Guest greytdaze Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Hello from a newbie, and I hope I'm doing this OK. I just took in a senior (12 1/2 yo) grey girl this week. She had her canines when first relinquished but has now lost those. So, being entirely toothless is new to her. Mealtimes are challenging right now. I don't know if she will figure out how to eat better, given time or if I could be doing something better to help her. If anyone in this knowledgeable audience has any suggestions, I'd appreciate the help. Thanks, Lee in Las Vegas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 What are you feeding her? Most dogs don't really chew their food much to begin with, so assuming she's not currently in pain from extractions, and you're feeding her something like kibble that's been soaked in warm water, she should be able to eat just fine. I had a cat who had 16 teeth removed in one shot, and he was eating kibble the next day! Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreytNut Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Agree with the above. Most dogs don't really chew their meals, they gulp. Find some soft treats to give for rewards, and you should be fine just putting water in her kibble. Quote Kristen with Penguin (L the Penguin) Flying Penske x L Alysana Costarring The Fabulous Felines: Squeak, Merlin, Bailey & Mystic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greytdaze Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 What are you feeding her? Most dogs don't really chew their food much to begin with, so assuming she's not currently in pain from extractions, and you're feeding her something like kibble that's been soaked in warm water, she should be able to eat just fine. I had a cat who had 16 teeth removed in one shot, and he was eating kibble the next day! I'm feeding her home-cooked chicken & pasta, with a small amount of soaked kibble. Her difficulty seems to be in picking up the food. I wondered if a deep sided dish might help her, or is a flat bottomed dish better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Vers Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Have you tried canned foods at all? (I have a picky eater, and she likes some of the Merrick canned foods.) I don't know many hounds who like to eat from a deep bowl, but maybe a heavier shallow dish will help your girl eat better? A ceramic or pyrex baking dish? I also wonder if she's having trouble because her sense of smell is diminished. or if she's still hurting from recent extractions (in which case, the vet should be prescribing pain meds). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandimom Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Finally another Nevadan has joined Greytalk and welcome. You and I are the only two Nevadan's on GT. One of my greyhounds was completely toothless and did just fine on kibble soaked in warm water with some canned food or meat added. Like someone else mentioned they gobble and don't chew their kibble. One of our greys just had 8 teeth extracted last week and is eating well on kibble soaked in warm water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greytdaze Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Finally another Nevadan has joined Greytalk and welcome. You and I are the only two Nevadan's on GT. One of my greyhounds was completely toothless and did just fine on kibble soaked in warm water with some canned food or meat added. Like someone else mentioned they gobble and don't chew their kibble. One of our greys just had 8 teeth extracted last week and is eating well on kibble soaked in warm water. Thanks for the welcome! It sounds like I may have been a little too anxious about this situation. She is still on pain meds and antibiotics, so she will probably do better when she feels better. I'm happy to hear about everyone elses hounds doing so well. Thanks for all the advise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartdogs Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Noelle has no trouble eating with out teeth but there are times it is hard to pick things up. I use a stainless steel bowl, actually all my dogs eat frome them & she has no problem. These are regular food bowls that are sold at PetsMart & are about 2" deep. Welcome to GT, oh we need pictures too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greytdaze Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Noelle has no trouble eating with out teeth but there are times it is hard to pick things up. I use a stainless steel bowl, actually all my dogs eat frome them & she has no problem. These are regular food bowls that are sold at PetsMart & are about 2" deep. Welcome to GT, oh we need pictures too. Thank you, and I do appreciate the advice. (didn't spell it right last time) I will try to learn how to post pictures tomorrow. I looked at the tutorial video tonight but the example was how to load from photobucket, which I don't use, and I got lost. Maybe