This is hard for me - Teeth problems

Okay, firstly i want to beg noone to chew me out, i am admitting i have a problem and admitting i have not handled the situation well but i am asking for help now.


Story is Lexi my 7yo staff has a love of chewing metal, gates, dishes, crowbars..anything metal really..

Anyway about a year or so ago i noticed that she had broken off a canine tooth. It was a clean break so i did't think anything of it. A number of months ago i noticed shes broken the other one off too, again a clean break. Both are not near the gum and are not causing her any eating problems.

Thing is i don't brush her teeth and am becoming worried about them, i know i'm awful i should have taken her straight to the vets about them

I know most of you will say "doesnt your vet check her teeth when vacc" well for personal reasons i don't vacc her (she never leaves my yard (its very big her pen is about 1/2 acre big then at night she has the run of the full yard of about 1 acre.), only to go to my own fields, and is never in contact with any dogs)

Im being honest and asking for advice, not insults.

Will she be okay with them? as said she is eating fine and still chewing anything and everything so i don't think shes in pain. I have to admit im scared of taking her to the vets 1. because she usually goes mad and growls and barks at other dogs 2. because im embarrassed about this situation..

Any HELP is appreciated.

I don't think it will be too bad, but chewing metal is pretty extreme and I'm pretty sure she will keep losing/breaking teeth if she is going after metal. Any chance of weening her from that habit? I would watch to make sure there isn't any infection or anything but I doubt there would be with clean breaks. Did they bleed or is there evidence of any other teeth problems?

The thing is the nerves you know what its like when you need a filling and she may have compesated eating on the good side but now she has done both , the trouble is they have a very strong pain threshhold tolerence and dont like to complain much. I too dont vacinate as Ive done research and dont feel its necesary after a certain age but if she were mine Id get someone to look at her just for peace of mind Id hate to think she was in constant pain

There was never any bleeding and all her other teeth are fine (if a little stained )

I have removed anything metal from the area but i can't remove the gates and she just walks through wood (ive had to brick up a wooden fence)

Her fave toy now though is a big plastic tray like an industrial one..its literally the only thing she plays with. The only other thing she has ever shown interest in is a cricket ball, but she got bored after a day lol

gem wrote:The thing is the nerves you know what its like when you need a filling and she may have compesated eating on the good side but now she has done both , the trouble is they have a very strong pain threshhold tolerence and dont like to complain much. I too dont vacinate as Ive done research and dont feel its necesary after a certain age but if she were mine Id get someone to look at her just for peace of mind Id hate to think she was in constant pain

She allows me to look at her teeth and push on them she just tries to lick my hand. There is no inflamation at all. And never was.

p.s. im glad another person doesnt vacc! I have seen a DVD about the horrors of it and i don't vacc any of my animals and never have, none of them have EVER been ill apart from my 15 yo lab getting cancer which can't really be helped.

Sounds like you are doing all you can. I've seen dogs with teeth worn down so small they hardly exist anymore. You just got lucky and have an extreme chewer! Look for evidence of exposed nerves, but other than that, it sounds like it will be ok. Makes their smile a little interesting I bet.

She looks....gummy...like an old person lol.

Thanks for being nice, i was expecting a big trolling on me lol

It probably won't hurt her if she's not showing any signs of discomfort, but I'd keep an eye on it just in case. Mt ast dog broke off a canine tooth & never suffered any ill from it.

I think you should try to train her out of the chewing if you can, though - save it happening to any more teeth!

Equi wrote:p.s. im glad another person doesnt vacc! I have seen a DVD about the horrors of it and i don't vacc any of my animals and never have, none of them have EVER been ill apart from my 15 yo lab getting cancer which can't really be helped.

I only vaccinate every 3 years as there's no need for more frequent. And as gem says, once Dempsey gets to about 7 or 8 I probably won't vaccinate again.

Equi wrote:Thanks for being nice, i was expecting a big trolling on me lol

How would it help you if we were nasty about it? We all get problems & sometimes we need to ask for advice!

So they dont need vaccines after the main 2 they have has pups.Ive taken out vaccines for life for milly looks like i have wasted money.And i also have my other 2 dogs vaccines done every year

The vaccines should be given as the puppy course, and then the first yearly booster. After that it's every 3 years, or whatever the need in your particular area. For example, if there have been a lot of cases of Leptospirosis in your area, your vet might recommend more frequent vaccination.

