My senior toy poodle is an odd old man. I rescued him at 9 yrs old and he had never had a bone or dental chew. He won’t eat them, I’ve tried all types. He has bad teeth. Stinky breath and yellow tarter/ plaque. I can’t put him under for a dental since he has a heart murmur and the cost of working with a cardiologist for that procedure is too much for me. I’ve been using Tropiclean dental gel twice a day for about two months but it doesn’t work. He eats Natures Variety Raw.
Cow or horse hooves? Water additives? Big raw bones? Antlers?
Walmart sells dental scrapers, can you sit on him (figuratively) and chip away at the build-up?
[QUOTE=cowboymom;7373725]
Cow or horse hooves? Water additives? Big raw bones? Antlers?
Walmart sells dental scrapers, can you sit on him (figuratively) and chip away at the build-up?[/QUOTE]
Thanks but like I said he won’t chew bones of any kind. I’ll try a scaler maybe.
Some seniors will eat a greenie thats been microwaved (they poof up and get soft). Greenies also used to make tiny chips that you could sprinkle into regular food.
Raw diets that have tiny bits of ground bone may help.
Brushing his teeth is a big help, and will help get him trained to let you use a scaler as well.
Talk to the vet, possibly could do a less thorough cleaning under light sedation (not knocked out).
Try different types of raw bone- he may go for something like raw quail or turkey necks that are largely meat but have some abrasiveness to them.
Tooth problems make heart problems more likely/worse, so I’d consider carefully what the risk/benefit is of putting him under.
I have an old dog that doesn’t like to chew any more; the water additives helped a lot with her. I actually put a little chlorexidine in her water :uhoh: I just wondered if you had missed a chewie that he would consider! I’ve watched a lot of dentals and it’s basically just chipping off the crap to very much over simplify it…
I’ve used a scaler on several dogs of differing temperament and no prior exposure without an issue. When the plaque is really thick it comes off very easy, sometimes in one or two big flaky chunks per tooth. Just get the flat side of the scaler resting against the top of the plaque up near the gumline and push downward gently.
It’s pretty grossly fascinating to see what comes off.
I bought a scaling tool at Jeffers. You’ll have to train your dog to accept you messing with his teeth. I brush his teeth before giving him dinner. He knows the routine and accepts the brush dipped in mouth wash. Scaling his teeth is the same routine. He holds still and I give him a treat after a few minutes of scaling. More scaling and another treat. The up side is no general anesthesia danger or expensive vet bill.
He is a 70 pound Dobermann so there’s no way to force him on this… just like trying to force a 1200 pound horse onto a trailer.
Here’s a link … http://www.jefferspet.com/product.asp?pn=UD-TB&green=402847F9-0164-5CA3-BB78-9A25A8B68CD9
I will say that at the vets we used a sonic scaler that what was amazing but you can get pretty good results with a cheap normal scaler
go look for a dental service that does cleanings without anesthesia- we have “pearly whites” around here. They do a marvelous job without risking any dog’s lives with anesthesia.
He may not like to chew because his teeth hurt?
We’ve been using a Dental Spray. It’s not a cure all but it does seem to help. We have used one made by Hartz and one made by Arm & Hammer.
Brushing really helps. Be careful with the scaler, I found it got slippery at times and I dinged my dogs gums.
[QUOTE=wendy;7374082]
go look for a dental service that does cleanings without anesthesia- we have “pearly whites” around here. They do a marvelous job without risking any dog’s lives with anesthesia.
He may not like to chew because his teeth hurt?[/QUOTE]
I’ve had this done before and they did a wonderful job. However, the group that was doing it has since left the state. I’ll look into another group that does this. Part of my concern is what lurks under his gums but I know that can’t be scraped unless they are asleep.
Is it OK for dogs to chew horses hooves? I know they enjoy it, but thought I read somewhere that it was not healthy. Yes or no? I have hooves to trim and dogs who would love it?
I’m wanting to see how much dental improvement I can do on the dogs, too. I know they have had a lot of dental treats in their life, but the one had hers cleaned under anesthesia by the vet and another one has a little buildup that I’d like to try to remove at home.
horses hooves are ok.
