I'm sure he'll be fine but...............

[Hillscreek]

Angus is at the vet having his teeth cleaned for the first time in his nearly 5 1/2 years. Plus I asked them to look at a chipped tooth he's had for months now. It hasn't bothered him, no pain, he chews down on it. But vet just called and told me they have a detailed look and the tooth is completely fractured with a chip separated off - oh no. So after a chat we decided it should be taken out because although not a problem now it almost certainly will be later.

I've no idea how he did it but he is and always has been an aggressive chewer. Maybe on a frozen deer bone he picked up a while back ......or who knows what.

So now I wait for them to call me when he is ready to come home. Poor little guy.

In the meantime guess I need to go to the dog savings account!!

[hheldorfer]

Poor Angus.  I'm sure he'll be fine.  If a Cairn loses a tooth due to chewing, it is considered a badge of honor.  Sorry about your savings account though.

Please let us know when your boy gets home.

 

[bradl]

Good to get teeth taken care of sooner rather than later. I'd much rather have an extraction now than leave a pathway for problems.

I can sympathize on the added costs. Stella has had extractions nearly every dental the last few years to the point where she now has NO incisors … although from the canines back she's OK. The cost of extractions at our vet is typically only about half the cost of pre-anesthetic bloodwork. Even if February is Dental Discount Month or whatever it's become a costly month for us every year. 

[sanford]

I'm baffled re the topic of chewing/bones/antlers, etc. One or two folks at the dog run have had their dogs treated for fractured teeth. Granted, that is a low number, but still, it concerns me. I've read online that this problem is not infrequently seen by vets and some advise against allowing dogs access to bones altogether.

Chewing seems to be such a natural part of dogs' behavior, so I considered rawhide, but it turns out that can be a choking hazard, (although we are warned to supervise our dogs).

I occaisionally give Ruffy a beef tendon. He doesn't chew off and swallow chunks, he just scrapes off small slivers with his teeth and gnaws them down to an "unswallowable" end piece, 2-3" long, which he a abandons for me to toss out. From time to time, he gets a Greenie, which he loves, although there was a time when Greenies were involved in lawsuits due to intestinal blockages. The brittle formulation has been changed... They are now soft and pliable and considered to be safe and digestible, but are they really

P.S. I brush Ruffy's teeth, but find it impossible to do what I consider a really good job... I've complained here before that the small cairn mouth makes it really challenging (for me) to effectively work a toothbrush around the molars in back and the small bottom teeth in front. During brushing is the only time I wish Ruffy were a Golden Retriever - sitting patiently, opening wide to expose those huge teeth and large, loose lips and floppy cheeks with all the room in the world to manipulate a toothbrush... AND you don't have to get down on all fours!?

Edited February 20, 2017 by sanford

[Hillscreek]

Yes Sanford I agree. It is hard to find a good chew. Angus came out of surgery a little over an hour ago and they called me to tell me how it went. I could bring him home but he is pretty groggy still so I'm going to wait a couple of hours. They told me they guessed a nylabone might be the culprit. They are sending some recommended softer chews. I'll let you all know what.

Angus stole a small raw hide chew when we went for Christmas dinner with some friends. He grabbed it when their dog wasn't looking. The result was rawhide bits coming out the other end, terrible gas, loose poop.

I have noticed over time that some of the nylabones like the dinosaur ones for example, seem a lot harder than the basic original nylabone plus it is my unscientific feel that 'real' bones are not as hard as nylabones. Also highly the flavored ones might encourage Angus, an already mighty chewer, to chew even harder. He does not chew as often as he did when younger but when he does he really goes at it!

Brushing cairn teeth is very difficult. Big dog sized teeth in small cairn mouth tough to get at. What worked for Angus was a fresh beef rib bone which I can get at a local processing plant. I call and when they butcher a beefer they save me a few fresh rib bones for free. Angus can chew on one of those under my supervision. They keep his pearly whites beautiful plus he gets chewing satisfaction. When fresh like that they do not seem to splinter. He just get little bits off at a time and I take it off him as soon as it starts to wear down.

