Yorkie Teeth and Why I Lose Sleep At Night!

When I bump into someone on the streets of New York with a small dog and we get to talking, I always ask – “How’s your pup’s teeth?” Seems that most small dog owners fret over their dog’s teeth and with good reason. Small dogs have teeth problems and can start losing adult teeth as young as 2 years old. Oral health care for our pets is as important as all other health care. So, why are we so afraid of taking care of dog’s teeth?

Last week, I had the gut wrenching experience of taking my little Yorkie, Pudge to the vets to get her teeth cleaned. Of course, if you tell another pet owner of your plans, they gasp and say – “Your putting your dog under?” Like I need guilt to add to my worries. Anyway, I brush Schmitty & Pudge’s teeth and take great pains to do all I can to remove tartar and such. But it doesn’t seem to matter. So, I worry for 6 months while I get the courage to make an appointment for a teeth cleaning.

Last week, I figured Pudge being all of 3 and 1/2 years old would have her teeth cleaned and that would be that. We took both Schmitty & Pudge to Dr. Marty Goldstein, a holistic vet in South Salem NY – a 1 1/2 hour drive from NYC. But it’s worth it. Dr. Marty not only helps the body heal with healthy alternatives (I believe Dr. G. helped save Schmitty’s life with alternative care for her enlarged kidney) and does the same with teeth cleaning (Vitamin C IV to help detox the body of harmful bacteria etc.), but he also has a radio show on The Martha Stewart Network on Sirius Radio and has taken care of Oprah’s dogs. Makes for great conversation at a cocktail party. Plus, Dr. Marty definitely knows his stuff.

So, back to the teeth cleaning. Pudge went in for a teeth cleaning and came out with less teeth. Why? Dr. Marty says that since small dogs have been bred down, their little mouths still have the same number of teeth as their larger ancestors. Can you say German Shepard. What? So, the mouth is cramped and the teeth have less places to anchor and take root. Some teeth don’t even have strong roots. So, some small dog’s teeth don’t have a chance. And that’s what happened to little Pudge. She was under for 2 hours getting cleaned and save some teeth. But she still lost some teeth last week. Dr. Marty showed me Pudge’s X-rays. Her jaw bone had bone loss. The teeth had no place to anchor and popped out like a bad chad in a voting machine.

I asked Dr. Marty what I could have done differently. He said, “Don’t get a Yorkie!” A comedian. Nice. Dr. G. says it’s going to take 7 to 8 generations of breeding to give small Yorkie’s jaw and teeth a better chance at being healthy and strong. Oye! In the meantime – I am now giving Schmitty & Pudge “Bio-Dent” by Standard Process to help their bones. And I continue to give them Petzlife. It’s a 100% natural gel by Petzlife Products Inc. that I give the pups twice a day. It balances the acid and alkaline in their mouths to fight tartar and kills bacteria. Here’s a secret. I have even been taking it myself and my teeth have been feeling great!

NOTE: I just found out that Petzlife now makes a human product called F’rst Defenz oral care spray. I’m now using it and loving it!

Pudge is doing fine. Came through the anesthesia with flying colors. The healthy doses of Vitamin C and other healthy supps to help detox, I believe, is the secret. And my education has helped me realize how important oral care is. And if you are pro active with your pup’s oral care, you can’t beat yourself up when it comes to genetics. But I still will! LOL!

Hug you dog and have a yappy day!

Elly

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