Other thing you can try is raw meaty bones (chicken wings, pork ribs, lamb neck bones, other soft raw meaty bones), or just a large-ish chunk of meat; the shearing action of the dog’s teeth while slicing the meat into swallowable chunks is what cleans them, far better than chewing on most “dental chews”. And very few dogs will turn their noses up at a chunk of meat- some might need the outside seared briefly the first few times to get a nice smell going. A chicken wing twice a week makes a big difference to tooth cleanliness.
[QUOTE=wendy;7374622]
horses hooves are ok.
Other thing you can try is raw meaty bones (chicken wings, pork ribs, lamb neck bones, other soft raw meaty bones), or just a large-ish chunk of meat; the shearing action of the dog’s teeth while slicing the meat into swallowable chunks is what cleans them, far better than chewing on most “dental chews”. And very few dogs will turn their noses up at a chunk of meat- some might need the outside seared briefly the first few times to get a nice smell going. A chicken wing twice a week makes a big difference to tooth cleanliness.[/QUOTE]
I am an experienced prey model raw feeder. I feed my two cats this way. Unfortunately Kennedy didn’t take well to bones. He wouldn’t chew them just snubbed his nose. I tried all the tricks- crumbling favorite treats and the like on top. I know premade raw food isn’t ideal but it is better than kibble and canned food even if it doesn’t include bones to chew on. Plus he loves it. He has been a picky eater from day 1 in my house. The previous owner had him on some type of awfully stinky semi-moist kibble.
Will he eat ice cubes? I have had luck with Chicken stock made into ice cubes, then add a little ground up bone ( from the butcher) as some abrasive. Also, Remember that trick we all learned with celery, how it soaks up food color? I put celery in a big glass of chicken stock over night then into the freezer. Makes a good crunchy snack. My teething puppy loves it.
[QUOTE=csaper58;7375736]
Will he eat ice cubes? I have had luck with Chicken stock made into ice cubes, then add a little ground up bone ( from the butcher) as some abrasive. Also, Remember that trick we all learned with celery, how it soaks up food color? I put celery in a big glass of chicken stock over night then into the freezer. Makes a good crunchy snack. My teething puppy loves it.[/QUOTE]
Thanks! I’ll try this. I got him to eat an egg, shell and all a few days ago. He loved it. I wonder if egg shell would help? Of course when I go to give him an egg today he is not excited at all and only eats half. I guess the excitement of that is gone.
[QUOTE=gypsymare;7373771]
I’ve used a scaler on several dogs of differing temperament and no prior exposure without an issue. When the plaque is really thick it comes off very easy, sometimes in one or two big flaky chunks per tooth. Just get the flat side of the scaler resting against the top of the plaque up near the gumline and push downward gently.
It’s pretty grossly fascinating to see what comes off.[/QUOTE]
Wow, thanks for this! I had a scaler in the past for my dog when he was young, but then he only really had kinda ‘staining’ on his teeth and the scaler really didn’t do anything (and I chipped some enamel off trying!) but after you said this I tried it on my 8 yr old poodle.
I have brought him in twice in the last 4 years probably for scaling. I know what it looks like when their teeth are bad enough to need pulling so I want to make sure my poodle didn’t have to deal with that. So I made sure that it was always ‘worth it’ to have the cleaning done, but I could tell they obviously didn’t need pulling (no matter what the vet said during his yearly check up haha. I always knew he wouldn’t need pulling).
Anyways I grabbed my poodle’s face (haha) and just took my fingernail right under the gums where the plaque started and gently pushed down and POP off game all the gunk in a chunk!
I’m gonna go and buy an actual scaler for where my nails didn’t fit but this is gonna ensure I don’t need an actual dental cleaning for several years yet (maybe ever!) when I thought I would probably be doing it this year!
I’m lucky he’s got pretty good teeth for a poodle, but I also did keep on top of it when they started to have gunk and now I can really keep on top of it!
This- http://www.amazon.com/Proden-PlaqueOff-Dental-Care-180gm/dp/B000QAEQXQ
and this-http://www.amazon.com/Petzlife-Oral-Gel-4Oz-Spray/dp/B000NNJ5CI I used their toothpaste; it looks like they have more products to choose from now.
Thanks! I’m looking into the Petzlife now. I have some shocking news… I bought a Tropiclean brand dental chew since they are new at my store and thought I would give it a try and if he didn’t like it give it to my friends dog. Well he loved the hip & joint one. Does anyone think these would actually help with the tartar?
There are a few other varieties.
