Newbie's totally basic questions

BeckyBeagal · 02-02-2007, 04:07 PM

Hello Forum families~

I know there ins no dumb question but don't laugh at mine.

1) If you buy your dog, dental protection treats like Greene's, Iams, don't you have to brush her/his dog? If not, which do you prefer (or which one works best for you) , toothpaste, or solution that you put in the water? And how often do you brush their teeth?

2) As some of you may remember, I was hesitating spaying Becky for the possibility of her being pregnant. She gained like 4 lbs over 3~4 weeks. It really shows on her since her body is small frame and has short legs.
Will she loose this weight after this mock pregnancy is done?

3) Does your dog run away from you or get really pissed off after or even before you clean their ears? Why is that?

Thank you again for any opinion/input.

Wimble Woof · 02-02-2007, 04:48 PM

As far as teeth cleaning go, be cautious if you choose greenies, they are undigestable and have caused some serious problems in dogs, even death.
I dont brush the dogs teeth, I give them bones to chew on as part of their diet, they all have sparkly white puppy like teeth.

Im not sure about the mock pregnancy and weight loss, perhaps up her excercise time and see how that goes.

My dogs hate ear cleaning time, they tolerate it but they have little "fits" after its done and over with, prolly has something to do with the feeling of the cleaner in the ears

And your right, there is no such thing as a stupid question.!

MagicToller · 02-02-2007, 04:59 PM

Quote:

I know there ins no dumb question but don't laugh at mine.

1) If you buy your dog, dental protection treats like Greene's, Iams, don't you have to brush her/his dog? If not, which do you prefer (or which one works best for you) , toothpaste, or solution that you put in the water? And how often do you brush their teeth?

2) As some of you may remember, I was hesitating spaying Becky for the possibility of her being pregnant. She gained like 4 lbs over 3~4 weeks. It really shows on her since her body is small frame and has short legs.
Will she loose this weight after this mock pregnancy is done?

3) Does your dog run away from you or get really pissed off after or even before you clean their ears? Why is that?

Thank you again for any opinion/input.

1. When it comes to the dental health of my dogs, I have no worries about brushing or tartar - they are fed raw and sport glisteningly healthy teeth. Do take Greenies with much caution and moderation. People have been known to overdose their dogs with Greenies in the hopes that it would clean their teeth immediately. Stay away from this option, lol.

2. She will most likely begin to lose some weight, but this is not to say that she will drop them immediately. Make sure she has good long walks and a healthy balanced diet to keep her from gaining anymore weight.

3. Some people will introduce the bottle, cloth, and whole process all at once and create a scary and anxious ridden situation. Naturally, the dog will avoid the situation the next time it is about to occur. I train pups over a period of time to familiarize with someone handling their ears, the bottle and cloth, and being on the grooming table. If this is not possible (for someone who didn't have their dog as a puppy), you should retrain the entire process and make ear cleaning a light, fun, and positive thing full of treats and kisses.

Curbside Prophet · 02-02-2007, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeckyBeagal

Hello Forum families~

I know there ins no dumb question but don't laugh at mine.

1) If you buy your dog, dental protection treats like Greene's, Iams, don't you have to brush her/his dog? If not, which do you prefer (or which one works best for you) , toothpaste, or solution that you put in the water? And how often do you brush their teeth?

2) As some of you may remember, I was hesitating spaying Becky for the possibility of her being pregnant. She gained like 4 lbs over 3~4 weeks. It really shows on her since her body is small frame and has short legs.
Will she loose this weight after this mock pregnancy is done?

3) Does your dog run away from you or get really pissed off after or even before you clean their ears? Why is that?

Thank you again for any opinion/input.

1. Regardless of what I give my dog to chew on she still gets her teeth brushed at least twice a week. Less then that and I personally feel like it's not enough even with chews. I also prefer doggie toothpaste over anything else. Elsa loves her chicken flavored toothpaste. Do not use human toothpaste.

2. Not sure on this one. I would ask your vet.

3. Elsa does not budge when poked or prodded by me when we're cleaning her up. Socialization to these activities when younger is key. It's a little harder to do if they haven't been socialized to cleanings, but with work and patients it can happen. You need to associate the cleanings with earning reward. And it pisses her off because the ears are very sensitive.

shinobi380 · 02-05-2007, 11:27 PM

not to steal teh thread or anything but how young of an age can we start the 'socialization of grooming' including tghat ear cleaning

Alpha · 02-05-2007, 11:40 PM

I agree with the caution about greenies. Dogs HAVE died from them.

My guys like many of the others above, don't get their teeth brushed, but rather a raw bone or two a month. They are still quite young and have gleaming pearly whites. Once they get older, if I start seeing cavities I will begin brushing their teeth, with doggie toothpaste.

As for ear cleaning... I don't clean my dogs ears, if it's absolutely neccessary, and often, I would take a lot of time working on the issue to make sure that not every time you have to clean her ears it's not an absolutely terrible thing.

I'd get a super yummy treat, and before, during and after every cleaning feed her treats. Good luck

CrzyBritNAmerica · 02-05-2007, 11:51 PM

Ditto...I don't mean to steal the thread, but is that really true about Greenies? I have given them to my dog for most of the time I've had her and she's never had a problem with them...the pack says a few a day or something ridiculous, but I got for like one or two a month or at least every two weeks...is that okay, or could she start to get sick?

Alpha · 02-05-2007, 11:59 PM

I googled :

"Greenies dog treats" fatalities:

here's a list, not all are biased, some are in greenies defense.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05357/627015.stm

http://www.nbc-2.com/articles/readar...id=5873&z=3&p=

http://quikonnex.com/channel/archive/373/2006-02

My guys never had greenies, but in one of the links it was mentioned it's not just greenies that can be dangerous but things also like rawhide. (this was a "for greenies" website)

I also don't feed my dogs rawhide! LOL. My bitch almost choked to death on a piece of rawhide, that she'd been chewing on and had become, well slippery. It got stuck in her throat, and thank God I was at home, when she approached me with a strange look in her eye and sat directly in front of me. No noises, she was trully choking.