it's just too late. Failing that, I tried to put Dahlia's picture as my profile pic. I don't know if that worked. I got a lot of learning to do. GreytFulLee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 What are you feeding her? Most dogs don't really chew their food much to begin with, so assuming she's not currently in pain from extractions, and you're feeding her something like kibble that's been soaked in warm water, she should be able to eat just fine. I had a cat who had 16 teeth removed in one shot, and he was eating kibble the next day! I'm feeding her home-cooked chicken & pasta, with a small amount of soaked kibble. Her difficulty seems to be in picking up the food. I wondered if a deep sided dish might help her, or is a flat bottomed dish better. Maybe it's just slippery!! I think it's easier for them to eat out of dishes that are NOT flat on the bottom since the food can sort of get jammed down where the sides go up--maybe try a regular mixing bowl? I'm sure she'll adjust fine. Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GryffinSong Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 (edited) I have two older IGs who are, as of a couple months ago, now toothless. I was very worried early on while they were healing, but now that they're healed up they do very well. I ended up using canned food and holding it between my fingers and they could easily take it then. Now that they're fully healed they just snarf food right up out of the bowl. I soak kibble until it's soft and mix it with canned food. IGs have much smaller jaws, so I'm not sure this is an issue with your grey, but my vet warned me against hard kibble for them. My little guys have lost bone and are at risk of jaw breaks if they bite down too hard on something. I was warned against kibble, and especially against bones and other hard chews. Edited August 14, 2011 by GryffinSong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grey8greys Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Kerri is my toothless hound. I feed her kibble and a little can food or cooked chicken, rice, pasta and veggies with warm water mixed in. I use to wait until the kibble was mushy, but she didn't like it that way, now I just mix it all up and put it down for her. She cleans her bowl better then Abel and he has all his choppers I use 2qt stainless bowls for both dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytlady94 Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 If you aren't already, you might try a raised feeding stand so the food will be more on her level. The ones I have come with pretty deep stainless steel bowls. Welcome to Greytalk! Quote Greyhound angels at the bridge- Casey, Charlie, Maggie, Molly, Renie, Lucy & Teddy. Beagle angels Peanut and Charlie. And to all the 4 legged Bridge souls who have touched my heart, thank you. When a greyhound looks into you eyes it seems they touch your very soul. "A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more then he loves himself". Josh Billings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyPoopon Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Cal has only her four canines, and she gets kibble with water. It doesn't sit long enough to really be soft. Her bowl is fairly small (1 litre). She does just fine, although she's pretty messy. For treats, I use soft stuff broken up into small pieces. Quote Standard Poodle Daisy (12/13) Missing Cora (RL Nevada 5/99-10/09), Piper (Cee Bar Easy 2/99-1/10), Tally (Thunder La La 9/99-3/10), Edie (Daring Reva 9/99-10/12), Dixie (Kiowa Secret Sue 11/01-1/13), Jessie (P's Real Time 11/98-3/13), token boy Graham (Zydeco Dancer 9/00-5/13), Cal (Back Already 12/99-11/13), Betsy (Back Kick Beth 11/98-12/13), Standard Poodles Minnie (1/99-1/14) + Perry (9/98-2/14), Annie (Do Marcia 9/03-10/14), Pink (Miss Pinky Baker 1/02-6/15), Poppy (Cmon Err Not 8/05-1/16), Kat (Jax Candy 5/05-5/17), Ivy (Jax Isis 10/07-7/21), Hildy (Braska Hildy 7/10-12/22), Opal (Jax Opal 7/08-4/23). Toodles (BL Toodles 7/09-4/24) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greytdaze Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Cal has only her four canines, and she gets kibble with water. It doesn't sit long enough to really be soft. Her bowl is fairly small (1 litre). She does just fine, although she's pretty messy. For treats, I use soft stuff broken up into small pieces. You've all been a lot of help. It does look like I was over-anxious. It just broke my heart to see her struggle, but she has it all figured out now. She still has some trouble with picking food up and we are still learning what she can and cannot handle. But, I am no longer fearful she isn't getting enough to eat. Thanks again to everyone for the help and the welcome. I have some learning to do on posting but am appreciating the knowledge found in this forum. Lee in Las Vegas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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