New Foster in our House!

Samson needs a new home soon! Please, if you are interested come read our blog:

http://c2cheshire.blogspot.com/2009/06/samson-needs -home.html

Is an "anesthesia-free" dentistry for your pet?

Is an “anesthesia-free” dentistry for your pet?

URL: http://www.dolittler.com/index.cfm/2008/10/13/dog.cat.veteri nary.veterinarian.anesthesia.dentistry.dental.teeth.cleaning

Fear and loathe veterinary anesthesia though you might (and I wouldn’t necessarily blame you), the answer to the above question is a no-brainer for me: the so-called “anesthesia-free” dental cleaning is NOT an appropriate approach to managing our pets’ dental health.

A variety of companies are now offering this service in a bunch of states. California seems especially targeted (according to Pet Connection’s Christie Keith, who provided the impetus for this post with her own from last Saturday). The procedure’s gained some traction among pet owners as a result of…

1) our heightened understanding of the need for dental care for our pets,

2) the fear of anesthesia, since most of us also know that anesthesia carries risks, and

3) the reduced expense such a service requires relative to the standard, anesthetic dental cleaning procedure veterinarians urge our pets undergo.

I’m often in a position to field the question, “Is there any way I can clean my pet’s teeth without anesthesia?”

Though I’m loath to hit my client with a rapid-fire answer in the negative, I’m firm on my stance: No anesthesia-free dentistry has yet been shown to do more good than harm.

Yes, it’s true. Non-anesthetic dental cleanings have actually been proven to be harmful to pets. Here’s a run-down on why:

1) The stated goal of this service is typically to remove visible tartar for cosmetic reasons. These companies don’t (and can’t) promise health benefits for our pets.

2) The necessary, below-the-gumline cleaning of teeth is painful, requires minimal movement for accuracy, and is generally considered impossible without anesthesia.

3) Polishing the teeth after a thorough cleaning and scaling is absolutely essential to the continued health of teeth and gums and cannot be properly undertaken without anesthesia.

(Polishing is necessary because the invisible damage done to teeth during the cleaning process must be mitigated by the smoothing action afforded by the polish. Otherwise, the teeth and gums become more susceptible to bacterial infection than before cleaning.)

4) Pets don’t tolerate even basic cleaning and scaling well. They struggle and stress. Even if they do hold still enough, the results are always unsatisfactory relative to the anesthetic version of the procedure.

***

How do I know? Not only do I have cause to believe the respected, board-certified dentists who have evaluated the anesthesia-free procedure, I’ve got my own dog’s example to consider.

My Frenchie, Sophie Sue, became the reluctant guinea pig for this anesthetic-free dental cleaning a couple of years back when a company began making the rounds of our South Florida neighborhood.

Though our practice had pretty much decided against the service (which would be performed at our hospital by “dental specialists” trained in the procedure) based on the advice of the veterinary dental establishment, we thought it would be only fair to see how it worked.

Sophie Sue carried a very mild tartar buildup, despite her advanced age, because of my weekly brushing and (I believe) because I offer her raw, meaty bones on a regular basis. Nonetheless, I thought it not unreasonable to subject her to a free cleaning.

Not only did Sophie Sue (generally a model patient) resist quite impressively, her teeth suffered an unreasonable buildup of tartar in the months that followed (in spite of my unchanged home-care protocol). I may be wrong, but I attribute that to an inability to polish her teeth effectively during the procedure.

Even if you discount my anecdotal findings, its clear that the academically-inclined veterinarians among us are in opposition to anesthetic-free dental cleanings based on similar evidence: Incomplete (purely cosmetic) dental cleaning is worse than no cleaning at all.

And yet the practice seems to be gaining some ground. Instead of targeting veterinary practices with this service (which seemed to yield no fruit after vets became aware of its consequences), the companies offering anesthesia-free dentistry are now looking to groomers to partner with, as Christie Keith’s post points out.

The California company she mentions, Canine Care, has been called out for its practices (at one point it was enjoined against providing this procedure), despite its contention that this version of dentistry is only offered for cosmetic purposes and claims no health benefits (the latter which might place it in violation of a law prohibiting non-vets from offering healthcare services).

