Old dogs teeth

[Skyking]

I have an old dog 14 plus in pretty good health other than the rotten teeth. I had a couple removed 2 yrs ago and the anathesia was really hard on her and afraid to put her under again. Any suggestions ?Working on her mouth unless sedated is not an option for sure :fie:

[grumble]

Just make sure she gets soft food that doesn't hurt her teeth. Either canned or add water to dry food.

[NCLee]

Have you talked to the vet, yet, to see if there are any alternatives to the anathesia s/he used?

We were deceived by the person who gave us the toy poodle we have now. Told it was 5 years old, vet records was 8. Told shot were current. Nope. etc. Her teeth were bad, too. Had to have a number of them pulled.

In addition to brushing her teeth, vet's advice was to make sure she had access to dry food, which would help clean her teeth. Apparently, she'd only been fed wet food. At first she refused to eat it. Gradually introduced her to it by hand feeding small pieces, as if we were giving her treats. Now, between meals of her regular food, she'll go to her saucer of treats, when she gets hungry.

I don't know the size of your dog. With ours, her dry food is about the size of what's given to cats. If fact, we keep some of her food in a small cat treat container. Shake that container, and she's ready to be hand fed a "treat", just like those special treats sold for larger dogs.

Don't know if this will help, but though I'd share, just in case.

Lee

[Skyking]

thanks for the replies. Yeah I'm wetting her food and the vet said give her some dry as to stimulate blood flow in the gums .Probably need a round of antibiotics to clean up the infection and man I sure hate to put her through it ,but man can the little dog stink and she's a Jack Russel and doesn't like to be told to do much of anything ,pretty independent...

[opsrto]

I am not sure what it is acalled but look into raw food. Raw bones etc. I have read quite a few stories and they have all boiled down to the same thing. No bad breath, stonger jaws, better health and more active.

[momma_to_seven_chi]

Since your dog is 14, the lifespan is not going to be super long, so I personally wouldn't put it through anesthesia again. I kind of believe that extreme elderly people, or dogs, should be left in peace to live out their lives without undue amounts of stress.
I personally would get some colloidal silver, put it is a spray bottle and spray her mouth once or twice a day with one spray. I would also let her eat CoQ10 capsules or bite them open and let her lick them or even squirt them into her mouth. I would also do rounds of antibiotics as needed by just opening them up and putting them on wet food or hiding the whole capsule in cheese if she will take it that way. Some people end up feeding their extremely elderly dogs hotdogs that they chew up themselves then spit into their hands for the dog to eat. We fed ours baby food. You can make baby food yourself by just grinding chicken/veggies/ rice in the blender so the dog can lick it up.
At this point of time, nothing you do will completely solve all the dog's teeth issues. But she is 14, which means that obviously the inflammation from the dental issues hasn't shortened her life a lot. I would just keep her happy, fed, and pain free. A baby aspirin would help with that if it becomes too much of an issue.

[jim]

Don't give dogs asprin! It's poison to them! Water down some whiskey or wine for them.
jim

[momma_to_seven_chi]

Don't give dogs asprin! It's poison to them! Water down some whiskey or wine for them.
jim

Vets give baby aspirin quite often. It's acetaminophen that is dangerous.

[harlanr3]

I am not sure what it is acalled but look into raw food. Raw bones etc. I have read quite a few stories and they have all boiled down to the same thing. No bad breath, stonger jaws, better health and more active.one of the diets is called barf.Is the dog in pain?if not I would try chicken necks or backs (ONLY RAW) that will clean up his teeth in a short time.dry dog food is part of the problem.try not to use weight bearing bones for cleaning teeth they are way to hard.
BTW it is COOKED chicken bones that splinter and cause issue's.I have fed 100s of pounds of chicken and rabbit bone's and all.and know of many others that have also.

[Deep South]

I am not sure what it is acalled but look into raw food. Raw bones etc. I have read quite a few stories and they have all boiled down to the same thing. No bad breath, stonger jaws, better health and more active.

This.

A raw diet is also good if your old dog has arthritis and other health problems. For some reason, it seems to help, and it would not be surprising if you also see an improvement in coat and overall health.

[kfander]

My 21 year-old cat just had three teeth removed, at a cost exceeding six hundred dollars. Actually, they did several other tests while she was there, but the bulk of the bill was the dental expenses. She sure is doing well, though.