Clean teeth

[DebraDownSouth]

OMW, if it cost 500 to do teeth here i"d be in horrible trouble. Fortunately even with blood work it is only $250, which I do once a year. The same vet with no blood work is about $150. I alternate with a local cheaper vet who is only 75 including antibiotics.. . so I only pay $550 a year for 4 full cleaning under anesthesia! I also have Arwen scheduled for Feb to take advantage of the dental month discount– sorry I didn't even think about mentioning that!

On the Plaque, I actually POSTED their study the first time I read about it. Will see if I can find it again.

Going to shoot myself, I hit post and lost about 30 mins of work.

Okay not going to do it again...
I found studies and in fact their own chart showing the plaque increased after 5 weeks.
http://www.plaqueoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Marina-Nordlund_study_L_new.pdf

But in HUMANS it continued to drop with, although (page 5,) it also said main improvement the first 5 wks. Bleeding decreased continually so obviously helping some even if not plaque after the 5 wks. Some significant differences in control group and PO with pH being much lower. They said higher could cause stones so that is good, but the TRUTH is you want NORMAL urine pH, not low or high. But the blood work was all normal for both groups so not really worried.

The human study: http://www.plaqueoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/POHuman_Study_Broschyr12s_high.pdf

So some mixed stuff, but if it helps some, why not? If it helps with bleeding, it must be doing SOMETHING good, so why not. And since even humans are using it, and it is basically seaweed, why the heck not? I may order some more.

[basenjilover60]

What is the best way to help my Basenji lose about 8pds. She weighs 33 at present, I feed her 2 times a day, 1 cup at each setting, should I cut one feeding out or just feed her less. I probably need to walk her more also. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

[Buddys Pal]

@Chealsie508:

Is there an age where a dog is too young for a maintenance teeth cleaning by the vet? In my case- almost two?

It may not depend so much on age as the bloodwork done prior to the cleaning should tell if the liver/kidneys are healthy for the procedure. You would think a dog before the age of 2 or so should not need it…...Uzie just got it done last Thursday. I was a wreck! He had plaque on his upper molars (previous owner's choice of food or bad DNA???) and at 3 y/o I thought I should get it done and from now on do my weekly (at least) brushing with an enzyme dog paste I found. He was not a happy pup at all!!!! All is good now....

[tanza]

More excerise and less food…. my girls get less then 1/2 a cup twice a day... keep the 2x a day feeding but reduce the amount.. What are you feeding her? And yes, you need to get her out more

[Buddys Pal]

@MacPack:

We are lucky, my vet does an awake tooth cleaning using ultrasonic. Takes about 15 minutes, his 2 techs do it and gets all the plaque off. No polish or stain removal, but gets the crud off the teeth and gums. Dogs come back waggy with wet faces. When they find a problem the vet goes for a look and then you have to schedule anesthesia, but this de-plaquing with the annual physicals is….$25. If done separately, not with yearly, it is about $45 or $50.

No matter how old, if the teeth need cleaning , it will hopefully prevent gum problems. Some have to be done every couple of years, even with regular brushing. As Pat said, some just have bad teeth.

Anne, that sounds good, could you tell who your Vet is? email or forum.. I could drive there no problem!

[DebraDownSouth]

I truly hate seeing awake cleaning promoted when experts says it is NOT enough. Please, read up on vet sites, check the links I posted Buddy's Pal.

[Buddys Pal]

@DebraDownSouth:

I truly hate seeing awake cleaning promoted when experts says it is NOT enough. Please, read up on vet sites, check the links I posted Buddy's Pal.

I did indeed, and thanks for the great info! makes perfect sense.

[nobarkus]

@tanza:

More excerise and less food…. my girls get less then 1/2 a cup twice a day... keep the 2x a day feeding but reduce the amount.. What are you feeding her? And yes, you need to get her out more

Is that 1/2 a cup of dry food only?

[DebraDownSouth]

The amt of food isn't the issue since the calorie count can vary widely from one brand to another. If your dog is fat, cut back 1/4 for a week, then up to 1/4 more (so at 1/2) the next week. Add in green beans if the dog seems to think it is being starved to death. Or, if very fat, switch to Hill Science DIET food. I don't know anyone whose dog doesn't lose on that stuff, much as I hate Hills, until the weight is off then slowly add back the regular as you cut the Hills, but then bring it up to only 1/2 of what it was getting. Still losing? Add a bit more.

Arwen is 29 pounds and she gets 1/4 cp of Blue Buffalo 2x a day, plus treats 2x a day (predominately all meat based or salmon ears). Cara is 36 pounds and gets 1/2 cp 2x a day, same food, she just needs more to keep right weight. So it really varies by dog. Heck my male Rottie got only 3 cps total a day at 120 pounds and ACTIVE while is not so active mom got 4 and stayed a healthy 92 pounds.

[dcmclcm4]

If your dog does not lose weight after cutting back on the food, have a complete thyroid test done. Do not cut back the food drastically but slowly week by week. I have used plain canned pumpkin as a filler. My three dogs get no more than 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups but they are on different foods.

Jennifer