All vaccines now have an effective life of 3 years.

I also only vaccinate in the first year and then every 3 years.

I know this was an original post about teeth, but yes even my vet said when I took Jethro for his yearly needles this year that he only needs a booster every 3 years.. he just had his kennel cough vaccine this time.... good to know my vet just isn't in it for the $$$$$$.........

hope you get your doggies teeth sorted out anyway!

Our last Staffy "Zac", wasnt vaccinated after the main jabs early on, and was fit as a fiddle till we finally lost him to a tumor in his mouth that couldnt be removed (RIP Zac), he loved to much tree's, logs, tare anything wooden to bits, and I was constantly picking splinters, and goowy wood deposites jammed deep between his teeth and gum line ... and to this day I'm not sure if this had something to do with what finally caused the tumor (and bad breath) but I guess we will never know

Max on the other hand, is an eater, of stuff he shouldnt ... mainly fox poo ... and living it the stix, there's never a shortage for him so knowing what nasty parasites/infections can be in wild animal poo, he will get all the jabs he can I'm afraid

Andy wrote:
Max on the other hand, is an eater, of stuff he shouldnt ... mainly fox poo ... and living it the stix, there's never a shortage for him so knowing what nasty parasites/infections can be in wild animal poo, he will get all the jabs he can I'm afraid

But they are not necessary every year. Why pump chemicals into your dog that are not needed? The vaccinations will last for 3 years unless your vet knows of a particular problem in your area.

Hi Caryll, as I said, where we are, there is a very healthy fox community, so we arent talking occasional exposure ... its everywhere round here (woodland and and lots of farm land) ... and I just dont beleive that a chemical from a very small jab, 2 or 3 years after it is given, would give him enough cover against all sorts of nasty's, that lets face it, can wipe out a fox community untreated !!

but obviously its each owners decision how often to give the boosters, and in our circumstance's I'd rather be safe than sorry

Andy wrote:Hi Caryll, as I said, where we are, there is a very healthy fox community, so we arent talking occasional exposure ... its everywhere round here (woodland and and lots of farm land) ... and I just dont beleive that a chemical from a very small jab, 2 or 3 years after it is given, would give him enough cover against all sorts of nasty's, that lets face it, can wipe out a fox community untreated !!

but obviously its each owners decision how often to give the boosters, and in our circumstance's I'd rather be safe than sorry

It isn't the chemical that stays around in the body, it's the antibodies that it promotes, and believe it or not, these stay active for at least 3 years. The only time you need more frequent vaccination is if there is a high incidence of a particular didease, ie leptospirosis or distemper, in which case a vet may well decide that dogs need vaccinating for these diseases more frequently.

The only things that will affect dogs and foxes are mange and distemper. Mange can't be treated with vaccination, and if your vet feels that the fox community is sufficiently riddled with it, then he may well vaccinate against distemper on a yearly basis.

By all means get your dog vaccinated yearly if that's what you want to do, but it isn't necessary!

If I were in your shoes Andy and I had your worries then I would get your dog tested yearly to check the imunity instead of putting all these chemicals into your dog on a yearly basis only trying to help and its your decision but its somethink to think about,
I mean we all need to think do we need our jabs done on a yearly basis and for those who have kids would we put them through this too vets have been abusing our love for our pets for too long for profitable gains

Caryll/Gem ... yeah take onboard what ya sayin, will have to think about it some more, but yea, we would feel better if he had an MOT every year

Kobi has the same love of metal and his teeth are also awful because of it.About 18 months ago he was chewing on a piece of angle iron and cracked his tooth straight down through the middle to the gum,he had to have it removed at a cost if £500 !!!! All his teeth are now bad but my vet says that as long a they aren't a greyish colour then they are fine,if they do go grey then this means that the nerve is dead/dying and could cause problems with infections etc.

How effective are the dentastick things that you get for dogs to chew? Trying to brush Violets teeth did not go well at all, and as her pet insurance doesn't cover dental work, I've been getting them for her to chew on. She loves the taste of them, but I wonder if they are really doing her any good?