Feel so horrible :(

RubysGold

RubysGold

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So, I have a 4 year old collie x. He is an angel, and he totally dotes on me <3

He had very very bad smelling breath, the vet had a look and booked him in to have a tooth removed, once unconscious, they realised that actually he needed to have 9 teeth removed :( poor boy was only 3 years old at the time. He was in a lot of pain when he came home (this was a few months ago)

The vet said I would need to clean his teeth to stop anymore rotting again.

Now he has two back teeth that are a horrible colour, and he sits licking at his mouth. It doesn't smell as bad but its not pleasant either, and if I try to brush his teeth, they bleed. Mum bought me a bottle of tooth cleaner that you just squirt in and its meant to just work, but he HATES it.

I can only assume that its genetic, as none of my other dogs have ever had this. I don't want him to be totally toothless by the time hes 5 :( I will of course be taking him back to the vets very soon :(
 
Do you feed him any bones? I only ask as my guys always have something to chew and vets always comment on how great their teeth are. I have never brushed any of their teeth. My oldest boy is 8 with lovely white teeth and even the sight hounds who are notoriously bad due to the long jaw are fine.
Sorry just realised this sounds like a brag about how good mine are! I just mean that I don't do anything at all except provide them with plenty to knaw on. It helps I think that I have a few as they all take a bone due to competition whereas I have friends with single dogs that lose interest.
 
It cant be genetic surely, seeing as tartar is a build up of plaque (so food/bacteria).

I would reassess what he is being fed. My dogs both get a big bone each once every one or two months and their teeth are sparkly clean afterwards.
 
I agree re bones. My dobie is 9 and went in for a small op recently. Vet said would do her teeth as at her age they would be manky. When he actually checked them he said "oh, the are sparking", I never clean them but she does have a bone at least twice a week.
 
We have three jrts, all fed the same. Two have great teeth and the third has bad breath despite cleaning them. He had a dental under GA and had a lot of plaque removed but fortunately no teeth however despite my best efforts I feel it won't be long before he loses some. All three chew on antlers.
 
samlf said:
It cant be genetic surely, seeing as tartar is a build up of plaque (so food/bacteria).
Click to expand...

The vet said that it could be to do with something genetic. I have 11 dogs, and have lost several over the years of old age. Never have I had a dog with this problem :( Hes only young, vet did say it was rare in a dog so young.

I shall try bones. I was trying dentastix, on a "will try anything" approach but I don't think they do anything, they get eaten too fast. We do agility, so the next show Im at, I will buy one of the antler/bone things they always sell
 
Bones are fab and I buy either the vacuum packed ham bones or get mine free from the local butcher. Just a word of warning re antlers I was told that vets are seeing large numbers of dogs with broken teeth after being given these. No idea how factually correct this is and my pointer self harms so that was enough to make me steer clear. Hopefully others will be better placed to comment but just figure the last thing you need Is more teeth problems.
 
Feeding kibble (eg Dr Johns, Chudleys etc) is better for teeth than tinned food as the crunching action cleans the teeth (and keeps breath fresh). However if your dog has too many teeth removed, it may struggle so if it is not used to kibble, don't buy a full bag but scrounge a bit off somebody.

The TV advertised Denta Sticks are expensive and nowhere near as effective as a butchers bone.

NEVER give cooked bones as cooking changes the chemical nature making them harder and they can splinter. Raw bones will not harm a dog. Our feed merchant used to sell roast bones for dogs but withdrew them after a complaint,
 
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