get away with.
BobsYourUncle
Nomad
Dec 09, 2019
We have her home now, got back from the rescue trip late yesterday afternoon. She is very very shy and reserved, retreats to her little "cave" shelter we bought. We bring her out to sit with us for a while, feeding and outside breaks. She runs back into shelter where she feels safe.

She is soooo good, I can't believe it. I have not heard a sound from her yet, not even a woof. She just sits and stares at us. Kinda sad but we will get her used to us and happy.

It will take a lot of time to bring her out of her shell, but we both have the patience of Job with her and will work as long as it takes.

She is indeed a blessing for us. We are very happy to have her.
It's hard to get good pictures, I have a few, but she won't pose for the camera! Lol!

Can't wait for RV time next year! It's going to be great!
BobsYourUncle
Nomad
Dec 09, 2019
Scottiemom wrote:

God bless you for rescuing this poor little waif. She will reward your lives many times over because you saved her life.

God bless all rescuers.

Keep us posted on your wee one.

Dale

Thank you!:)
Scottiemom
Nomad
Dec 07, 2019
BobsYourUncle wrote:
Scottiemom wrote:
I hope you are able to rescue this girlie. A pox on backyard breeders who breed these babies over and over again without regard to their health.

Dale

She is ours, gone from the breeder and spent her first night with my cousin. She is safe now, and we will get her soon. She has a written schedule from the vet for the skin treatment, which we will take over once we get her.
She will get her bath and groom tomorrow. We are deciding on the style now. So many ways to groom a Yorkie. We prefer shorter as opposed to the hair hanging way down on the floor.
I'll post a pic when I can

God bless you for rescuing this poor little waif. She will reward your lives many times over because you saved her life.

God bless all rescuers.

Keep us posted on your wee one.

Dale
DallasSteve
Nomad
Dec 05, 2019
DutchmenSport wrote:
If you love the animal, cost of vet bills is no object. Once you've paid the price, the animal becomes even more valuable to you! (no wonder our dogs allow us to sleep in "their" bed!")....

Cost is an object even for my own health care. Nobody lives forever. I promise.

Forum Discussion

Cost of dental work on a small dog?

About Pet Owners

Related Content

Dog's Dental

Collie's annual dental

Trip costs?

Cost of ownership.

Cost of travel