# Oral Surgery & Raw feeding



## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

Indi has to have oral surgery to take a decent size mass out of her mouth - they may have to remove two teeth as well but they aren't sure of the extent of this thing yet. She goes in for surgery on friday, hopefully we will know if the tumor is benign or malignant soon the following week. Since I'm sure she will have stitches or something in her mouth, should I be cooking her food for her or is that a moot point because the mouth is already such a dirty place?

In a time where she needs all her strength to heal though I'm just so scared to deprive her of nutrients through cooking the food...So, should I give her a complete supplement, are there any you would recommend?


----------



## creek817 (Feb 18, 2012)

I am by no means experienced at this, but I think if it were my dog, I would stick with raw, and maybe just go to ground meats, or boneless meals, that are easy to chew while her mouth is healing.

I hope she's alright! Good luck!


----------



## shellbell (Sep 24, 2011)

I too would stick with raw, but maybe feed things ground for awhile until she heals up.


----------



## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

I would wait for Liz to chime in or maybe pm her about it. Her collie boy, Hunter just recently had a tooth removed because of the infection in his face. Having one tooth removed isn't as extensive as what Indi is going to have done inside of her mouth but it might be worth it to ask her what she did for his first few days after the procedure.


----------



## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

Awesome! I was sure someone here had some sort of experience with their dog having oral surgery or tooth removal done...

That or one of our lovely veterinary technicians would know something or another.


----------



## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

Natalie and Jon as well. Natalie being said vet tech and Shiloh having a tooth removed a while back. Hahaha


----------



## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

HI, I am sorry your pupper is having surgery. My boy had a abcess drained with an incision to his cheek and a tooth removed. Friday I gave him the bit of ground I had and he did great and Saturday morning I gave him turkey hearts - again no problem. By Saturday night he was running his own turkey buffet by stealing the turkey necks i was thawing to repackage. He ate two with no ill effects at all and helped himself to three on Sunday. The tooth is not that big a deal obviously. I would definitely give ground if there are stitches inside the mouth for probably 5 - 7 days. You can buy ground chicken or turkey and add ground, dried eggshells instead of bone. If you have a grinder just grind up a whole chicken. I would be more concerned with stress and boosting the immune system. Hunter is getting colostrum three times per day and bentonite clay as well as oil or oregano. The first two days I sprayed colloidal silver in his mouth to make sure the tooth area healed and he is still getting colloidal silver sprayed on his face to keep that incision healing cleanly. If your pup is having stitched in the mouth I would feed coconut oil two times per day and get come colloidal silver in a spray container to spritz in his mouth probably three or four times per day, it really helps. JMHO I hope all goes well.:wink:


----------



## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

oh, i so hope all turns out well.....


----------



## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

My foster dog Parker had 20 teeth removed. 

I am giving him ground meat with bone and fish/pork/chicken cut up into little pieces. It's pretty much what I do for Snorkels except he can't gnaw on bones while his mouth is healing.


----------



## BeagleCountry (Jan 20, 2012)

My oldest girl, Misty, had 2 growths and 2 teeth removed this morning. One of the growths was under the teeth requiring the extractions. Everything is on the same side and there are dissolvable stitches. For dinner she had finely chipped raw beef with some beef liver. Breakfast will be finely chipped deboned raw chicken thigh meat. Any meat small enough to swallow rather than chew should be fine. Understandably, her mouth is sore. Depending on her comfort level I'll decide Sunday morning rather to add ground egg shells to the meal, chicken wings separated into sections or possibly a chicken leg with the bone cut in 2 or 3 places for no strain chewing. They bounce back so fast she may be able to chew the bone using the good side of her mouth in a day or 2. Vets routinely send the patient home with antibiotics and pain meds. Infection is something to watch for but is not a major concern.