It's everyone's own choice what they feed their dogs. I've just had a rather frightening first hand experience with those kinds of treats and won't risk it now.

Cassiepeia · 02-06-2007, 12:09 AM

Quote:

not to steal teh thread or anything but how young of an age can we start the 'socialization of grooming' including tghat ear cleaning

The sooner the better.

As soon as you get your pup would probably be best.

Cass.

BeckyBeagal · 02-06-2007, 10:57 AM

Thanks AGAIN guys for wonderful opinion and sharing experience.
I have built quite loving relationship, today was second time and was easier also treat always works with her, since she loves to eat

Thanks for the warning on rawhide,greenie and the links. Even my husband asks me once in a while why people say do not give rawhide to the pets. Now I can give him at least reasonable explanation.

QueenMerry · 02-06-2007, 03:26 PM

Everything in moderation. The biggest dangers with Greenies (or rawhide for that matter) include intestinal blockage or choking. This happens most often with dogs that have a tendency to gulp down big pieces instead of chewing.

I've been giving my dogs Greenies for ages. My 15-year old Samoyed girl has gotten around one a day for years. She has had tons of abdominal ultrasounds (for other ailments) and even had surgery for bloat and there's nothing in her GI tract that indicates any damage from Greenies.

I avoid rawhide because of risks of salmonella...

As with any treat (rawhide, Greenie or otherwise) dogs should be monitored while enjoying them. I'd never leave my guys alone with a Greenie or rawhide. ...just like you wouldn't leave a toddler alone with a choking hazard...

CrzyBritNAmerica · 02-06-2007, 10:36 PM

Hmm I will probably just keep the Greenies to a minimum, I agree though I think if you are careful and keep moderation in mind you'll be ok. My dog is never allowed to have rawhide or any treats when I'm not home because that is my paranoia of her choking when I'm not there. As for rawhide, she loves it and I let her have it but always the chews after what happened with the bones!!

We gave her a normal sized rawhide bone and she chewed most of it, but then just threw up and the center straight part of the chew came right out whole, slobbery and gross, but whole!! If she hadn't thrown it up she could have burst her intestine and/or had to have surgery to remove it! I won't ever give her a rawhide bone again...and as for the chews she can only have them in our presence! You just have to be really careful with things...just as you would with a child having a snack.

bearlasmom · 02-07-2007, 01:58 PM

YES GREENIES CAN BE FATAL
and

raw hide breaks up but when swallowed can swell and create a blockage in a dogs stomach

if you break off a peice on your own you can see what happens if you place it in a small glass of water. IT EXPLODES SLOWLY
somewhat like the toys that kids buy and then put in water to watch them grow.

Greenies apparently also have a chemical in them according to our vet that is like antifreeze and can become toxic in a dog even in small amounts.

CrzyBritNAmerica · 02-07-2007, 08:39 PM

That is scary! I have actually read up on the greenies and decided not too give them to Bridgette anymore. She does have rawhide chews now and then, but I really like to keep that to a minimum because of the reason that bearlasmom gave.

QueenMerry · 02-09-2007, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bearlasmom

Greenies apparently also have a chemical in them according to our vet that is like antifreeze and can become toxic in a dog even in small amounts.

That chemical is propyl gallate. It's a naturally derived antioxidant found in lots of things...edible fats, oils, mayonnaise, shortening, baked goods, candy, dried meat, fresh pork sausage, and dried milk just to name a few. It's found in Science Diet Original formula and other dog foods (though I feed Canidae Platinum which doesn't contain propyl gallate). It protects oils and fats in foods by preventing oxidation. It is related to propylene glycol (one of the main ingredients in so called pet-friendly antifreeze, or antifreeze that isn't guaranteed fatal if ingested in small amounts. It's still not completely non-toxic though.). The super deadly glycol in antifreeze is ethylene glycol. This is just more of the alarmist stuff.

You'd be surprised by the number of human grade foods contain propyl gallate. The Chapstick I use all day long even contains it and my lips aren't rotting off from cancer.

However, you're right--it's probably not a great ingredient. It's one thing they added with the new Greenie formula to make them chewy. They had to use it because the chewy-ness (is that a word??) comes from vegetable oil, and the vegetable oil has to be protected from oxidizing. They changed the formula in response to the blockage issues.

Everyone has good and bad experiences with everything from food to meds. I've not had a bad experience. As always, your mileage may vary.

KatzNK9 · 02-09-2007, 08:10 PM

Looks like you've received plenty of good advice & I don't really have anything to add other than this ...

I'm glad you asked the question about teeth cleaning ... I might have never known that Greenies can be dangerous. So, I learned something new too. Thank you.

BeckyBeagal · 02-10-2007, 10:03 AM

Thank you very much everybody for good advices and opinions as always.
Chewy-ness might be in George Bush's dictionary. LOL , just kidding.

I looked up dictionary.com just out of curiosity, chewy-ness is actually a word(well others used it, a lot, in newspaper articles) however the right noun for chewy is chewiness. - Learned a new word, Thank you

QueenMerry · 02-10-2007, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeckyBeagal

Thank you very much everybody for good advices and opinions as always.
Chewy-ness might be in George Bush's dictionary. LOL , just kidding.

I looked up dictionary.com just out of curiosity, chewy-ness is actually a word(well others used it, a lot, in newspaper articles) however the right noun for chewy is chewiness. - Learned a new word, Thank you

Hehehe! I love it!

Chewiness just looks funny...