My,What Big Teeth You Have!
Today's topic is teeth and breath. Just like humans, it benefits a dog or cat to have their teeth brushed. Nasty teeth and gums can affect the circulatory system and ultimately the heart.
Scooter is only about 5, but even when only a year or two old, had a lot of tartar on his teeth and brown staining. Both Zoe and Peanut are old and have brown stains as well. Scooter had his cleaned once by the vet when he was under anethstesia for x-rays.
I TRIED to brush their teeth, but it was the biggest pain ever. You need to start that when they are young so they get used to it. It's not that they were bad when I did it, they were just very wiggly. I tried a regular-looking brush, the kind that goes on the tip of your finger and even the teeth wipes. I gave it all up. The best I do with both the dogs and cats is give them dry food which is better for teeth and dry treats for the cats.
Hell, I'm often to wiped out too floss my own teeth let alone play dental hygienist to the dogs and cats. And I wouldn't even TRY to brush a cat's teeth! So, do any of you do the brushing thing? I have a friend in NY with two labs whose husband brushes them regularly, but the dogs got started early. They stay still as a stone and almost smile, so brushing their teeth is easy!
Now my gross news: Last night I didn't get home until almost 1:30 am. Let the dogs out. Scooter didn't want to come in. He was messing with something in the far corner of the yard. He's always messing with something...either digging or eating grass or whatnot. I had to call him several times before he'd come in. When he did, he was all muddy, so had to get a bucket of water and wash his feet and belly. I was not amused.
This morning he's out there again, but this time, in daylight, I could see what had his interest. A dead bunny! I was HORRIFIED. Rabbits used to come in our backyard all of the time years ago, and about three or four lost their lives, but for the past few years I've rarely seen them anywhere. But what was horrid about THIS rabbit was that last night either Scooter or some wild thing during the night ate its head off! So I had to dispose of that this morning. Then my phone line goes dead. I hope these things are not a harbinger of things to come today!
posted by Sandy at 6/26/2007 04:28:00 PM
Pet People
16 Comments:
Sandy, I feel your pain with the bunny. Many years ago my moms cat Ashley caught a bunny. We had no idea. I was playing with the dogs in the kitchen, tossing a toy around when it landed on the kitty counter. I got up to get the toy and thought there was another toy up there too. It wasn't though, It was the back half of a bunny in the cats food bowl. I screamed and The Foreman came running to see what was wrong. All I could do was point. It was so gross! We never figured out how she got it in the house. We had to be really careful and check her mouth when we let her in b/c she always had something in it. Usually it was a mouse or a small bird, Never a full adult size bunny. Thankfully that was a one time thing. Scooter really is Dennis the Menic. But just like Dennis, he just wants to be loved and you just can't help but love him.
Larry, senior cat, brings home uneaten gophers or whatever they are called here. He leaves them on the back doorstep so that I will be sure to see it and praise him. I think he expects me to put it in the freezer for his next meal.
Sadly, I have had a momma cat who ate her kittens. It was awful but we didn't find her until it was too late. She had burrowed way back into a closet under the stairs.
Aimee, dog princess, has yet to catch a squirrel (thank goodness) and the squirrels have a really good head-start on her so I doubt she ever will. That does not diminish her desire to catch one.
Good to see articles in the paper about pets. Dialog is good, even with idiots.
OK folks--is everybody on the busy side this week--I think I just saw a tumble weed roll by!
OK I have another five minutes---so here we go
1. My babies teeth are wonderful--but their breath could knock a horse down. Brushing doesn't help, and it's too much of a fight to keep Charley from eating the brush.
2. THE BIRDS--see Sandy, I told ya they would be fine.
3. Lucy LOVES to chase squirrels, and I have the scars to prove it. She will lay on the couch in the living room and cry while they're about five of them out in the front yard laughing at her and having a little squirrel party. I promise her that one day we'll have squirrel and dumplings. She likes that idea.
ok-thats the Dogwood minute from me.
Everybody have a good day!
