Loose Tooth

[Leigha]

One of Kole's front teeth has moved so that it's jutting out a bit forward (imagine if you were to bite down on your thumb and then slide it out of your mouth and the bottom of the tooth moved forward). I think Kole's not feeling well, he's been a little clingy and seems to be running on the warm side. He and Lu were both sitting in my lap and Kole growled at Lu, but before I could even move to separate them he went at Lu (it was a pretty serious one, Lu wasn't hurt). Anyhow, Kole's tooth is a little bloody and moved forward. It's not really LOOSE, it's just repositioned itself. I don't want to stick my finger in his mouth and try to move it around. Kole is licking at it a bit and it seems like he's trying to move it back or get it out. My vet's office is closed tomorrow and as I haven't gotten paid all summer (damn 10 month pay) I really can't afford to take him to the e-vet. Do you think he'd be okay if we hold off taking him to the vet 'til Thursday or Friday when Jason gets paid?

I've read that senior dogs lose their teeth sometimes and admittedly Kole's dental health leaves A LOT to be desired (it was that way before we got him so we've done our best to correct as much as we can) so I'm okay if he's a little gap toothed in the front.

[Wicket]

The tooth may need to be taken out, depending on what the vet says. With the loose tooth, I bet he's not feeling well, which could explain his behavior. I'd definitely book the Thursday appointment as soon as possible and write down any changes he's experiencing.

[josie1918]

Leigha, how old is Kole? Is he a small dog or a dachshund? The lose tooth is not the concern to me, it is the fever, and lethargy. Small dogs especially dachshunds are extremely prone to poor dental health, usually dogs will chew on something, have a tooth come out and on they go. I am not hearing you say anything that sounds life threatening to me, but if he were my dog, I would want the vet to check him over due to the lethargy and fever, the tooth too of course I don't think 48 hours will hurt him, just be sure to keep a eye on him, and be sure he has plenty of water to drink.

[Leigha]

He's going to be 8 this year and he is a dachshund--his teeth are awful. When we got him his back teeth had so much plaque build up that it could be broken off in chunks by the vet's fingernail. His back teeth aren't so bad anymore, but his front canines are pretty gross.

He woke up this morning and he wasn't a little furnace anymore and seemed to be a much happier little boy. I'll definitely keep an eye on him though. I think the heat around here is getting to him a little bit. Lu will run outside, potty and then run back up to the door to come inside. He's outside for a max of 5 minutes and his tongue is hanging on the floor. Kole will go outside to potty and then explore the jungle that has become our unmowed backyard. Then he comes back inside and doesn't feel well for the rest of the evening. Maybe I should just start limiting how much time he spends outside with how hot it is lately.

Now that I'm thinking about it, he got pissy with Lu right after coming in from outside. We'd gone to the grocery store yesterday evening around 7:00, then when we got home we put them outside so we could unload groceries and clean up the kitchen. They were probably outside for 30 minutes or so.

I think part of his snarkiness might also have to do with him being more insecure with Dixie roaming around the house. He doesn't like when she comes up to me when he's in my lap. Jason thinks it's hilarious (it's not) when he'll lean over to kiss me on the head and Kole will whine and climb up my chest to stick his snout between mine and Jason's heads.

[josie1918]

We are having record heat where I live, and I do have to limit my boys' being outside as well, otherwise, we have fevers, diarreha and some vomitting. I wish I had a solution to "the dachshund problem" with teeth, they are simply the worst, I own one now that I rescued, HAD to take him in for a dental the day I got him as he had green drool, that the smell peeled all the wall paper off the walls Poor little dog, he now has 4 teeth left, when he yawns he looks like a staple puller. It just is what it is. Will he let you brush his teeth? You might ask your vet about pulse therapy for him, that is something that isn't too expensive to do, and it does help these guys. Glad everything is better for the little guy, bless his heart.

[Leigha]

He despises having his teeth brushed. I'll talk to our vet about the pulse therapy and possibly having dental work done if needed when we take him in for a check-up.

