Older Doggies

jake2250 wrote:

I even bought a tooth brush and paste and brushed his teeth periodically.

I have already set the ground rules with my new vet about my feelings on that and our new fur buddy does get his teeth brushed monthly!!

Do you only brush your teeth 'periodically' 'monthly' ??

We brushed our Border Collie/Mix teeth nightly....regular routine.
Brush our teeth...brush her teeth.

At 14 yrs old her teeth were Clean/good healthy gums/no bad breathe....in other words NO Dental Issues



OP......
Tooth (teeth) NEED pulled.......get them pulled.
Fatty Tissues....????? (if can be done while under for dental OK...but to prolong time under just for fatty tissue------I'd be real hesitate at that age)

Hope all goes well!

My Black Lab Mastiff of 180 pounds lasted 12.5 years with numerous fatty tumors.
Two were on his side one near the rear quarter and one on his left rib cage. He developed these probably at seven and I was concerned, the first one my vet took a small sample and determined it was just fatty tissue not the C word!
His second one was the same. My vet pointed out that this was very common with that breed. He also pointed out that if you could move and jiggle the fatty tumor, it wasn't attached to anything and not an issue unless it restricted his movement.

The last (Exterior) fatty tumor was on the front of his right leg at the first lower joint.
Again this seemed not to be attached just under the skin so we did nothing,, it grew to the size of a small tennis ball but still did not bother him.

After some research we changed his food to Non Gluten (recommendation of a friend) This seemed to help and slightly reduced the size of the tumor and seemed to help his skin and coat.
Teeth: it seemed just after he turned five every time we took him in to the vet, the new thing was dental care, they actually threatened me with only performing tests after they did a cleaning,, I told them he eats bones and raw hides and those work at cleaning his teeth.. I did not think his teeth were in bad shape, he never missed a meal and never complained.
I even bought a tooth brush and paste and brushed his teeth periodically.
Our main concern on teeth work was that he would have to be sedated, and that could be bad for a dog like him,, when I expressed my concerns they agreed and eased up on pushing dental exams,cleaning etc.

It felt like to me,,, one day in vet school some one figured out they could squeeze more money out of us for teeth cleaning and exams that were not needed!!
Any way,, Snickers passed away after 12 and half years (average for his size), six months prior he suffered a stroke and seemed to develop hip issues.
It all seemed to develop quickly and the decision was made.

Looking back I beat myself up for not just getting dental work done, but cannot find any evidence that led to his passing.
I do feel with the pressure and threat of not getting work done until they could make money cleaning his teeth we some how missed something..

At ten they were still pushing oral care and I never finished pursuing a thyroid exam, vet didn't believe I needed to spend that kind of money (over $300 for his size) and that the money would have been better on oral care.. We both agreed to disagree and nothing got done!

I have already set the ground rules with my new vet about my feelings on that and our new fur buddy does get his teeth brushed monthly!!

If dog is not experiencing any pain or discomfort why subject her to the procedure? What is the goal that her teeth look good?

Its removal of at least one tooth, more likely. She has had dental before, many years ago. I may reconsider again and have the teeth done but leave the fatty tumor. Were just worried in regards to her age and being put under analgesia.

Without looking, it's hard for me to offer an opinion. But, if your vet thinks this is enough of an issue to recommend a dental and it's not just a "routine" cleaning, trust him/her.

Doug

What kind of teeth issues? I would think it depends on the issue and the possible risks of letting it go. I sympathize, I would hate subjecting our dog to anesthesia too!

Thanks Pop's.....

Don't have any opinions, but hope all goes well with his/her dental problems. They sure know how to make us worry, don't they?


Pops