A Few Things

As we get into spring and thunderstorms start to pop up, you may notice your dog getting anxious, pacing, panting, hiding, etc. This is a very common issue that we see and there are remedies that your veterinarian can offer so your dog doesn't have to suffer during this time. There are things like thunder shirts, which offer non pharmaceutical ways to address anxieties and there are good sedatives as well. 

I can tell you that I personally use 5mg of acepromazine on my Shih Tzu because, starting at age 6 (he's 8 1/2 yrs old now), he developed severe anxiety during storms. I have no idea why. Nothing bad or traumatic happened to him during one of these. He tremors and shakes throughout the entire thing if NOT given medication. However, with the ace on board, he's able to relax and sleep. 

Please call your veterinarian if your pet is experiencing these signs.  

The other thing I wanted to share today is a great article on what a proper dental is again. I know I discussed this topic once before but it's important enough to go over again. 

You cannot and should not do a dental cleaning on an awake animal. A few reasons: 
-you cannot get below the gum line
-scraping teeth without polishing creates MORE grooves for
 tartar and bacteria
-your groomer or "friend" does not have the proper dental equipment to do a proper assessment and cleaning (this includes checking for pockets that may call for removal of teeth)

A few things I'll add to this: 
*not ALL vet practices have a dental x-ray machine but you can still do an excellent job - I've seen many cases long term post dental and they were fine - it's the person doing IT that matters the most - what is their training, experience, etc?

*I do not recommend brushing teeth. Why? Well, we brush our teeth 2-3x a day and STILL have dental disease. I do not think anyone can even do that with their pets. I have seen that giving your dog something good to chew on (a bully stick or knuckle bone) will DEFINITELY improve dental health. I have seen it scrape the tartar off the teeth. If you dog will NOT chew, there is nothing you can do to change that. 

The 9 Steps to a Professional Dental Cleaning