Pet people, what do you do when your old dog w/bad heart has a toothache?

Our girl shih-tzu is 14, probably cannot be put under anethesia. Every time I touch the right side of her face/head she yelps or snaps. She is eating fine but does seem a bit glum. And yes, her teeth are quite decayed. Is antibiotic the only answer? And will that only clear up an infection short time.

They've now got milder forms of anethesia that should probably work and would be much safer for your pet. Good luck . . .

everything is a trial. she needs to get those teeth pulled. are you sure she cannot be put under? just being old does not necessarily preclude that. and at least she can have a local, i would think. but oral infections can spread to the heart. this is a serious matter for her health.
poor baby. it is so hard to have old dogs. over the last several years, i have had 3. you just always have a heavy heart.

But if there is a new light anethesia as mentioned in post #2, I will check it out. Last time she went under, her oxygen levels dropped way down and the surgeon freaked out and woke her up. He was about to check out her upper resiratory--she was having breathing problems complicated by hypertension which has since been under control... She is hardy and doing well. We just dont let her get too excited.

LARGE dog (so 13 is really old) with a chronic ear infection that usually makes even walking near him hurt so bad that he yells. Nothing seems to do any good, in a permanent way and there is no surgery that will help, but we've been able to keep him comfortable with cipro and prednisone. And yes, he'll probably be on it for the rest of his life but it's certainly better than putting him to sleep because of unrelenting chronic pain.

Our other old dog (who also has heart problems) had to have dental work. The vet used a combo of isoflourane (gas) and a tranquilizer so that she wasn't completely out but they could work on her mouth without problems. No cleaning or lengthy procedures...went in, flipped out the 2 bad teeth and told me to start brushing them after she healed.

It is times like this that DU is indespensible.

Make sure your vet checks her blood work and heart before deciding what to do. My 12 y.o. yellow lab had surgery in September and, at 100 lbs, his 12 years makes him a lot older than your 14 y.o. shih-tzu. Just make sure your vet checks her first.

On the other hand, talk to your vet about your options. If there are alternatives, she would know what they are. Good luck. (Are you giving her aspirin for the pain?)

Had minor surgery and a teeth-cleaning performed on a seventeen-year-old dog after the vet determined that conventional anaesthesia would have been too dangerous. Just enough gas to put her under, and with careful monitoring everything was done in under fifteen minutes.

She lived to nineteen-and-a-half.

which is good. As it is, she takes three medications. Unfortunately, she has become a pro at spitting pills out and eating around them in her food. Also, I hate using a pill popper because she has a disfigured trachea. Here she is....

She's a little moppet. :)

Since she's on other meds, there's something else for you to make sure your vet remembers before putting her under but it sounds like folks here have experience with pulling teeth that doesn't require her being totally knocked out. That's good to know (since I will probably face this sooner or later myself).

stick them in a piece of hot dog. They gobble it down so fast they don't even know the pill is there. Well, except for Bailey...he doesn't like hot dogs but he loves cream cheese so his get shoved into a ball of the gooey stuff and we never have to fight about it.

nt

something THIS big

they work on our lab and our golden :)

she gets a large Milk Bone. Not to mention the fact that most of the pills she's ever gotten have been as big as the grapes.

is that a Boo-vee-yay or a giant schnauzer?

named Echo's Automagic Valiant...Dot for call name. One of the 2 that reside here.

They'll grind them up and put them into liquid, meat-flavored form for your dog. It is not too expensive. (probably around $5 depending on the size, which is probably worth the grief it saves you) Perhaps your puppy will like that better.

My mother has a Chihuahua that is 12 years old, also with heart problems, and she has to have a couple of teeth pulled every year. Dogs can live quite a long time without any teeth at all.

problem and put her on Clinsol, an antibiotic often used for dental infections. After 3 days, if the problem subsides, we can be sure it is dental. Once we know for sure, we can either a. Put her under and clean up her mouth/do some extractions.... but it will require very careful attention due to her age and her heart. or b. buy some more time with the antibiotic and put off the surgery until absolutely necc. Thanks everyone.