B
Got just a minute as well. On squirels, they love to share the bird seed on our deck so the girls and I enjoy watching them as much as the birds. The squirels have gotten so brave that they actually jump on the window like they are trying to get at the cats, it is so funny. They will sit on the outside sil and look in at the cats. The cats tails sometimes get going pretty good watching and other times they just sit quietly.
On teeth brushing, I've tried with the finger brushes too, didn't work. I used these little foam q-tips type, didn't work, used my fingers, didn't work. They just hate it! I do buy the Max guard ora gel stuff at the vets for them, all you do is squirt it on thier back teeth but even that is a big fight so don't do it often. I knew someone who had 6 cats and she said she actually brushed their teeth every day. I can't imagine being able to do that. I'm lucky to the squirt in thier mouths every few weeks.
I remember trying to brush Jake's teeth with a gauze pad when he was a pup. The problem is, the doggy toothpaste on there tasted so good he wouldn't stop chewing on it. I wrapped it around my finger as the directions instructed, and to my surprise I pulled out only HALF a gauze pad. How he managed to eat only half of it... and directly off my finger without biting me... amazes me to this day. Okay, that's my quick story for the night. Back to work... :)
Sandy,
Sorry about your bunny. It is heartbreaking to me too. The first time my Mojo-Jojo did that(3 baby bunnies) I sobbed for hours. I just couldn't get the thought of those helpless babes being pulled from their den and tortured. But, I guess thats nature and we ahve to deal with it. Doesn't mean I have to like it tho.
Our new boxer Rocky has beautiful bright, white teeth right now. I was just looking at them wondering how receptive he would be for a tooth brushing. We have never tried it before but maybe he is not too old to get used to it? I'm sure his previous owner didn't do it so maybe we should try. I guess there is special doggie toothpaste? I need to go to petsmart today to get diet kitty food anyway. Guess I will splurge on doggie dental products and give it a go.
How are the birds Sandy? Did they all fly away? It is quiet on here! I have been busy at the ballfield so I have only been reading and not posting. My girls allstar tournaments start this weekend so I will magically have to be at 2 ballfields, 2 counties for that matter, at the same time. We are going up to PA for the Fourth to watch a Pirates game. Anyone else have big plans for the holiday?
Have a great day everyone!
All the baby birdies made it out of the nest! I posted a bit about it in the bird topic below.
I know flycatchers often have more than one brood and will even use the same nest--that happened one year when they built one in our carport--I saw two sets leave the nest. And this morning, I saw mama bird at the nest, so mabye she's getting ready for batch two! I guess I'll leave all the funiture in its protective pile around the nest area until I know for sure!
Speaking of tortured--did you hear the story on the news of the five juvenile delinquents that set the dog on fire? They were supposed to go to crt this morning facing animal cruelty charges--I hope they tie them up and throw matches at them for two or three days. The poor dog hasn't been found as of this morning. I pray the Lord will lead someone to find it if it needs help, or to give it merciful release if it was horribly burned. But those kids should pay a price--when the police asked them why they did it, they couldn't come up with a reason. Well gee kid, I don't know why your hanging from a flag pole by your underwear with your head shaved--I just can't come up with a reason--Crap like this P*SSES me off --I know accidents happen that can't be avoided, but to just set one of God's creatures on fire cuz you can't find anything better to do? KNowing full well that the animal feels pain just as acutely as you do! And where will these young people end up? IN four or five MONTHS, we will probably see them again with the statement "Well we didn't have anything better to do, so we shot this guy for fun."
I'm sorry guys--but I'm so mad and grieved over this I could spit nails into a 2 by 4. DOes anyone remember the 2 kids that were arrested because they set a pup on fire in a barbeque? They had been trying to drown it in a bucket before another child ran for help--so they set it on fire and shoved it in a b-b-que and slammed the lid. THAT WAS THEIR SECOND OFFENSE!!! They had already tried to cut a dogs leg off previously and got a slap on the wrist from the juv crt.
OK--I'm done, before I forget this is a public site and really start screaming. I 'm sorry if I said too much.
B, I'm right there with you. What is scary, too, is that serial murderers often have committed acts of animal cruelty in their childhood. This should be a HUGE red flag for parents, schools and police. But, sadly, like you said, they often get very little help or punishment.
