Toothless 9 year old doxie


JessicaF

New Member
I'll try to make this short.

Last Wednesday my dad asked me if I would take my parents' 9 (almost 10) year old dachshund to the vet (my dad had a spinal stroke 3 1/2 years ago and is confined to a wheelchair now so getting around isn't easy for him). The dog, Joey, had been coughing and sneezing for about a week and green stuff had started to spray out whenever he sneezed. My mom just opened a new restaurant and is working 12-14 hours a day so finding time isn't easy for her. As a stay at home mom, I am more flexible and was able to get Joey in right away.

The vet took one look at him and said he had lost all muscle tone in his face. Then he looked at his teeth. They were awful. Vet said he would need to have a tooth extraction done after being on antibiotics for a week. Apparently, the sneezing was from an infection that had gotten into the nasal passages, which was caused by severe dental disease.

I brought Joey to my house the next day because I knew he would get much more attention and care here. My two boys who are 7 and 4 love him and I have two doxie/shih tzu mixes that he likes to play with. Anyway, yesterday was the tooth extraction appointment. When I picked him up in the afternoon, I was informed every single tooth had to come out. I was shocked but I believed it, the poor dogs teeth were so bad and his breath was horrid.

I talked to my mom and we decided I would keep Joey for good. He is very happy at my house and we have plenty of room for him to run and play. Now I need to hear from people who have dealt with a senior dog who has no teeth. I was told soft food (obviously) and that I might even want to mix that with water. What has worked for other? Also, how long until Joey is feeling like himself again? It. Ales my heart so sad to see such a lively dog be so blah and I'm just waiting for him to start running around and annoying my poor old cat again.

Thanks in advance for any helpful advice!

Jessica
 

Penny

New Member
Jessica, bless your heart that you have brought this sweetie into your home to give him a healthier life and one with playmates and attention. I am so happy for him!

My doxies have no trouble swallowing kibble whole so I wouldn't be too concerned about that. My kibble isn't small either.

I don't know how long that infected mouth will take to heal but I'm sure with time he'll be feeling so much better. It must have been awful for him these last few years, and not healthy for the rest of his organs. You've just extended his life.

Please post some pics when you have time.
You gave me a big smile today!
 

CaseyKC

Active Member
My Libby had two teeth removed. The vet suggested rice cooked in sodium free chicken broth with some chicken flesh. I put this into the food processor and pureed it, then froze an ice cube tray full of this mixture. After it was frozen, I emptied the ice cube tray of chicken/rice mixture into a freezer bag. She got two cubes defrosted, and microwaved to room temperature for each meal. I kept her on this for about a week. The next week I soaked her regular kibble in warm water until it was very soft. Because she only had to have two teeth removed, she went back to her regular 1/4 cup of Taste of the Wild once her extraction sites had healed, but you could soak her kibble until soft and puree it for her. I would guess that once her mouth has healed, non pureed, but soft soaked kibble would be fine. Hope this helps.
 
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