2 Questions: Licking Ankles, And Professional Teeth Cleaning

[Guest sorenkkg]

I thought I'd knock out all my questions in one post

 

We were just at the vet (end of ear infection for Haka) and the vet did an all over exam on both Haka and Aleeya, who will be 9yrs old in March.

 

She pushed and pulled on their legs, bending them at the joints (no noises either in the joints or from the dogs), listened to their hearts, gave a GOOD deep look in their ears. All good.

 

1) Now-- before the visit, and the past few days, I notice Haka licking at his ankle joint (just where the foot meeting the leg/hock? area) on both legs.

 

Is this just regular greyhound comfort licking, or should I be thinking about arthritis? He doesn't make a peep going up and down stairs (not that he comes up stairs much) or playing in the backyard.

but

it's VERY cold here the past few days and will be this week... maybe the coldness outside is getting to him?

could it be too dry in the house?

 

2) The vet did say that Haka's teeth are quite dirty-- he last had them cleaned (anasthetic, the whole deal) in Summer 2006.

No extractions, and they of course wanted us to brush them daily but Haka will have NONE of it-- and I save my poking-and-prodding good will with him for nails and ears... He has a big OMH cookie each morning for breakfast, but isn't much of a bone gnawer...

 

Aleeya needs a cleaning too, but apparently Haka is the priority.

 

Here's the questions:

 

a) the estimate has it at $576 (canadian) all in-- isoflorane is stated, they will do xrays, they suggest a "wellness test" prior to anasthetic to make sure he's ok and can handle it, fluids, recovery time onsite... any extractions are extra.

Does that price sound about right to you?

 

how often do you get your dog's teeth cleaned at the vet-- not just a little scaling, but the whole deal like they're proposing here? This would be almost 3yrs between, which I guess is actually too long?

 

I just want to see what other people/dogs do so I can gauge how to proceed.

(I figure we'd do Haka's in a couple months from now (save up a bit of $) and then Aleeya would be done in the summer... )

 

Thanks!

Soren

[Guest RICHandJUDE]

I have two 7 year old greyhounds and a beagle. The greyhounds on occasion lick their legs until they bleed. They love the beagle and play with her all time but I think they are a little jealous. I think they get stressed at times and then do their licking.

 

Our one greyhound (both same age.....born in the same litter) has had his teeth cleaned thoroughly 2 times. The other greyhound doens't seem to have a problem.

 

Don't wait if Haka's teeth are bad. My first greyhound lived to be 15. She needed her teeth cleaned at the end but her back was so bad that the vet did not want to put her under to work on the teeth because we feared she might not walk again if we did. I do think the bad teeth contributed to her death.

[PatricksMom]

Patrick licking a particular joint is a sign that his arthritis is flaring up more than usual and he needs some extra pain medication (I supplement with buffered asprin, since he usually only needs 1-2 days worth), but I'd talk to your vet first.

 

Does the dental include a pre-dental blood panel? Particularly if he is 5-7ish or older, I'd highly recommend that. If the price includes that, it seems like a good deal, if it doesn't, expect that to add $125-150ish in Canadian dollars. I do dentals once a year, and so far no extractions needed.

[Guest Spencers_Greyt]

How old is Haka? Generally, Greyhounds should have a professional dental at the vets on a yearly basis. Even yearly there can be problems. Spencer, who is 8, went in for his yearly in December and had to have 2 molars removed. So if Haka hasn't had a dental since 2006 then it's definitely time! I don't know the ratio of Canadian dollars to American dollars but I paid around $375 for Spencer. I didn't have x-rays done - not sure what the purpose of those would be. Also, now that Spencer is a "senior" I do have a full blood workup done on him to make sure he can handle the anesthesia and nothing pops out from the tests. You should probably bring in Haka a week or 2 early for the blood tests before the dental.

 

Licking of ankles is probably a dry skin thing or a comfort thing - Spencer does it all the time. I wouldn't worry too much about it unless he creates a lick-sore and seems to be uncomfortable or in pain.

 

[Guest sorenkkg]

Ok, thanks for all the replies!

 

Here's what's on the estimate:

 

dental prophy K9 up to 45 minutes...............$71.00

hospitalization with dental/x-ray/acth...........$30.50

isoflurane/15 min... includes monitoring.......$135.00

IV fluids with anesthetic..............................$54.00

(recommended) wellness and presx exam....$86.00

dental xray first size 2.................................$29.00

dental xray each additional size 2.................$26.60

anesthetic induction Ket/Val.........................$119.50

tax............................................................$27.59

total estimated_________________________$579.19 CAD

 

So yes, they recommended a pre-exam blood test as you mentioned...