I think I may go back to doing that.

[Lynn in TN]

It wouldn't matter with Kelly. If I don't give her bones to chew on, she chews on rocks. I think the bones are better for her teeth than rocks. lol Cairns and most dogs will find something to fracture their teeth on, I figure it might as well be something that taste good. 

[Hillscreek]

Got my boy back home. Walking out with the tech a bit slowly wearing a cheerful sunny colored bandana. He's had a meal and a walk around the yard and is resting by me.

What a mess that tooth was - quote " complicated, (involving the pulp), slab fracture". So pleased doc called and talked with me before going ahead. Agreed this should be done now before any complications arose which they surely would. Rest of the mouth looked good.

He has several sutures at the site which will dissolve. Soft food for at least a week and checkup next Monday. Antibiotic maxiguard gel to put over teeth once a day for a week.

Cost: tooth cleaning and polishing $200.00 Anesthetic, dental radiograph of individual site, extraction of tooth $277.00. So twice what I was expecting but a small price to pay for his future dental health.

Over all they said he was a fine healthy cairn terrier and - oh so cute they added.

For when he is allowed to chew again in a couple of weeks or so they gave some Tartar Shield Brand soft rawhide chews and dog biscuits. Not familiar with these. Will give them a try when the time comes.

[sanford]

So glad to know your boy came through this OK.

Just to compare notes ... Ruffy's recent uncomplicated dental cleaning, (with no extractions), came to approx. $400.00. The first vet I went to gave me an estimate of $600!?

[Kathryn]

Here too the "uncomplicated" cleaning runs over $500.  The pre-test blood work,  anesthetic, and the actual surgery brought the cost to over $500 when we had to do it for Allie and T Bone.  Oban is fond of the deer antlers, which seem to shine his teeth, and his groomer will also scale his teeth a little if we ask. So far no problems...

Still much cheaper than human dentistry -- and there they don't even put me out!  But even my twice-a-year tooth cleaning and screening cost $150 each time. And Steve had a root canal last year at a cost that would have sent me on a really really nice vacation for a week or two...

[kieiras mom]

So glad Angus is home!Had Keiras teeth cleaned, and just realized that price was a bit lower than what was reported  by you all. Anyway, it is the price we pay to keep our babies healthy in all ways. 

[hheldorfer]

Welcome home Angus!  Buffy was glad to hear everything went well.  She is scheduled for a cleaning in March.

[Hillscreek]

Angus - don't even think of using those newly shined up teeth to bite me when I go to put that antibiotic gel on your teeth. Don't clamp your mouth shut either you little......!  Poor guy I'm sure his mouth is very sensitive right now and will be for a while

 

[Sam I Am]

Their  jaws are like bear traps! I don't know if it's just a Cairn thing but Jock was the same...and he would bite! Angus sounds like it's all a bluff.

[Malcolm's Dad]

Poor Angus. He might have some soreness for a little while. Glad everything went well and he is resting with you. He should be back to normal in a few days.

[LizzieP]

February is dental cleaning month at our vet clinic here in our little town in Idaho.  Duncan, 11, just had his teeth cleaned today for the third time since we rescued him at age 3. No extractions, but I did pay an extra $55 for the pre-op blood work because of his age. The total bill this afternoon was $212.  We are very blessed to have such a great vet who takes excellent care of our animals and even makes house calls for reasonable costs!

[Dempsy's Mom]

Do you guys think that the majority of society put as much money into their dogs as we do?  I didn't get dog crazy till about 15 years ago.  Tater was the culprit.  Loved that dog.  We had farm dogs growing up - but they never came inside the house and we never did anything for them but rabbis and flea and tick.  My folks would think I was nuts if they were around to witness my pampered dogs.  Sadly I feel that most dogs are neglected.  To many people take them in for companionship, but can't afford or have no knowledge of their needs.  I am happy that Elsie and Dempsy have cushy lives.  I get such a kick out of watching their little attitudes - their "right of entitlement" mannerisms.  Yes, that vet bill hurts, but it gives you such a good feeling to know that your dog is ok - doing his best - and happy.  

