Sue R Posted June 13, 2013 Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 I'd like to share this experience so that maybe it can help someone else avoid a potential problem. On Monday, Dan had dental surgery to remove his upper left canine and lower right canine. Both were broken off with pulp exposed (kicked working cattle by this dog that really needs to know *now* that you don't grip if you don't need to grip and, if you need to grip, grip the heel that the cow is standing on, not the one that is free to kick) and the lower one (the more recent broken tooth) was probably cracked inside/damaged as one or more bits have since fallen off. As much as I did not want to have these removed for multiple reasons, I trusted my vet was right in feeling that they needed to be removed shortly to avoid potential big problems in the future. Dan weathered the surgery well and his mouth was doing nicely - until today. I had noticed the other day that where Dan's foreleg had been shaved for an IV, he had been licking and there was a discolored patch. However, since he wasn't licking it any more (it was nice and dry and cool), I wasn't worried about it until I saw this morning that it was wet from licking, and I could see that the discolored place was warm and "gooey" looking. So, to be pro-active and avoid a vet visit, I applied Animax, a gauze pad, rolled gauze, and vetwrap, plus a couple of strips of first-aid tape at either end to further secure the vetwrap (since I think I didn't wrap it quite tightly enough to self-adhere strongly). Dan felt very sorry for himself - and that's *so* Dan, who can take a licking and keep on coming on, but who finds little injustices to be very saddening. I watched him and he just laid down to mope, and was leaving the wrap alone. But while I was distracted with something else, he went to removing it and I found him with shredded vetwrap and the wrap partly off. So I removed it and, since the raw patch looked nice and dry again, decided to leave it exposed. And, if worse came to worse, I could use the dreaded cone to deter him. Then I noticed him licking his tongue forward in his mouth, like he'd done for a day or so after the surgery. I realized that it was bothering him and took a look inside. I could see by the gaping hole that at least some of the upper stitches had pulled out, and I didn't even look at the bottom stitches before I called the vet and ran him in. Fortunately, I knew something was wrong before I fed this morning and so his stomach was empty because he would need anesthesia to repair the sutures. The vet office told me to bring him in and sure enough, the vet found that his mouth needed attention. I got a call just shortly ago - he'd managed to pull out all the bottom sutures and most of the top ones. The sutures were still intact but they'd pulled out through the gum, so both areas were pretty traumatized. The vet was able to resuture but warned me that if he did this again somehow, there would not be enough stable tissue to resuture. The vet said that, yes, this happened just this morning and it was very fortunate that I realized he'd hurt his mouth and gotten him care immediately. The act of using his teeth to remove the wrap, and the vetwrap being very abrasive, had combined to do a lot of damage to his barely-healing gums. So, soft food for another week and a half and a basket muzzle (getting that at the store after I pick him up) so that there is no chance for him to grab or chew anything he shouldn't. And, of course, more Rimadyl and some antibiotics. Dan is a dog that frustrates me to tears sometimes, but I can't help but get weepy with worry about him today. If I'd called the vet about that leg and hadn't done what I did myself, he'd be three days into healing and no problems. I could just kick myself but I can't reach my butt with my foot - and I probably couldn't keep my balance standing on one leg while I did that even if I could. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildFlower Posted June 13, 2013 Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 Awe, poor Dan. Thanks for sharing your experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushdoggie Posted June 13, 2013 Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 Poor puppy, I hope he feels better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted June 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 It does not help one bit that I am still not totally sure that having this procedure done was the best choice. It was the recommendation of several vets but one or more admittedly said that some dogs get broken teeth that never, ever cause a problem, abscess, or infection. If the damage had been confined to just the one upper tooth, I would have taken a "wait and see if anything must be done" approach but the lower tooth had already (after the break) lost one or two bits off the tip that was left, and I felt it likely had some internal cracking or other damage that would have made it subject to further deterioration. And, with Dan being a dog on whom we rely, I didn't want to just take a wait-and-see approach totally because I needed to time his being out-of-service to an eight-week block where we could get along with just Celt. So it was to fit this in now or wait until November/December or so, and risk having him develop further issues during a season when we would find it hard to do without his help. I am the queen of second-guessing myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted June 13, 2013 Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 Poor Dan, and poor you! I do the second-guessing thing to, it's a hard habit to break. Somebody told me once that you can only make a decision with the information you have. Sounds like that's what you did. I'm so sorry this is happening