However you feel about the ability of unlicensed laypersons to offer healthcare services to pets, this concept is a dud any way you slice it. It’s just not reasonable to expect any pet to suffer a complete dental cleaning without anesthesia. And the resulting halfway approach clearly does more harm than good.

Considering that responsible veterinarians guide themselves by the “above all do no harm” mantra, it seems self-evident that this practice deserves to die once and for all.

Rest in peace Abraham

My furry ferret friend. We said good-bye to you last night. I will miss your musky smell and your scampering across the floor. I loved to chase you and play. It's better this way, you are free of suffering to romp and play as a whole and healthy ferret at the rainbow bridge. I'll meet you there someday, and we'll romp and play again. But, not too soon though. I have to stay here a while to look after your brother and take care of Mom. We all loved you very much Abraham, even though you could be difficult sometimes. Rest in peace little guy! Till we meet again.

My sister Anna turned 4 yesterday!

http://www.dogster.com/dogs/472391

Visit her page and see the video Mom took of us chowing down on ice cream... Yum!

Duck pond video

I always seem to have trouble with getting links to video or imbedding video on Dogster. I don't know what my problem is?

Lets try these:

#1



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#2



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http://s105.photobucket.com/ albums/m219/c2cheshire/?action=view¤t=Video_050908_001 .flv

Limited Duck ponds...

Bummer, big time! Friday when we went for a walk at the duck ponds we were told that there are some endangered species of bird nesting in the tree line surrounding where we were walking. They are protected and we are not allow to go near them anymore. We are still allowed to go there but very limited on where we can walk. Bummer. So, we looking into a new place. ;-) Mom did catch some kind of low quality video on her cell phone yesterday.

Insert links here:
http://s105.photobucket.com/albums/m219/c2cheshire/?a ction=view¤t=Video_050908_002.flv

http://s105.photo bucket.com/albums/m219/c2cheshire/?action=view¤t=Video _050908_001.flv



Lady

The Duck Ponds -- ROCK!

We've gone about 3 times to a place near our house - it's next to a shooting range and is part of or right next to some national forrest grounds. Humans created these bodies of water where all kinds of ducks can come and breed and hang out. The humans have hunting seasons 3 months out of the year. We've gone on Friday afternoons every time so far. It's the coolest place ever! We get to run, romp and play off leash because we are the only dogs there! We go with some pals so it's extra fun on top of it all. We chase lizards and birds - caught nothing yet. :-( We can splash around in the duck ponds too! It's loads of fun! We do get pretty darn dirty though! Mom doesn't like that part but I say - the dirtier you get the more fun it is!!

I'll have to have mom get some photos and video to show.

So, this is our new favorite place to go!!

Valentine's Day Doggy Style!

I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day this year. We did something fun this year. Mom took me to participate in a Valentine's Day Kissing contest at PetCo! It was great fun. I got meet and greet with some very lovely pups while I was there. I got my picture taken with mom and she made me a special cookie to take home. I have picture of all this cool stuff on my page here. The best part was I really won the contest. The judges decided it was a draw between me and one other little dog but I could hear the crowd saying my name! I guess they felt bad for the little dog? They gave out both prizes - the grand and the back up for the event of a tie. But, I got to choose and the left over went to the "runner up". ;-) I love being the center of attention so this was so great!! I even waved to the crowd when we left.

We might do it again next year, if I can sweet talk mom into it.

Crossing paws


Lady

SHANIA AND KATANA FOUND A HOME!!

I am very happy to announce that BOTH Shania and Katana have found a home! Today. Step-brother "stepped-up" and took both of them in. He lives in the mountains and has a big yard. He has two young boys that will have a blast playing with these two sweeties.

It was quite sudden, but very good news. Family said their tearful good-byes this morning.

Thanks for everyone who passed the word around!

Laura

Katana and Shania need new a new home!

They are part of my family so check them out! Their family is losing their house to foreclosure and need to find a new home for their babies. They are very sweet and friendly. They like cats and kids and will make wonderful additions to someone's household!

Please help, their time is running out.

Lady