 

375USD is about 458 CAD right now... in the ballpark-- I'm not looking for a bargain here, just want to make sure we're not being charged for unneccesary things...

 

I can't imagine putting them under every year though! I'd be way to stressed, for starters... but I can see each 2yrs or 3yrs, as needed... this is the first time since 2006 they said he really needs it. I know dental health can lead to other issues, so I do want to keep up with it (and will try, again, to brush his teeth or rub them or something once they're all clean again).

 

re: his licking-- no sores, and he doesn't show any pain, and the vet manipulated him when we were there, no noise from him or comments from her... I guess I'll just let it go until something comes of it?

 

 

[Guest Spencers_Greyt]

Ok, thanks for all the replies!

 

Here's what's on the estimate:

 

dental prophy K9 up to 45 minutes...............$71.00

hospitalization with dental/x-ray/acth...........$30.50

isoflurane/15 min... includes monitoring.......$135.00

IV fluids with anesthetic..............................$54.00

(recommended) wellness and presx exam....$86.00

dental xray first size 2.................................$29.00

dental xray each additional size 2.................$26.60

anesthetic induction Ket/Val.........................$119.50

tax............................................................$27.59

total estimated_________________________$579.19 CAD

 

So yes, they recommended a pre-exam blood test as you mentioned...

 

375USD is about 458 CAD right now... in the ballpark-- I'm not looking for a bargain here, just want to make sure we're not being charged for unneccesary things...

 

I can't imagine putting them under every year though! I'd be way to stressed, for starters... but I can see each 2yrs or 3yrs, as needed... this is the first time since 2006 they said he really needs it. I know dental health can lead to other issues, so I do want to keep up with it (and will try, again, to brush his teeth or rub them or something once they're all clean again).

 

re: his licking-- no sores, and he doesn't show any pain, and the vet manipulated him when we were there, no noise from him or comments from her... I guess I'll just let it go until something comes of it?

 

So do you know what the x-rays are for? That's a big question mark for me.

 

 

[greyhead]

Hypothyroidism, untreated, can cause aching in joints, which can look like arthritis. It also correlates with bad teeth and gum disease. I'm thinking you should request that the bloodwork include a T4 or free-T4 measurement if they weren't planning to do that already. If it would cost additionally, maybe you could do without the x-rays, as Spencer's Greyt suggested, and save a bit that way.

[Guest greytkidsmom]

I would love to be able to get yearly dentals for my Kebo but he needs them every six months

Tiel only needs them every other year so I guess it averages out as far as the wallet goes.

We do brush them all regularly which helps a lot.

The x-rays are to check the roots of the teeth for problems.

I agree with pre-procedure bloodwork.

 

Tiel likes to lick her ankles for no reason that we can figure out. When she gets going we just say "habit" to her and she stops.

 

Good luck to your boy during his dental.

[RobinM]

Polli has had 3 in 14 months, Beau, once every 18 months or so and Chloe and Teddy have been 2++ years. It all depends on the dog and it's genes.

 

Make sure you brush everynight. For a treat, give real raw bones or CET chew..

[PatricksMom]

Are x-rays standard? I've never had my vet recommend them before/during a dental.

[duncan41]

Here's the last bill for one of mine:

Dental Special...............................$120.00

Pre-Anesthetic Testing....................$ 43.18

Placement-Intravenous Catheter.....$ 00.00

Pre-op Pain Management................$ 15.00

Anesthesia-included...................... $ 00.00

Pulse Ex Monitoring........................$ 00.00

Biomedical Waste Disposal..............$ 2.77

TOTAL $180.95

 

My Vet runs a "Dental Special" in February and August of each year - must be their "slow" time. After their dental and if they are done early enough to be awake, they get a bath, ears flushed and nails trimmed. Not too shabby!

 

[Guest sorenkkg]

Hi all,

 

Ok, lot's of great info here!

 

I checked with my adoption group person (who lives in Montreal) and she says the prices and procedures there are about the same, sometimes even higher, so for the "major cities in canada" I guess we're about on par.

 

yes, the xrays are to see if there's any bad stuff happening below the visible area of the tooth...

 

Interesting on the thyroid info-- I have to say that both the pups have GOOD teeth (for greyhounds) actually, so I"m leaning toward this just being a weird new habit... he's also coming upstairs every night for bedtime, and he had stopped doing that for a while-- I'm saying I'd think he'd avoid the stairs if he were in any pain in the joints, you know?

 

I should suggest the "dental special" to my vet! great idea!

 

Thanks everyone