Basenji dental
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Every time I take Shaye to the vet he asks if I brush her teeth because they look so great - I haven't. Gemma's teeth are beginning to get some staining on the top of her fangs - so i have bought toothbrushes and toothpaste and one of the finger things too, and will be brushing dog teeth soon as I get up the nerve. I will follow everyone's suggestions to let them mess around with the brush in their mouths at their pleasure before actually starting. I will say I have been giving the girls Dentastix by Pedigree as treats when we leave the house - the vet said maybe those are helping keep them clean. In any event, wish me luck. Fortunately, neither of them minds getting their mouths opened and people messing about in there. So far.
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I think it is great stuff… of course my kids are still really young... so either it is helping to not get tarter... (along with brushing a couple of times a week, cause I am not so good at making sure I do it....) or they have good teeth/food/treats that are helping. But the person that recommended it is a Basenji Breeder and she got the recommendation from her sister that raises Flat Coats.... and swears by it. For the price and its long last, certainly worth a try....
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Here in our area, where there are 3 excellent vets, they charge $500 for cleaning (including sedation). Any teeth pulling or special work is added on top of that cost. I'm working on keeping Kipawa's teeth pearly white. We have a 17 year old cat that only has 4 teeth left. She had a genetic abnormality that caused problems in her bones and teeth. But if you put something yummy in front of her, even if it is a kibble type food, she will work away on it until it is all gone. She must have the strongest gums - just very few teeth. She has cost us huge dental bills over the years, but we would have done the same for kids if we would have had any. To me, there is no difference.
The way I look at it, if I would do it for a human child, I will do it for my kids (the animal variety). Responsibility comes with many factors, cost being one of them.
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I can't imagine paying $500 to clean even with sedation. Here it ranges from about $75 to $200 tops.
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Vetting up here in the PNW is very expensive. Just getting a female b fixed the vets start at $300. That is why I refer to a very good low cost spay/neuter clinic about 40 miles from me.
Its less than $100 to fix a female b. -
I can't imagine paying $500 to clean even with sedation. Here it ranges from about $75 to $200 tops.
Around my part of the country, you are lucky to get out under 750.00
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But Pat, you have superb weather. :)
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But Pat, you have superb weather. :)
LOL …. so hmm... great weather = higher Vet costs... makes perfect sense to me!!!
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Friends of ours from Canada bought us a Christmas present of antlers. Their 5 year old basenji boy after chewing on his own for one month has the cleanest teeth I've ever seen. I have been allowing my kids to chew on them supervised and their teeth are cleaner than ever. I honestly think with this addition to brushing we may not need dogs put under for cleaning.
We are lucky my dogs will let us or our vet scale teeth without putting them out. We start handling teeth very young to get to this point.
Has anyone else had luck with antlers?
Therese Leimback
FoPaw's Basenjis
www.fopawsbasenjipuppies.com -
@Therese:
Friends of ours from Canada bought us a Christmas present of antlers. Their 5 year old basenji boy after chewing on his own for one month has the cleanest teeth I've ever seen. I have been allowing my kids to chew on them supervised and their teeth are cleaner than ever. I honestly think with this addition to brushing we may not need dogs put under for cleaning.
We are lucky my dogs will let us or our vet scale teeth without putting them out. We start handling teeth very young to get to this point.
Has anyone else had luck with antlers?
Therese Leimback
FoPaw's Basenjis
www.fopawsbasenjipuppies.comTherese, is it the finish on the antlers that make it effective? Or the chemical properties? What do you think it is? That is so interesting!
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I'll have to take a photo of the one that is chewed on so you can see how it holds up. It doesn't splinter and I would guess it is the texture that chewing on it scrapes any plaque off the teeth. The dogs love it, it isn't messy and everything I have read so far says its safe.
I'll take a photo so you can see that chewing on it since Christmas they have done little damage to it but still enjoy it. Our friends from New Westminster bought it at a specialty pet store near you Fran.
Therese -
Lots of stores are stocking antlers now. I'm always on the lookout for non-rawhide chews, and these look great! Except my shiba gets way too possessive over long-lasting chews, so we can't really keep anything around that will last for days/weeks on end.
Best Bully Sticks has a bunch here:
http://www.bestbullysticks.com/home/bbs/search?keywords=antlers&submit.x=0&submit.y=0A lot of indie sellers on Etsy often have them for sale, too:
http://www.etsy.com/people/WildandWooleyTreatsWe like Himalayan yak cheese chews, salmon skin rolls (here's a video of Bowpi working at one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4SCwZOGiMA), and C.E.T. Dental Chews (which are beef rawhide, which I know some people don't like, but my guys seem to have done all right with these).
As for weather and its proportional relationship to vet costs… HMM... Considering it's raining sideways outside my window right now and Bowpi refuses to be pulled off the front porch, I'd have to question that equation. ;) Nah, actually, yeah, we do have amazing weather almost year-round, so it's a great place to live. But very stressful if you "ain't got the Dough-re-mi," as Woody Guthrie sings.
I've honestly given consideration to finding a job in, say, rural Texas or Montana or something when I'm done with my degree, if only for lower vet costs... among other advantages!
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LOL …. so hmm... great weather = higher Vet costs... makes perfect sense to me!!!
LOL great weather equals more want to live there.
More want to live there, drives real estate costs up.
Increased real estate costs drives other expenses up.LOL, it does make some sense. But then, wth is up with NYC which has icky weather? Oh wait, massive overcrowding, never mind.