You didn't say too much... but we ALL need to speak out more... by using our vote as our voice.
Well I see I posted my thoughts on this on the wrong area. I just held mysef in control in the above entry and it was all I could do. I wanted to say so much more about that incident about that poor dog being burned but didn't want to come off sounding like the killers themselves. But the way I would punish them they would never forget! Brett, Pearcehart,if you guys read what I wrote you'll see I was on the same track as you. And Brett I too was grieved over that other little dog the kids put on the BBQ grill, bet they are out there robbing and raping by now.
It always comes back to responsiblity and accountability... children learn from their families. No doubt the children were abused as well or neglected. If you charge the parents, the parents say "it's not my fault, I can't control them." But ultimately, the public pays the price, either in housing criminals or crimes against people instead of animals.
What I will now refer to as "the burning dog incident"(otherwise I'll start kicking my trash can again) has really set me thinking. I try to pray and find some kind of meaning in this incident, but I just keep coming up empty handed and angier. It's a slap in the face to all who work to help animals-on any level. But it's a whole handed, five finger pop up side the head to the blessed souls that work with the Humane Society, and Cat's R Us, and Happy TAils, and all of the wonderful shelters and foster homes that get in there and fight daily to keep Clarksville a safe place for both humans and the animals. I am truely torn here. All I could when I got home last night wrap one arm around my Charley and the other around my Lucy (Pearl was on my lap)and tell them how much we love them and that we would do anything to keep them healthy and happy. It was a comfort, cuz, as usual, they knew I was upset, and they did the only thing they know to do--love me right back .
GOD BLESS all of the people who love and help everyday in any way they can--either on the front lines or by doing such little things as keeping a watchful and worried eye on a birds nest. NOW, alittle bit of good news, my play date with Hines the dog is set for tommorrow morning @ the bark park. Wish us luck!
Oh Brett, I hope everything works out with Hines. We are headed to the HS this evening ourselves. They are having a 40 hours adoption event, so we thought we would check things out. I wish I could bring them all home!
On the bunny. I had a boyfriend many eons ago which had 2 lab dogs. I loved those dogs but about died the day I saw them playing tug of war with a bunny! Broke my heart but there was nothing I could do. They were hunters by nature and doing what hunting dogs do...
I did not hear about the doggie torture incident but something similar happened in our area and the thugs are now paying for it. Not sure the exact punishment but they are more or less making a statement by putting them in jail for a long time. Crime was they robbed a house and put the two small family pets, (dogs) in the oven. One died and the other survived but had badly burned paws. I think this happened in SC and not GA but the family members of the thugs were moaning that the punishment was too harsh on their babies (the humans) because they were just dogs and it was not like it was a human suffering or anything like that! Well, animal today human tomorrow is what I say. I am sorry but I am an eye for eye kind of person and think they should have put the thugs in the oven for just as long to see how they liked it! Arggggg, this one gets me boiling also. Just glad the courts saw fit to make them pay as most places are still in the dark ages where pets are concerned…
Bret, I have not read today’s post yet as I am reading them in the order they came in so if you posted anything, I will catch it there on your doggie play date with Hines. But until then, I will post this now while I am thinking of it. How did the play date go? And I am glad that Hines is well enough to have a play date. I hope all goes well and that you are sending out cigars soon on the announcement of your new baby!
As the Saint and I headed out this afternoon, we looked into the ivy plant and found no baby birds in the nest but one hiding in the ivy. The rest of the brood must have already flown to the nearby trees!
We also made a detour into the Lowes parking lot to see if the Killdeer bird is in the parking lot. Sure enough, we saw it sitting in the same spot in the mulch! It must be sitting on eggs or really enjoys the entertainment of passing cars and trucks. At some point I may try to snap a picture of it ….
You all got to stop telling these horror stories. I can't stop thinking about them and I've been tortured enough lately.
I agree with Sandy, between losing three people this week then us talking of thes horror stories of sweet animals I'm about ready for the lonney bin and I'm way too close to that as it is.
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