Mist was home 3 hours post surgery. She was still groggy and a little unstable on her feet. She was not interested in water. She did drink a small amount of water with some chicken broth added for flavor. Being a good beagle she wanted food, food, food. I gave her a tablespoon of raw meat. Did the same 3 more times over a couple of hours. With some food in her stomach she slept until dinner. She ate her dinner with gusto. She is resting now which I expect her to do most of the night.

Once an experienced vet gets a good look at the growth an educated guess as to the diagnosis can often be made. This may or may not alleviate some of the anxiety while waiting for the lab results. She/he can definitely tell you if clean margins were possible.


----------



## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

Thanks for all the input guys. It is seriously appreciated and I've decided to keep her on raw.


----------



## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

One other question though, what if they don't prescribe me antibiotics? I just remembered when we asked about the post-op medications they said that they wouldn't be giving us antibiotics but she was going to receive a shot of antibiotics. I'm pretty sure I know what I am going to hear when I ask her surgeon if she can eat her normal raw meals after surgery... :|

And just for the lol factor, the tech who was taking care of us was all "Let me see if the surgeon wants to do a dental as well" and went back to ask (she was totaling up costs) she came back saying that the Dr didn't even see any plaque when I had opened Indi's mouth. That made me smile at least.


----------



## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

Liz said:


> HI, I am sorry your pupper is having surgery. My boy had a abcess drained with an incision to his cheek and a tooth removed. Friday I gave him the bit of ground I had and he did great and Saturday morning I gave him turkey hearts - again no problem. By Saturday night he was running his own turkey buffet by stealing the turkey necks i was thawing to repackage. He ate two with no ill effects at all and helped himself to three on Sunday. The tooth is not that big a deal obviously. I would definitely give ground if there are stitches inside the mouth for probably 5 - 7 days. You can buy ground chicken or turkey and add ground, dried eggshells instead of bone. If you have a grinder just grind up a whole chicken. I would be more concerned with stress and boosting the immune system. Hunter is getting colostrum three times per day and bentonite clay as well as oil or oregano. The first two days I sprayed colloidal silver in his mouth to make sure the tooth area healed and he is still getting colloidal silver sprayed on his face to keep that incision healing cleanly. If your pup is having stitched in the mouth I would feed coconut oil two times per day and get come colloidal silver in a spray container to spritz in his mouth probably three or four times per day, it really helps. JMHO I hope all goes well.:wink:


This is the kind of post that would be lovely to have in the new 'Natural Health' section if it ever gets started!!!!


----------



## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

When PArker had his surgery, they told me just to squish his dog food up into a mush. They didn't say what kind of dog food 

But, raw food can be squished up just like canned. And I wouldn't think not having antibiotics would change anything. She will still have the same digestive juices.

I'm surprised they aren't going to give antibiotics. It seems like my vet prescribes them for every single tiny problem


----------



## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

CavePaws said:


> One other question though, what if they don't prescribe me antibiotics? I just remembered when we asked about the post-op medications they said that they wouldn't be giving us antibiotics but she was going to receive a shot of antibiotics. I'm pretty sure I know what I am going to hear when I ask her surgeon if she can eat her normal raw meals after surgery... :|
> 
> And just for the lol factor, the tech who was taking care of us was all "Let me see if the surgeon wants to do a dental as well" and went back to ask (she was totaling up costs) she came back saying that the Dr didn't even see any plaque when I had opened Indi's mouth. That made me smile at least.


i'm glad you decided to stick with raw....and i am also glad indi will get a shot of antibiotics instead of a course of antibiotics.

too many docs and vets are prescribing antibiotics...and we're becoming resistant to them.....


----------



## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

So you think the shot will do it? I mean. I got my tongue pierced and I still ate sushi lol. I just took care of the piercing and it healed up within 2 weeks...When I got my cartilage and bellybutton pierced I went swimming in the lake about a week later. Isn't the idea of sutures to close the wound completely so that bacteria doesn't get in there? 

