15 year old Pom getting dental tomorrow....

[Vicki]

My other little Pom, Trevor, is getting a dental tomorrow. We did the preliminary blood work and his liver and kidney enzymes were just slightly elevated so they are going to have an IV in him during the procedure. I know he'll be scared and nervous sitting in that little cage.....he gets nervous so easily. I'm taking in the blanket from our bed that he sleeps on so he'll have something soft and familiar....I hope he'll not be too scared. This is the first dental he's ever had....we always did a good job on keeping his teeth clean. My dad always took care of Trevor's teeth but he kinda slacked off on it and I wasn't aware and now he needs a professional cleaning. From here on out I'll take over brushing his teeth regularly so I'll know it's done. My other little guy, Huey, gets his teeth brushed every night and I have a scaler that I use from to time to get off any stuffborn build up. Anyway, I sure hope little Trevor will do ok....he's pretty up there in years now. Anyone have any experience with a much older dog going under for a dental? Also, we checked his thyroid (remember I had posted about his fur loss?). It was slightly low so we have started him on thyroid pills...hopefully that will help the fur come back. He's also on antibiotics in preparation for the dental in case any bacteria get in his bloodstream. Anyone have any thoughts or experience in any of this? Thanks! Vicki

[davet]

i am sure, if this is a typical veterinary hospital that there will be technicians and other help who will look in the cage and see this little guy having a nervous problem..And one of them will pick your pup up and carry him around and talk to him, completly ignoring the regular work they are supposed to be doing..there is nothing mor sad lloking thanb a little dog sitting in a a cage sureptisiously shaking as a message to hold me....fear not eery vet hospital has oane of these person whol will say theheck with work...this pup needs my attention----i bet Traci will back me up on this cause i have never seen it to fail....fear not, he will probably get more attention than he would at home.,...

[Traci]

In addition to pre-surgical blood screening, I would suggest an ECG if your vet feels it would be a good precautionary measure, such as age, hearing anything unusual upon listening to heart, etc.

As for the time spent in the clinic, Davet is right, he will be monitored closely, vitals taken, and lots of attention. You can ask your vet to call you directly after the procedure to give you an update, or you can ask him to let you know when the anesthesia has worn off to a safe level in which you could probably pick him up early. Just be prepared he may be a bit groggy, won't be interested in eating much for the first 8 or so hours post-op. Offer water and lots of TLC and he should do fine.

[Vicki]

Trevor did just fine with his dental. One tooth was extracted. When I picked him up after work he was more alert than I thought he'd be. This morning he's completely back to normal. But we aren't going to give him crunchy food till tomorrow....just in case there's any tenderness. His teeth look great and his breath is much, much better....so I'm really glad it's done. Now if we could only get his fur to grow.....hopefully the thyroid pills will help with that. Can a thryoid blood level be just a little low and still cause fur loss? I know with my other Pom, Huey...his thyroid was slightly low - we started the pills and kept on them for a long, long time and it never made any difference at all to his fur. After a whilel I stopped the pills. A few months later his fur all came back in. We'll never know why he lost it and why he got it back.

[Traci]

The thyroid medication may or may not have that effect, but also rule out that he may be licking or pulling at his fur, causing the loss. If the thyroid levels are off, your vet needs to re-evaluate whether the medication may need to be slightly adjusted or not.

[Vicki]

Well, he just started the thyroid pills last week so it might be a while before we do a recheck of the blood level. Trevor never licked or pulled at his fur at all...there was no itchiness or inflammation....nothing. Just fur coming out and not being replaced. Sometimes 4 or 5 strands of fur would come out at the same time grouped together at the base by a little scaly, dandruff looking thing. But the skin is completely normal. Trevor never messed with his fur at all. So we'll just have to see. We keep little sweaters and t-shirts on him for warmth and to protect his skin from the sun when he's outside.