We had a new vet in town this year and so last month I took Demps & Els into her.  Hmmm.  She was good.  Half the cost.  Her routine was similar - but maybe not quite as good.  I don't know ... the jury's still out on her.  Dempsy and Elsie love going to the vet.  

Happy Angus is home. 

 

 

Edited February 24, 2017 by Dempsy's Mom

[pkcrossley]

i think people spend as much as they can; that varies tremendously by individual circumstance, and i think creates a lot of heartbreak for people who can't come up with the cash or the insurance premiums. in the past hundred years the extension of not only compassion but inclusion in the concept of "society" for companion animals is a general trend across the world, even places where the idea of pets as family has come very late, like east asia. probably part of a general trend toward greater compassion and inclusion among people themselves. unfortunately the removal of the animal welfare page from the USDA website, which profoundly endangers animals in shelters, animals rounded up for sale to laboratories, and animals bound for slaughter, could be part of a reverse trend. the treatment of companion animals and the treatment of fellow humans are always tightly bound together, whether on a social or an individual bases. 

[Hillscreek]

16 minutes ago, pkcrossley said:

the treatment of companion animals and the treatment of fellow humans are always tightly bound together, whether on a social or an individual bases. 

The concept of dogs and other animals as pets and companions as opposed to working and guarding has been mostly restricted to the rich and powerful. Dogs as pets for "ordinary people" are a relatively recent phenomenon as standard of living improved during the nineteen hundreds. Seems a great idea but as we see from any dog pound perhaps a mistaken one. Round here many a pup who was so cute at first becomes a nuisance around ten months when no longer cute and often ill behaved. The dog then goes either goes to the pound or is chained outside to a dog kennel for life - just another throw away item in a throw away society.

In wartime lack of food may affect pets. I was a child in England in WW2 and many dogs and cats, horses etc were put down as people could not afford to feed them. Indeed on the continent across the channel things got so desperate in some areas people were occasionally reduced to eating their pets. My family were aghast when my grandma brought home a spaniel pup for me (age 11) as a pet as the war was ending. Food was rationed for people. How can we afford to feed a dog? Lucky for me and little Laddie they let him stay and have a share of what we had with a mat in the corner by our coal fire. He was my first dog and for ten years my best bud.

 

[LindaMC]

So happy that Angus is home and doing well.  I haven't had Maisie in for any dental issues or cleanings yet and cringe at the thought of how costly it might be when the time comes.  I try my best to keep her teeth clean by brushing (like others have mentioned, not an easy task to get a thorough brushing), adding tarter cleaner to her water and also using a dental spray every night before she goes to sleep.  I also give her Tarter Shield Soft Rawhide Chews, and an occasional frozen marrow bone, and so far her teeth appear to be in pretty good condition. 

[Dempsy's Mom]

Liked your story Hillscreek - bet you have a lot of them.

[Hillscreek]

Update

After one day of complaint re opening his mouth Angus has been fine. He has let me look at his teeth, and squirt on the antibiotic gel with only mild disgust after as he tried to clean it out. He had canned food for three days then his kibble softened mixed with canned. He has lost a few ounces in weight. He has been feeling deprived because no chew toys allowed. But actually I can say he was back to normal after about three days. He sat politely to have his mouth examined. He has healed up well and good to go. Wait on hard chews for another week meanwhile OK to give him the soft ones.

An aside. The vet who did the extraction is new to the practice. He is the son of  the owners who have taken care of my dogs and cats for more than twenty years. I have known him and his mother since he was a toddler when he came to the Montessori school where I worked. He practically grew up in the vets office. He has recently qualified and is now working in his parents' practice. As his mother checked Angus today we chatted - both of us pleased and happy for dog and for son. A great way to start our day!

[Malcolm's Dad]

Good boy Angus. You are healing up very well. Keep being nice to your mom.

[_whits_]

So glad to hear Angus' sailed through the dental but sorry to hear about the fractured tooth! Happy to hear it's healing well and Addie says she hopes he's back chewing to his heart's delight soon!