rascalsmom

What do you consider to be the very best, ultimate toothpaste for dogs? My dear little Ruby, age 9, has bad teeth and gum disease, and she's had a dental annually. Last February, after her dental, I committed to brushing the dogs' teeth EVERY DAY, and I have done really well....I think I missed only one or two days since then. In spite of that, at her check up last week the vet says she needs her teeth cleaned again. So far she has had four or five teeth extracted. Buddy also has icky teeth (he is nearly12)....his little teeth in the front are awful, and when he had his dental in May I told the vet to go ahead and pull them if she thought they needed it, but she didn't. Those teeth are ground down, and you can just tell they are sensitive; he winces when I try to brush them. I guess the vet thought they weren't *bad enough* to pull. Even though his dental was in May, I can tell his teeth are bad again...the breath is really getting bad.....Buddy has had NO teeth pulled. So, I have used a LOT of different toothpastes, and wonder what all of you consider THE BEST and MOST EFFECTIVE. Here are some that I've used: Petrodex Triple Pet CET Dent-Acetic PetZLife Wysong Denta Treat These run the gamut from a few dollars a tube up to almost $25 for a bottle! Anyone?

I bought several bags of the shredded blend, and at first the dogs seemed to really like it. As time went by, however, they were less enthusiastic, and Rascal would eat all the crunchy bits and leave every bit of the shredded pieces. So they are back to Diamond Naturals Chicken and Rice. It's cheaper anyway.

Buddy was diagnosed with pannus recently, after having had a corneal ulcer. He initially was put on tacrolimus drops, but those irritated his eye. He is now on Optimmune ointment once a day. He only has it in ONE eye, but the doc said it could develop in the other eye, too; he has to go back to the specialist in April/May for a recheck.

Have you shoveled paths for them, Paula? That's what we always do. My DH says they probably look like "crop circles" from above! But the dogs really seem to appreciate it. We make paths, and large circular areas for them to use.

Poor old fellow. I constantly worry about Buddy doing that; he's nearly 12, and navigating the stairs has become a bit more challenging for him recently....but thank God no cancer was seen in your guy!!

I'm so sorry for your loss, Tami.

I'm so sorry to hear this, Judy. You will be in my thoughts today.

Poor boy. Lots of hugs and kisses are in order for him, once you get home. I hope he feels better soon, and I hope your ice melts!!

Well, Daisy is a cat, not a dog, but she seems to love her Purina NF kidney food (the canned).....

Buddy has pannus, too, but only in ONE eye. It developed after he suffered a second (since we've had him) corneal ulcer. The tacro drops irritated Buddy's eye, so he is now on Optimmune ointment and is tolerating that quite nicely. Maybe the tacro is bugging your dog....

Oh, Judy, what a wonderful tribute. They were so blessed to have been found by you and your hubby, and likewise you were blessed to have them.

I shall be thinking of you this weekend, Melissa.

I hope she continues to improve. Did they get the bad tooth (or teeth) out?

Thanks for the info. It really seems that pannus isn't something that is easily diagnosed....or maybe "frequently misdiagnosed" might be a better way to put it. Buddy had the Optimmune ointment last night and he seemed fine with it. His follow up appointment on Dec. 1 is with the OTHER, older, original doctor from this practice, so hopefully a second set of eyes looking at Buddy will bring some sort of definitive answer. I hope you get Carl figured out, too. It's so hard when they "think" something is wrong but can't really say what it is.

You are right. I was just kind of surprised that a young woman vet would not have a better "manner". She was OK, but not very personable....

Well. Here is the latest. I talked to the vet tech again, and expressed my concerns about the same medication in a different form. She said we could try Optimmune, which is generally well tolerated but not as strong. It is an ointment. She also said that it would be OK to make the follow up appointment with Dr. B. instead. So, I got the Optimmune. It was "only" $43, as opposed to the $49 that the tacrolimus drops were (and the ointment would've been about the same). So I saved some money. I also changed Bud's follow up appointment to be with Dr. B. After I did all that, I come back here and read that some of you didn't have any more success with tacro ointment, than with the drops, and I feel so much better about NOT getting the tacro ointment!! Oh, and one more question. Is it common for pannus to affect only one eye??

OMG, Paula, how awful....is she at PVSEC?

Apparently the tacrolimus drops are bugging Buddy. Buddy's eye/tacrolimus drops I had a call in to the ophthalmologist about it, and after TWO DAYS ( ) they finally called me back. They want me to try him on tacrolimus OINTMENT. Explained how it could be the "vehicle" that the medication is in, not the actual medication, that is irritating him. Is this going to work? Have any of you had the ointment work, when the drops didn't? I questioned the girl, since the drops were $50, and the ointment will be similarly priced....I really don't want to end up with $100 worth of meds that are useless.... Not to mention the fact that the doctor "thinks" he "may" have pannus....I actually suggested that maybe Dr. K should consult with Dr. B.....don't know. It also irritated me that I called them Wednesday MORNING, and they were supposed to call me yesterday, and never did. I had to call back today in order to talk to someone. Not impressed. Any ideas?

Oh my, what a relief!!

I admit I wonder about this, too. She said she felt it was an atypical way for pannus to develop; the ulcer first, and then in another part of the eye something that looks like pannus. I have thought about seeing if we could make the follow up appointment with the "original" doctor of the practice (Dr. B.) instead; he was the one who treated Buddy five years ago. For this incident we've been seeing his associate, a young woman (Dr. K). Then again, Dr. K is the one who knows what this has looked like all along, not Dr. B. rycezmom, I thought about an adjustment period too, but I am so concerned about him redamaging the area that was ulcerated....I hate to have him go through treatment for THAT again!

Yes, this has been since the first part of October!! Initially we went to our regular vet for the scratch which produced the ulcer. Didn't heal, so we went to the specialist. Specialist did the debridement/keratotomy. Upon the checkup, she noticed another "area" that was taking up the dye. Upon second checkup, she "thinks" he may have pannus. Now the tacrolimus drops are really bothering him, and he's rubbing the eye again!! AAAAAAGGHGHHHGH!!! (I might add, DH is not happy about the cost of all this, and he doesn't even know the running total...he realizes we have to do what needs to be done, but he tends to look at things like "it will take me XXX hours of work to pay for that")

What great news!!

Buddy started tacrolimus drops two days ago for *suspected* pannus. This was diagnosed by an ophthalmologist. The drops are making him want to rub his eye, which of course I don't want him to do, since we just got the ulcer healed up! : I called them today, and the doc who has been seeing him isn't in today, so the tech will talk to her tomorrow and call me then. In the meantime I quit giving the drops; he is still getting his antibiotic drops today. Yesterday he even tried rubbing his eye after the antibiotic drops!!...which he wasn't doing before. This is so frustrating. We are many hundreds of dollars into it, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. The doggone pannus drops were like $50....And now they are irritating him....the four drops I've given him have proven to be VERY expensive, if I can't use the rest of the bottle! Sorry for the rant, just needed to vent a little.

No idea, Paula, but I'll pray for your girl...and for you, too. Let us know what the vet says.

There are two others in the practice...one of whom treated Buddy five years ago....