I have a thermometer for the dogs ears that reads their temp in one second. I can use that to monitor her temp so I know if anything is going south. Liz, any suggestions on holistic things to up the immune system and make infection less likely?


----------



## BeagleCountry (Jan 20, 2012)

For no particular reason I never mentioned post surgical eating. The surgical site will have stitches. Kibble has bacteria. Kibble may need to be chewed. Raw can be ground, mashed or cut into tiny pieces. Straight down the throat bypassing the mouth. No chewing required.

Vets routinely give antibiotics following dental cleaning which I never gave. A dog's mouth has natural bacteria to protect itself. Think wolf in the wild with a mouth injury. I am giving the antibiotics now because Misty is older and had so much done at once. She would probably be fine, if not better, without the antibiotics.


----------



## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

The antibiotic shot maybe a slow, long acting one that lasts a few weeks called Convenia. Any idea on the name of it? 

If its not that then its probably penicillin and that only lasts approximately 24 hours. I'd be surprised if they didn't sent home antibiotics for a mass removal and dental extractions. 

Emmy just had a tooth extracted a few months ago. I fed her ground meats that were mixed with finely ground egg shells and her fish oil. I did this for a week or so. Be prepared for yellow poops if you feed this! 

Let us know what the biopsy comes back with. Fingers crossed its benign!


----------



## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

Looking over the paperwork - she is getting a shot of ampicillin - they are sending us home with deramaxx and tramadol. Should I ask for antibiotics?


----------



## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

Beaglecountry keep me updated on how miss Misty is doing and how the biopsy goes. Sending our positive healing vibes your way!


----------



## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Ampicillin is an antibiotic that is related to amoxicillin but is usually given via IV drip with dogs. It is not a long acting antibiotic. 

I think you should see how things go before asking for oral antibiotics. 

I'm personally not a fan of deramaxx. I'd stick with just Tramadol or request metacam/meloxicam instead because it is generally safer than other NSAIDs.


----------



## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

Okay, I'll see if they'll prescribe her metacam instead of deramaxx. So, we probably shouldn't need antibiotics? How can I tell if she needs them? I'm just so scared to complicate things with an infection - but that is just me being a very concerned and freaked out dog mamma.

I'm guessing it will be a while before she can play ball or anything as well. Honestly, I'm a little more concerned about her going out into the yard and picking up a ball that might have rolled in poo or something.  That seems like a bigger concern than eating raw food! I guess I'll be on constant poop patrol now.


----------



## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

CavePaws said:


> So you think the shot will do it? I mean. I got my tongue pierced and I still ate sushi lol. I just took care of the piercing and it healed up within 2 weeks...When I got my cartilage and bellybutton pierced I went swimming in the lake about a week later. Isn't the idea of sutures to close the wound completely so that bacteria doesn't get in there?
> 
> I have a thermometer for the dogs ears that reads their temp in one second. I can use that to monitor her temp so I know if anything is going south. Liz, any suggestions on holistic things to up the immune system and make infection less likely?


it used to be that antibiotics were given prophylactically before any teeth cleaning or any oral surgery.

research has found that during surgery, the mouth is made to be more antiseptic.....so post surgery, the patient is now swallowing all kinds of bacteria....making antibiotics a thing of the past...other than during the surgery or treatment, if necessary.

you feed your dog raw, and, whilst there is bacteria in abundance.....naturally, your dog has an advantage over many dogs....which is digestive juices in perfect harmony with nature.....designed to kill and maim and destroy bacteria that is harmful. 

that shot of ampicillin during or after surgery should be enough.

that said, always keep an eye out for anything that goes sideways....and just for giggles, i'd have some grape seed extract on hand..... the oil, not the capsules.

it's a natural antibiotic....


----------



## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Keep tabs on her temperature. Normal is 99-102 so if her temp spikes past 102, then she may be getting an infection. She will also show more pain symptoms like sensitivity because serious infections are painful. 

Keep us posted!


----------

