Just rescued a dog from a shelter and his teeth are rotten, what can i do?

Question

we rescued this cocker spaniel mix and we saw he needed a good cleaning, but then we saw his mouth at home. His breath literally smells like the sewer. his teeth are grey and his gums are covered in I don't know what.. but it's grey and really nasty in there. It looks like his gums are rotting. we brushed his teeth, but his gums seemed to hurt obviously. This dog was covered, i mean covered in fleas, a vinegar and water and dog shampoo killed all of those.. :) are there any home remedies for his gums? teeth? even if we have to take him to the vet for his teeth, is there anything they can do to reverse this? Can I do anything at home to help this??? please let me know if there is anyone dog rescuers that have dealt with this before.... i need help! so does he!

Answer 1

He needs some antibiotics quickly. The gum disease can spread bacteria to his heart and kill him.

You are looking at major expenses with this dog. We just aquired a dog in the same shape, and we put over five hundred dollars just into dental care. You will also have spay costs, shots, and then you still have the possibility of heartworms and heart disease from the dental issues. And because your dog has fleas, you will also need to flea him and treat for tapeworms.

You just need to think about this situation before you decide to keep the dog. You are very easily looking at six to seven hundred dollars for the first week of vet care. And because your dog came from a shelter you also will have to deal with kennel cough and probably coccidia.

We kept the dog we got just because we felt so sorry for him, and could finance the care. Make sure you think about what kind of a commitment you are looking at with your dog. It will cost a lot of money.

Answer 2

I once had a cat that I got from a shelter who's breath smelled the same way. I took her to the Vet and she was diagnosed with gingivitis. The Vet said it was from eating garbage and was a common thing for strays to develop. I was told to get a baby sized toothbrush and brush her teeth with baking soda. Have you ever tried to brush a cat's teeth? It's not something they take kindly too. She was a young kitten when we got her and she turned out to be just fine, no problems at all.

However, her gums were not discolored. I would suggest that you do take the dog to the Vet, not just for it's dental problems, but for a full physical and look over. There may be other problems that you're not noticing. This dog has obviously had a hard life. It may benefit from some vitamins and very high quality food...but that is for the Vet to decide.

In the meantime try brushing his teeth with some baking soda and a very, very soft baby sized toothbrush. I'd also suggest giving him canned food so he won't have to chew too much. His teeth may be painful and some of them may have to be removed.

Good luck and it's so wonderful that you brought this doggie home and are caring for him so well. He sure is a lucky puppers!

Answer 3

I just rescued a dog with the same problem and all you can do is have the vet pull the teeth that are beyond salvaging. Many dogs have to have most if not all of their teeth pulled and do just fine and can even usually eat hard kibble after they are healed. Usually those rotten teeth are so painful and infected that having them gone is easier on them than leaving them in.
Have the vet do a thorough cleaning, pull the ones that can't be saved and get the dog on antibiotics and he should be good as new. This happens quite often and the dogs do much better with even all their teeth gone than trying to live with painful rotten ones.

Answer 4

This dog needs dental treatment! You can't treat this kind of dental disease yourself. If your teeth were in this condition, what would you do? Home dental care is only for preventative measures i.e when a dog has good teeth to prevent them getting to this stage - at this point, the dog needs to be anaesthetised for a proper dental cleaning and most likely extractions. He will also need a course of antibiotics, because there will be infection in there.

As for the fleas - don't expect them to stay away for long with this kind of treatment. Get a proper treatment/preventative like Frontline from a vets.

You didn't get this dog from a shelter did you? Because I'd be shocked if a shelter let an animal go in this condition!

Chalice

Answer 5

wow. It sounds like he needs to get to a dog dentist fast. He probably needs a good cleaning and maybe some antibiotics if his gums are in rough shape too. See if the shelter can give you a referral to a dental vet who will give you a discount since you've rescued this dog.

After a good initial treatment, hopefully you should be able to manage the problem with routine brushing a few times a week.

Good luck!!

Answer 6

you got him from a shelter like this?? shame on them!!

I worked at a shelter for 5 years.. NO pet was ever let go in this condition.. a vet should have checked him prior to your adoption (checking teeth for age confimation they would have noticed the teeth problems)
plus they should have noticed the fleas and treated the dog...

read your adoption contract and see what it says regarding health guarantees or call them in the morning and ask what their policies are regarding this - and explain the poor condition of the dog...

did you use Dog shampoo or FLEA shampoo?? because dog shampoo wont kill fleas or flea eggs - buy a flea comb...

you will need to talk to a vet about the teeth - but see what kind of care the shelter is willing to follow up on first..

make sure the dog gets good qualtiy DRY food - not just wet;.. this is often the cuase of poor teeth..

Answer 7

Thanks for rescuing this poor guy. Sounds like he was in bad shape. My shelter husky/Rottie mix had teeth that he ground down almost to nubs, probably from fence chewing. My parents' Weimaraner (another dog I fostered first) had awful ground down teeth too. Sounds like he's got gingivitis/periodontitis. The vet may have to extract some of the teeth. If he hasn't been neutered, this can be done at the same time. The best thing as a preventative maintenance is a raw knucklebone to chew on a few times a week. My dogs are also on a raw diet and even my husky/Rottie who had nasty teeth at the age of 10 has almost white teeth again (what's left of them!) at age 12. You can also buy a tooth scaler in pet catalogues and larger pet stores and ask your vet how to use them. Teeth brushing may work too based on his compliance. This may be able to salvage some of the teeth if it's not too severe.

Answer 8

I've dealt with rotten teeth in rescues from puppy mills. Spend the $90 to have him drugged and his teeth thoroughly cleaned by a vet. He will live so much longer, be happier, smell better and be healthier and prettier if you do. Until then, when he's outside, give him a jumbo raw carrot or sweet potato to chew on. (Outside because of the mess.) My dogs love them! If he doesn't dig it, try putting a wee bit of butter on the outside to make it yummier. This will help scrape at the build up on his teeth. Put a little apple cider vinegar in his drinking water too.
Good for you, BTW for saving a life and taking such good care of the old fella.

Answer 9

I rescued an older Boston Terrier that had awful teeth. I brushed his teeth gently twice a day and made him an appointment to have his teeth cleaned. His teeth looked better even before he had his doggy dentist appointment. Go ahead and make him an appointment though.

Answer 10

You can have his teeth cleaned at the vets (cost about $100), talk to them about concerns and questions. If his teeth are in really bad shape he may need to have some of them removed. Remember if he does have to have his teeth cleaned / possible removed the short operation will bring much relief to the pain he is probably feeling. Kudos to you for adopting, spaniels make great pets!