Itching gums

[goldenbear2013]

Hi all,

My dog has been itching/pawing at his gums for some time now, and the other day when I gave him a rawhide bones there was blood on it but when I checked his mouth i couldnt see where it was coming from. The itching isnt constant but it becoming more frequent.

His breath is also really bad.

We have started brushing his teeth, but I'm afraid we dont do it daily; very naughty on my part, but usually he has dentastix.

I have done some digging on the internet and these 2 symptoms lead to Gingivitus.

I will be taking him to the vet as i know the internet isnt the best place to look for diagnosis but i just wanted to ask on here first if anyone has experienced this with their dog, what the diagnosis was at the vet and the treatment they had. and terribly sorry to ask, how much it cost!

we have insurance so there is no issue. but just trying to get some information from anyone who has experience this with their dog, before i get him to the vet.

Thank you

 

[Raven oaktree]

Poor bear . he is very young to have gum problems, so i think your right in that a trip to the vets is the best thing ...hope he is ok and all thats needed is a regular tooth brushing session xxx

 

[goldenbear2013]

me too Beth! I'm going to brush his teeth every day for the next week and get him to the vet next weekend, so i can monitor if the itching has died down a bit.

hopefully it's nothing serious!

i'll let you know what they say xx

 

[Raven oaktree]

Im a great fan of coconut oil...and as im studing for a degree in herbal medicine im often doing research . The other day i came across an article about using raw unprocessed coconut oil for teeth whitening ..but it also said it was antibacterial and helps treat sore swollen gums..i wounder if it would work if you put some in a kong for example ??...as well as brushing obviously ..it might be worth a shot ??

Ive just typed into good old google 'coconut oil for dogs gums' came up with all kinds of research

http://bostonstreetvet.com/2014/12/12/10-uses-for-coconut-oil-for-pet-health/. ...just one of them

what i will say is you need the raw unrefined stuff

I use biona organic (raw and unrefined) but my friend who i reccomeded it too for her collies skin problems found that holland and barret do a raw unrefined one for half the price . Cant remember if it was organic though?/.. its works wonders for her dogs skin and coat..and honestly i think you have nothing to lose if you are gonna watch him for a week anyway xx

 

[eingana]

Oh poor Bear- he's very young for gum problems though, so I'm behind the getting him to a vet once you've got him into a routine with cleaning and seeing how that improves things. A lot of gum problems are down to diet, but there also has to be a genetic part to that because I've seen loads of data about both cats and dogs who have gum disease very early on when they really shouldn't, and managing things from being very young are the key to not being in pain and not needing repeated dentals at the vets. I've seen cats who have had all of their teeth out at under a year old because of the recurrent gingivitis that the vets simply can't sort out- and that just has to be part genetic if they're on the same diet as the other cats they live with.

Turkey, chicken and duck necks are fabulous natural teeth cleaners because of the stringy tissues and bones that break into flat surfaces- and most dogs just love them too. If you're up for a bit of raw feeding they could be part of an answer and they clean the inner surfaces that we just can't reach properly.

Raw carrots are also good natural teeth cleaners, and as with humans, cheese has enzymes that reduce plaque so a small lump of cheese to finish off a meal could be a good plan (although it's very high calorie so you'll need to factor that into his diet).

I also know quite a lot of dogs that have their own electric toothbrushes and who come to have their teeth cleaned because they like the sensation, so if you're going to have to clean his teeth every day that's worth looking into. Electric brushes, particularly the Oral B ones I have found, are very good for hardening the gums up again, although they do bleed rather a lot in the first few days.

Whatever you do, please don't use any human products which are to reduce plaque because most of them contain artificial sweeteners which are dreadfully toxic to animals. Xylitol in particular in even low doses can kill dogs in only a few hours.

 

[goldenbear2013]

That's awesome Eingana thank you for that!

I have never had this issue with my other dogs as they chewed their food! Bear doesn't chew his food, he just swallows it whole!

We do give Bear carrots quite a bit as a healthy treat as I know they are good for his teeth.

I'll give the turkey necks a go if its going to help him along. Do you know where I would get them from, as I dont feed Bear raw normally but I could give him one every now and again.

I have bought dentastix for him too, the minty ones to help his breath, so he will have one a day and I will brush his teeth everyday too for the next two weeks (i'm away next weekend so I cant take him to the vet then) and i will seeing if the itching wears off. If it does then I will just keep going until it stops.

If it carries on the same then he will be off to the vets. It may be he needs his teeth professionally cleaned by the vet and then i will just keep up his dental care everyday.

I should of brushed his teeth from day one really but as i never had this problem before, it never crossed my mine.

Very naughty on my part really but lets see how it goes!

Thanks again for the great advice it's really helpful!

Sophie x

 

[eingana]

I just get them from my local raw feeding shop, so I'd find wherever your local raw feeders shop and buy them there An alternative would be a wholesale butchers, but you may be buying chicken necks from there because the turkey trade is seasonal (surprise surprise) so fresh turkey necks are only available sometimes. The one thing you may have to do is to cut them in half because a full length turkey neck is actually really big, and would be too big for Molly to eat all in one go. She loves to eat them but then regurgitates half of it back up again as she overfills her stomach.

If you are buying them raw then I can recommend a way to cut them up whilst still frozen so you can just defrost the bit you need. We use long handled tree croppers but I'm sure a hacksaw would work just as well.

I hope you manage to get on top of Bear's plaque and tartar soon

 

[goldenbear2013]

Hi all,

Well its been just over 10 days now and since brushing his teeth every day and giving him a dentastix (which i make him chew!!) he has only scratched his gums twice!

I have even bought him an electric tooth brush as suggested by you Eingana. BEYOND HILARIOUS! He didnt like his toothbrush too much but he definitley doesnt like the electric one! It's so funny. The face he has after I'm done he just looks at me like I've just beaten him to a pulp! he just goes into his crate and sulks like a child!

He will get used to it eventually and I'm just glad that i finally have a dental routine for him that seems to be working!

Thank you all for the advice! It's been very useful!

Sophie x

 

[Raven oaktree]

Thats great news x