Dog Dentals, Dewclaws, and Diarrhea – Oh My!

There were a few challenging weeks recently. We decided to have our dogs’ teeth cleaned. The vet noticed some plaque buildup at their last checkup. Plaque leads to periodontal disease and other health issues. Prevention is best. We also had another procedure done on Zephyr while he was under anesthesia for the cleaning. And so it meant dealing with dog dentals, dewclaws, and diarrhea. Whew!

First up was Luke. It’s been a while since the last time I had a dog dental done. I could not recall the need for pain medication. So I didn’t ask for any to give to Luke. Well, that was not a good thing. He wasn’t his usual happy self and being really pitiful and needy.

Of course, the vet’s office was already closed for the day. So first thing the next morning I got pain medicine for him. It helped greatly.

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Next up was Zephyr. We decided to have his dewclaws removed in addition to his teeth cleaning. It’s uncommon to remove dewclaws from an older dog. It’s usually done when a dog is very young. We checked with the vet and she said it would be okay to do. And, yes, I definitely got pain medication for Zephyr. I knew he would need it.

The vet said to have him wear an e-collar while healing because the areas needed to be exposed to air and not wrapped. Cone or inflatable collars don’t work well with whippets. Their neck and nose are long and thin and extend past the edge of the collar. They can easily get to their hind quarters, legs, and feet when wearing one of those type collars.

If an e-collar would work for you dog, I recommend getting either a Comfy Cone or Inflatable Collar.

What I wound up doing is spraying the area with Bitter Apple to keep him from licking or chewing on the stitches. I also wrapped his feet at night when I couldn’t watch over him. I used Nutri-Vet Wellness Bitter Bandage for the wrap because the bitter taste discourages pets from biting, chewing and licking the bandage.

Finally, it was Milo’s turn for his dog dental cleaning. There’s nothing like having an extremely fearful dog going in for a procedure. The whole experience is terrifying times a thousand for him. I put an herbal calming collar on him for the car ride to help with the stress of it. I picked him up the moment the vet said he was ready to go home.

Milo was definitely not amused by the whole situation.

Milo needed a couple of days to decompress. Sometimes it takes a while for him to get over a really stressful event. All it took was some extra loving comfort and he was back to his usual behavior.

All three were given antibiotics and pain medication. All three started having loose stools or diarrhea. It’s common to happen after dog dental cleaning, along with the combo of anesthesia, antibiotic, and pain medication. Of course, my inclination is to over-react. I had to calm down and convince myself to wait it out. Yet I came so close to ordering probiotics. Sure enough, their poop was back to normal within a day or two after their post-cleaning medication ended.

Now everything is back to normal. I started giving them PlaqueOff every day to prevent plaque from building up on their teeth. I sure hope it works because it will be a whole lot easier than brushing their teeth (which I don’t do. Yea, I know I should. I never said I was a perfect dog mom).

Check out these articles about dog dental health and dewclaws:

• Pet Dental Care – American Veterinary Medical Association
• Dental Cleaning for Dogs and Cats – Vetstreet
• Dog Dewclaw Removal – Vetinfo

Stay tuned for the next adventure. Meanwhile, give your dog a belly rub from me.