I think Nemo is potentially having some sort of tooth-related issue and I'm curious if others have seen this set of behaviors, possibly in conjunction with dental issues.
Recently, after he eats dinner, usually kibble or sometimes raw food, he has started rubbing his muzzle on the ground back and forth (both sides) and will also paw at his face several times. He has also been sometimes slow to eat his food or won't eat it at all (mainly if it is kibble, and very atypical for him). If I soften it with water he will eat it. It doesn't appear to be an appetite issue. If it is something extra yummy, he will
Historically he has pawed at his face or rubbed his muzzle on the ground occasionally after he ate something messy but I don't think that is the same as what is occurring now. Particularly as it is in combination with the non-eating issue.
I took him to the vet today and there was nothing obvious to note in the exam. There is some gum recession on one of his very back teeth but it wasn't mobile and did not cause a reaction when the vet pressed on it. Rather than doing an X-ray, we opted to try a round of antibiotics and watching to see if it gets better over the short term and then returns again after the course of antibiotics is complete. If that happens, then we'll pursue the x-ray to see if it is something like an abscess.
Thanks,
Clay
Sounds to me like there is something going on with his teeth… I think that I might have opted for the x-ray, but trying a course of meds is certainly worth trying.
I know with mine, especially the girls, even when they had a bad tooth or a possible infection... they would not show discomfort to the Vet....
Cody was doing that before my vet took out a bad tooth. So, I think that is probably waht it is..
Dogs can get cavities. Even a cracked tooth could cause problems when eating exposing the nerve as they chew food. If you've ever had a cracked tooth you'd know. I have and had to get gold caps to take care of it.
I was leaning towards the X-ray but I'm not fond of anesthesia. I figure if I'm going to do that, we might as well schedule him for surgery at the same time to remove whatever it is. Hopefully we'll get a clue of what's going on with the antibiotic.
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I agree with Pat - when I have had tooth problems with some of mine they have nevr shown any discomfort whenthe vet feels them andan xray has always been necessary. This is certainly a tooth problem in my opinion.
I too am wary of anaesthetics but my vet will often do just a local aneasthetic to deal with teeth.
I just scheduled a dental for Monday so they can take a look and hopefully take care of the issue. He seemed better for a few days after the antibiotic but he wouldn't eat hard food again this morning.
Fingers cross that it resolves the problem…..
Just picked Nemo up from the vet, and it turns out he had two very back teeth with highly receded gum-lines (you could tell this by looking at them). On one of the teeth, one of the three roots had a small abscess so they decided to remove it. One of the "mobile" teeth identified at the last dental (and adjacent to the one they removed this time) apparently was very mobile because it wasn't there anymore. So hopefully that took care of the issue and he should be back to his normal happy self. 
Sigh, there with you. Had to have Arwen's top back molars removed last week. Vet said she may be developing some sort of oral autoimmune issue. I haven't even researched it because I am so disgusted. I brush, I wipe, she gets dental chews, she eats rmb.. I don't know what else to do… cleaned in Feb, cleaned and pulled THREE teeth 5 mos later in July, now 4 mos later 2 more. Vet said think how bad they would be if I weren't doing so much. But it is discouraging.
Just picked Nemo up from the vet, and it turns out he had two very back teeth with highly receded gum-lines (you could tell this by looking at them). On one of the teeth, one of the three roots had a small abscess so they decided to remove it. One of the "mobile" teeth identified at the last dental (and adjacent to the one they removed this time) apparently was very mobile because it wasn't there anymore. So hopefully that took care of the issue and he should be back to his normal happy self.
Sounds like you might have gotten to the "root" of the problem. Fingers crossed that in a few days, he is back to his normal self!!!
Sounds like you might have gotten to the "root" of the problem. Fingers crossed that in a few days, he is back to his normal self!!!
haha. Yep, I hope so. It's hard to tell though, he sleeps most of time anyway. :rolleyes:
haha.
LOL… but back to eating well
LOL… but back to eating well
Well, he voraciously devoured his breakfast this morning so I think he's feeling pretty good. 
Well, he voraciously devoured his breakfast this morning so I think he's feeling pretty good.
That is great news!!!
Very nice to hear..
Good news.
Great news, and I look forward to hearing more great news.
What was the name of the auto immune disease? How old is your B? Did your B have really bad breath?
My B has terrible breath and he is only 13 months. His gum line looks irritated. The smell went away for two weeks when he was on antibiotics for Giardia but slowly came back seemingly even worse now. We plan to schedule a cleaning and x- rays. I'm afraid of what the vet will discover and I'm afraid of the cost!
Thanks.
The vet didn't say and I haven't looked.. been a tough month.
She had horrible breathe at 4, took her in.. cleaned, better briefly. We have had her teeth cleaned every 6 mos for 3 yrs, then in Feb, then in July then in late Nov. She has lost 6 teeth so far. I brush, spray, wipe, feed rmb (raw meaty bones), give dental chews. It really has me floored.
One of the sprays is an antibacterial, but it can cause..strangely.. plaque build up when then increases gum irritation. So we quit that one and moved to a different. But it seems one step forward, 1 1/2 at least back.
Btw, check around on cost. No exaggeration, to get the back tooth pulled I got estimates in a 20 mile radius ranging from $200 to $800!
