Thursday, March 13, 2008

No, I Do Not Brush My Dog's Teeth

My dog, Buddy, just had his teeth cleaned yesterday and thankfully, he is still alive and well after the procedure. But, he did need 7 extractions!



Am I the worst dog owner in the world or what?!?!!?




The vet showed me the pictures of his rotting teeth, handed me some doggy teeth maintenance paste and instructed me how to put this on my dog's little bitty teeth. (he weighs only 6 pounds). Of course, she also told me how this could have been avoided all together had I been



A. Brushing them on a regular basis



B. Paid every couple of years (to the tune of several hundred dollars) for him to have his teeth cleaned.



Now, before you call the SPCA on me, I want to state, here and now, how much I love this dog. And prior to having my 2 children, I actually did brush his teeth every day. Peanut butter flavored toothpaste - every day. He was my only baby and I had the time and energy to do this.



Yeah, so then I had two real babies and keeping them alive and entertained took priority over brushing my little dog's teeth. Imagine, that.



I tried to explain this to her. You know, mother to mother. She has one child. I thought she would understand.



She looked at me and nodded. And I might add that her expression and nod were a little condescending. "Of course, I understand." , she says.



Not really, she doesn't because she. is. a. VETERINARIAN!




She told me she puts that doggy teeth maintenance goo on her dogs teeth every week (her big dog) and she has a child AND runs a full-time vet practice. Well, she didn't say those last couple things, but I am sure she was thinking this.




I am sure she was also thinking, "You must be busy! Why you still have your workout clothes on and haven't showered, yet." Well, at least I worked out twice this week! I guess I should have been skipping the work outs and spending time brushing my dog's teeth. Again, she did not actually say this, but I really think she was thinking it.




Okay, as a side note here: I completely blame any blemishes in my appearance or any tardiness this week on the fact that I have one less hour. Say what you want, but that time change thing really messes with me.


Anyway, today he is healing nicely and I am feeding him his painkillers like a good mommy would. He was already on an antibiotic for a UTI. So, I am rolling all his meds in a little piece of chicken to make sure he eats them, is comfortable and heals nicely. I have a week to start the tooth maintenance project. But with all this guilt - I will happily add it to my list of things to do.

To check out a photo of Buddy, look at this post . I am not at my desktop computer - remember Computer Woes? So, I can't actually download his picture in this post.


Speaking of pets, you should read my new bloggy friend's post on her cat Oliver - it will make you laugh and the loss of her other cat, Chloe. I am so sorry for your loss, Queen B. I know you will DEFINITELY enjoy reading her blog.



9 comments:

Queen B said...

Thank you so much for the sweet words! You made my day!

Ok. I'm not one to judge (whatever) but...people really brush their dogs' teeth? Really? My poor pets...

Kim said...

You are too funny! Our old kitty has too eat soft food because some of her teeth have had to be pulled, and she can crunch the hard food. I can sympathize with you about your vet, my gives me the same look.
But I've seen your Buddy and he is just too darn cute!

Sarah said...

You slacker :)

I honestly cannot even imagine having to brush a dogs teeth. It's hard enough making sure that my kids get done. Just one more reason that we will not be getting a dog any time soon!

The Buntens said...

Oh, thanks for your support friends! I don't feel so bad now!
Bless you!

Barbara's Beat said...

I can't brush my dog's teeth. That 130 pound dog says no and she wins.

Laura B said...

Well... we have 4 darling children and I can hardly get THEM to brush their teeth. My sweet little basset hound is unfortunately, on her own in that department. Thanks for the laughs!

Jean said...

Uhm no Mr dog here who is curled up on the couch(where he knows he's not supposed to be) and almost in my lap, does not get his teeth brushed, he's spoiled enough as it is. Isn't that what dogbones are for? Besides do you ever see wild wolves brushing their teeth?

BTW! You won my little Spa Sensials giveaway. I will be sending you a e-mail shortly. I'm glad I came back for a visit cause I like it here.

Chrissy said...

I get the same speech from my vet, Janel, and I always just nod and walk out and buy those "tooth-brushing" dog bones at the grocery store to assuage my conscience. The last time we had her teeth cleaned, she had to be blood tested and put under anesthesia and it cost WAY too much. Then the vet handed me some doggie mouth wash. Right. You know that never happened, either.

The Buntens said...

oh yes! What about those wild dogs??? Who brushes their teeth??? I guess chewing up other small rodents and such takes care of that.

And yes, we also had to have blood work done and they found his platelets to be low. We have not even dealt with that problem yet. they want to run another blood test at $100 a pop.

Did I tell you how cute this dog is!?!?!?!?

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