teeth

Discussion dedicated to promoting the well-being of your dog through diet, exercise and general health tips.

Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost

Post Reply
Shalista
Posts: 1363
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:04 pm

teeth

Post by Shalista »

So im looking for advice on bax's teeth. they got pretty gunked when he was on kibble but since hes switched to raw they've been very white. recently they've started to pick up some tartar but very minimal. haven't been feeding him anything at all except for his chicken (bone in) because ive been concerned about his pottying (he used to potty if he got especially salty foods).

before we left i noticed him having difficulty chewing a milk bone. he kind of gummed it gingerly and then spat it out a few time before finally breaking it down and eating it. i gave him a few more and he managed to get those down okay. i took him to the vet and the vet checked his teeth and said they looked clean.

now that we've moved this behavior is continuing where hes hesitantly gumming and spitting out a few times milkbones before crunching them down. i also gave him some dried fishskins that a younger bax would have INHALED and hes turned up his nose at most of it. i also *blush* gave him a very stale bagel end as a last ditch attempt to quiet him before i left for work. he gnawed a bit at the end but left 90% of it untouched.

now to be FAIR his appetite is def not 100%. instead of inhaling his chicken at night hes leaving it to wander around before coming back and hes nowhere near as guardy of it as he usually as.

should i be concerned? is this just low appetite due to stress? but why the difficulty eating milk bones when we were at my old house? the vet says he doesnt need a cleaning so thats not it. thoughts?

i'm not used to not having a spare vacuum cleaner in the house :?

EDIT:to be 100% clear im not worried about his APPETITE persay, he eats his dinner eventually and im making allowances for stress affects on his appetite. I'm more concerned with his apparent difficulty to gnaw/crunch/chew on things.
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Erica
Posts: 2697
Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:35 pm
Location: North Carolina

Re: teeth

Post by Erica »

Did the vet examine for fractures? A cracked tooth could cause trouble and are sometimes difficult to see. I'd also check the inside of his mouth (or ask the vet to check) for any swelling or soreness. I hope he's just feeling more nutritionally fulfilled with his food and is getting more picky! But you are right to look into the possibility of a medical reason behind his change in behavior.
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
Shalista
Posts: 1363
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:04 pm

Re: teeth

Post by Shalista »

sadly im 2.5 hrs from my vet right now and in the process of trying to find a new one. Pokeing around in bax's mouth is a dodgy venture at best so i hope the next vet has strong fingers :roll:
Baxter (AKA Bax, Chuckles, Chuckster) Rat Terrier, born 01/16/13
Post Reply