| Subject: |
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Re: Pekinese and tooth decay.. |
| Name: |
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Wil Taylor |
| Date Posted: |
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Jul 10, 05 - 6:50 PM |
| Email: |
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wilbea@sbcglobal.net |
| Message: |
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Lorraine...
By all means, have Your vet do a full dental exam... even if You have to tranqualize him/her for the exam. Dental care for Your peke is a vital "tool" for a longer life, sine the infections from bad teeh can damage vital organs such as heart, liver, kidneys, skin, etc!!! If necessary Your vet will operate to remove decayed teeth and clean tartar from good teeth, clean/treat infected gums and administer anti-biotics to kill damaging infections.
Our first peke didn't receive any dental treatment until she was 4... and by then she was sick and listless (our reason for a vet visit). To our horror, she needed several teeth extracted and an extended routine of antibiotics. We believe that this injured her kidneys, so that a age 8-thru-11-1/2 she suffered various degrees of kidney failure... to total kidney failure (God bless her little soul).
Our next peke received careful attention to his health, regular vet [+dental] care, exercise, etc... and had few significant problems, until senility came upon him at age 16 (God bless his little soul). HOWEVER he struggled violently, and bit me regulary, as I tried brushing his teeth as an adult. Lesson-Learned: start brushing pekes teeth when they are puppies, to insure good behavior during this “unnatural procedure” [old pekes can be stubborn and very vicious in this respect].
Our two young pekes Jackson and Magnolia... have good teeth and sound bodies… and we intend to keep it so with vet treatments... because last year we rescued a very neglected, starving, sick, female peke we named Angel (probably a puppy-mill female of little value when she became sick). It was obvious she NEVER had dental care. The first night we had her she needed antibiotics, a medicated bath for skin disease and soft food just so she could eat and rest. She lost 1 tooth that night and the next week our vet extracted 7 bad teeth and surgically removed massive sores from her all-over her skin. The vet determined her heart was damaged by the dental infections [major heart murmur]... and that the skin infections were caused by filth on her body and the massive continuous dental infections. Needless to say, she was very sick and scared and cranky and in great pain: during the week-end 4-th of July fireworks and a subsequent late night thunderstorm, she became so agitated/frightened, that she attacked my sweet boy dog so ferociously, that he avoided her at all costs for weeks afterward. Within about 2-weeks of her risky operation, she settled down as the infections, pain and starvation slowly left her. With few teeth, she takes a long time to eat the small bites... but with a continuous food-bowl, and what seems to be a sense of respect by the other two, she is allowed “space”… and has filled-out nicely and regained a soft/healthy skin/coat/manner! After a year, she has become a truly sweet/loving little girl dog, who is relatively healthy (we have an idea she is about 6--9 years old, so who knows what the future will hold).
OH Yeah… just make sure the toothpaste is flavored and desirable by them… it helps! Magnolia’s, Jackson’s and Angel’s favorite “desert” is CETS (?) vanilla-mint tooth paste (although the cat-sized mini-brush interferes with enjoying the moment “fully”).
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