[Leigha]

I just checked Kole's mouth... the tooth is gone. My poor gap-toothed baby!

[***Melissa***]

Aww

[josie1918]

Leave a quarter under his pillow and be sure to take a picture of him, that is so cute!!!!

[Leigha]

When J gets home this evening I'll have him hold Kole so I can take a pic.

Poor Kole can't catch a break lately. He was limping yesterday, so I checked his foot to see what was up. It looks like something has bit him between his little foot pads (I'm thinking ant) so it's all itchy and from where he's been biting/licking at it it's raw and yucky. We cleaned it out with some peroxide which bubbled like crazy, and then our vet gave us a wound cream when Bruiser got bit by ants on his face so we used a q-tip to get it all on his foot and in between his pads. Then we loosely wrapped it in gauze and taped the gauze to itself. We knew he was going to take it off, we just wanted to give the stuff a little bit of time to sit on his skin before he pulled off the gauze and licked the wound balm off. It actually looked a lot better this morning, but he's still licking at it, so we'll clean it/treat it/wrap it again tonight and hopefully after a day or two more it'll be better.

[josie1918]

Poor little souls, something that does work to take the sting out of bites is apple cider vinegar. You did exactly the right thing by cleaning a raw area with hydrogen peroxide though. Would these be fire ants? We have a lot of "nasty" creatures where I live, but thankfully not those. Prabably shouldnt have mentioned it, or they will move up here next week

[Leigha]

Yep, they're nasty little buggies. We used to have tons of them, now we just have a rogue ant hill or two. The summer we moved into the house we had them in the front and back yard. We'd heard that pouring boiling water on the hills would kill them, so like a little trooper I boiled pot after pot of water and schlepped it outside to pour on the ant hills. I was on my fifth pot when I somehow knocked the pot and the boiling water poured onto my belly. I wanted to scream and cuss and rip my pants off and run in the house, but I was in the front yard in a new neighborhood with kids playing outside two doors down.

This was my thought process (it's sad that I vividly remember these thoughts pouring into my brain): OMFG that's really freaking hot! I should really put this pot down. Oh, wait, if I put the pot on the ground I'm going to burn the grass, don't burn the grass. Pour the water, carry pot back inside. Breathe, it'll be okay, breathe. Okay. Go up the stairs, open the front door. Walk to the kitchen, put pot in sink. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Okay. It's fine Leigha, it's fine. Check your stomach. Be easy, pull the pants away from skin EASILY. Oh sh*t, it's already blistered. Holy cow that's a big blister. Crap, that's going to scar.

All of this happened in probably two minutes max, but I swear it felt like forever. Then I screamed and cried for Jason. Going to school the next day was awful b/c I had to wear pants that zip up and not my sweats that didn't really touch that area b/c I kept them rolled way down below my hips. I had to have the school nurse go to the bathroom with me so she could look at the burn and clean it. How embarrassing was it to go into the office bathroom which barely seats one person with the nurse so I could pull my pants down... The blisters ended up covering a spot right below my belly button that's about the size of half a dollar bill. It took FOREVER to heal. I now have one scar that's slightly smaller than the size of a dime that's probably going to be pink for near forever.

I tell you, my life is something else. You can't make this stuff up.

[josie1918]

Leigha, I will write my book, if you write yours, then someday our dogs can read them and laugh themselves into a coma.

[Noobs]

Poor little souls, something that does work to take the sting out of bites is apple cider vinegar. You did exactly the right thing by cleaning a raw area with hydrogen peroxide though. Would these be fire ants? We have a lot of "nasty" creatures where I live, but thankfully not those. Prabably shouldnt have mentioned it, or they will move up here next week

Apple cider vinegar, you don't say! I used it to get rid of a nasty rash Murphy got from a month at the doggy camp/farm. Too much nature for my city boy, methinks. Anyway it's good to know that it's a good remedy for bites as well. Good info to have in my back pocket.

[Mattie]

Leigha, get a vet check for Kola, this is very similar to how Joe started when he became ill, hopefully it will be nothing but if it is something the quicker you get onto it the better.