# Please help



## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

My youngest Italian greyhound broke his leg. We took him into the vet and they surgically fixed it (he has a plate now). Well during the surgery, a vet tech called and asked if we wanted to have a dental done because the vet said he saw some plaque, I said no because she said it would add another 15-20 minutes under anethesia (not good for these guys). But then the vet called and said that he had an infected molar (I don't know how I could have missed that), so of course I told them to fix it. Found out they just did a dentla cleaning for gigivitis(sp?). Anyway, he still is refusing to drink anything, not even licking a ice chip. I was wondering if this is unusual for a dog that's had these kind of procedures?


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## cast71 (Sep 16, 2010)

I really have no experience with dental cleanings, but extra virgin coconut oil will prevent future infections from happening. You can give him 1 tablespoon 3-5 times a week. I'm not sure of the diet your feeding, but it sounds like your dog needs more chews. Deer antlers are awesome. 

Wholesale to the Public: Antler Dog Chews |


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i'd be asking the vet why they told you the molar was infected and what they did to uninfect it.

treating for gingivitis is a normal part of any dental because that's the gum line that is inflamed....the gingiva...

but an infected molar is a tooth which is infected, so i'd be calling the vet back to get specifics.

what are you feeding this gorgeous baby? and i'm sorry to hear about the broken leg...: (

just as an aside....if you could avoid sugars, you'll avoid dentals in the future and if you give your dog some beef ribs, those would go a long way to naturally clean the teeth...uncooked beef ribs...


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

Thanks for the info. Right now he's eat dry kibble with a little can at dinner time, and some meat roll afterwards. He does chew on a lot of stuff (have to say stuff because he likes to chew on rocks, opening twist caps, and eating pecans). We went into the vet yesterday to get him checked out because he wouldn't drink a thing. His response to those excellent questions was that gingivitis is an infection. He changed the pain meds to a pill, which seeing how he's whimpering everytime we have to open his mouth, I'm going to try and get it changed to a liquid. He's still not drinking, and I tried to get him to eat a bit of steak and he turned his head away.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

all due respect, gingivitis is not an infection...'itis' means inflammation....and most dogs who are fed kibble have gingivitis to some degree...most humans, for that matter, who eat sugar have gingivitis to some degree....

believe it or not...an old home remedy might be just the thing...and that's home made chicken broth with a little salt in it....the salt makes them thirsty plus it has healing properties, you don't need much at all...the broth has a smell and it tastes good...and it's soothing...if it's a little bit warm...or room temp.

i'd be more concerned with him not drinking than him not eating....it probably hurts....they go underneath the gum and scrape the teeth, the gums and underneat the gums....it's not fun for your dog at all and it's painful....

i don't understand why they said infected molar which is a tooth...when the final outcome was gingivitis which is usually not an infection, but an inflammation...

the pills they gave you? may i ask what they are?

because if it were an infection, i'd fully expect to be given pain medicine and antibiotics.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

I thought of the chicken broth idea too. I found some chicken breasts so I boiled it up. Then I syringed some of the broth into him and after the second time, he ate a teeny amount of the meat. Did that every 2 hrs, with syringing water every hour, and this morning he actually ate a little bit of the shredded meat by himself.  I am so happy, he still won't drink on his own though.
They did send him home with a pain patch, pankillers and anitbiotics. At first they sent him home with metacamdian (sp?) a painkiller and antiinflamitory (both liquids), but when I took him in the 1st day for not drinking/eating, he gave him subcutaneous fluids, told me that everything would be fine and not to worry, then changed his meds to Tradon (sp.) because he didn't want him on an antiinflamitory. But I think those were mostly for the broken leg. 
Thanks for helping me.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i have found that dogs, like people, when they are in pain...lose their appetite...they just don't feel well....but chicken broth with the tiniest bit of salt and some boiled chicken should do him fine.

and you might find yourself feeding him broth and chicken until the pain settles down...

and you are very welcome...it's so wonderful to see someone who loves their dog so much....

the next time you do make some broth, use a fattier chicken...like a whole chicken or thighs...don't feed the bones of course, because they are cooked, but right now your dog needs some fat...


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

If he still isn't eating well, one thing to try is canned Tripett which is canned tripe in either beef, lamb, or venison. My dogs favorite is the lamb and venison.

Usually the smell is enough to entice any dog and when my Mom's dog was ill and wouldn't eat from all the pain meds this canned food was enough to make her eat. It can usually be found at the boutiques that carry high end grain free kibble. Good Luck!:grouphug:


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

whiteleo said:


> If he still isn't eating well, one thing to try is canned Tripett which is canned tripe in either beef, lamb, or venison. My dogs favorite is the lamb and venison.
> 
> Usually the smell is enough to entice any dog and when my Mom's dog was ill and wouldn't eat from all the pain meds this canned food was enough to make her eat. It can usually be found at the boutiques that carry high end grain free kibble. Good Luck!:grouphug:


that and chicken soup and he'll be doin' his thang in no time : )


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

We'll have to go and buy some leg quarters when we finish the breasts. I've never heard of Tripett but then again we don't have any pet boutiques here. We just got a doggie Daycare and it made it into the papers. I just wished he would drink on his own, I'm still having to use a syringe to get any liquids into him :0(


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## _Trish (Jan 31, 2011)

If he's still not wanting to drink any fluids I'd have the vet inject sub-q fluids into him ASAP. One of my dogs wasn't recovering from her spay very well, and this is what I had them do to make sure she did not get dehydrated. She looked like a little camel, they put the fluids under their skin kind of behind their shoulder blades. 

I actually prefer to have multiple things done under anesthesia, if they're going to be under, might as well have them cover several things at once, because one longer session of anesthesia is better than two or three separate shorter ones. I own two breeds that are both brachycephalic (flat faced) which have the most problems with anesthesia. My Frenchie, Louie just had surgery in December, while he was under he had a CT scan done, and had inflammatory hyperplastic polyps removed from his ear canal, as well as having his nares widened (he had stenotic nares). I MUCH preferred only having to put him under once for all of these procedures, versus putting him under multiple times. 

I have bought Nutri-cal to stimulate their appetite, as well as cooking some fresh tuna. Any of my dogs that are refusing food will always eat the tuna, especially if it is stinky canned tuna, but I know that's not good for them. I think it's alright as long as you just use it to get them to start eating, though. At least that's what I've had to do sometimes and have never had any ill effects. 

My dogs have never had to have a dental -- they don't have any plaque or tartar on their teeth and are not raw fed, they eat kibble, but are offered raw meaty bones, antlers, and bully sticks to chew on regularly so their teeth are nice and clean. But I do know from hearing others talk about their dogs dentals that it is usually pretty painful for them afterward. I know when I had dental surgery myself I could not open my mouth wide enough to even fit a spoon into my mouth for about 3 days, slowly but surely it became easier to open my mouth and eat. I found that cold things worked best to start out with, maybe you could offer him some plain yogurt to see if he will eat that, just a small amount. I'd probably try a home cooked bland diet just to see if you can get him to eat, I cook ground turkey or ground beef, with some brown rice, and a little bit of scrambled eggs with a dollop of cottage cheese on top and my dogs are pretty much always inclined to eat that.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

Thanks to everyone for their help. He's better now. He's eating, even being picky now. :0) He only eats when chicken is mixed in with his kibble, but over all, almost back to being his normal self.


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