to you both. Give Dan a scratch for me and tell him to behave himself! Ruth and Agent Gibbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Coyote Posted June 13, 2013 Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 Tommy has a broken back molar - sheered off the top of it. My vet said that it probably would be fine but just to watch and be sure it doesn't get infected. So I check it every so often.Doesn't seem to bother her a bit. But he did tell me if the front top molar breaks you have to have it removed. That tooth will almost always get infected. Tommy has also worn down her canines but that doesn't seem to bother her, either. One of my other dogs managed to break off all four of her canines to about half way. Never seemed to bother her a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon's girl Posted June 13, 2013 Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 I would have done the same as you, Sue, on all counts. I still think you did the right thing with going ahead and removing the teeth and you couldn't have known that he would pull stitches on vet wrap. It's just a good thing that you are so in tune with your dog that you went ahead and checked further instead of assuming it was nothing and would be fine. It sounds like he had a little leakage around the cath. and those can burn. Poor guy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted June 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 He's back home now after spending much of the day at the vet office. Fortunately, I did not feed him before I checked his mouth and so he was "prepped" for anesthesia so they could resuture him up again. But there will be no room for error now as there was too much damage done when the stitches tore out. At least he's not experiencing the level of confusion and pain he felt on Monday, so he's much more relaxed, and the work was done earlier in the day so he is well-recovered from the anesthesia. I told Ed all about what happened and he said he could come home tomorrow but I said we'd be okay so he can come home Saturday, as planned. I had trouble finding a good muzzle - i got what I could and the fit isn't perfect, but it will have to do for when and if he needs it on. When I'm not here to watch him, he needs to be crated without anything in the crate to fuss with so it will be a bare pan for the poor boy. He's never chewed on his crate mat but I can't take the chance. He was eager to eat his dinner, having missed breakfast. A can of good food loosened up with some homemade yogurt to make it easier to lick up - that went down well but I'm glad I don't have to pay that kind of price except in an emergency. I'll reintroduce well-soaked and -softened kibble in a day or two as part of his meal. Thank you all for your kind words and support. It means a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbie Meier Posted June 13, 2013 Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 It's all part of the learning curve, don't be too hard on yourself. This is a experience that you are apt to have repeated more then once if you plan on continuing to use dogs to help with cattle, so you will have a chance to do it all over again and 2nd guess yourself all over again too!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted June 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 This has been interesting - we have had multiple dogs with broken teeth (canines, other teeth) over the years. The only dog to ever have a problem was MacLeod, whose face was swollen on one side one day. We thought he'd been stung by something as the swelling went down within just a day or two. Then, about a month later, it blew up hugely and we got him right to the vet. Mac had a slab fracture of a top molar and I think it was the big next-to-back one, and it had abscessed. When he went in to have it out, they found the same molar on the other side was also fractured and removed that one. A short while on soft food and he was back to normal. I'm assuming he had sutures, and we had no complications. I really would have left the upper canine as it was and waited to see if anything happened. After all, the vet agreed, sometimes teeth get broken and nothing comes of it even though you'd think it would, with pulp exposed. But that bottom one just struck me as too damaged to trust and it was already discoloring. Meanwhile, we had a nice dog walk and now Dan is wearing his muzzle to get used to it. He is not happy, standing with his head down and whining. I'll take it off shortly and just keep him with me. He is such a drama king about some things... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted June 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 Oh, and don't buy one of these basket muzzles without trying it on first. They are the Baskerville brand and are marketed in the UK. Size 3 is labelled for "Staffordshire bull terriers and Collies" which don't strike me as being very similar in muzzle size. Size 4 is labelled for "Pointers and Pit bulls", which is the size that fit Dan. I would think it would be way small for a Pit bull type. Nothing beats trying something like this on before buying. And now his muzzle is off and he's still whining. He's not going to be happy for a while to come... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G. Festerling Posted June 15, 2013 Report Share Posted June 15, 2013 Poor boy! We make the best decisions with the info at hand at any given moment. Right or wrong? We find out later. Or maybe not. He is lucky to have such an attentive owner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OurBoys Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 Dogs will be dogs. Goose is right, Sue. Dan's lucky to have such an attentive owner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.