[BestBeagleGirl]

My poor beagle needs all her teeth pulled. She has had regular vet care, teeth prof. cleaned, and good food. The vet said it has nothing to do with hygiene or nutrition, just genetics. What will I feed her from now on? What kind of treats can I give her, that aren't junk food? I joined this forum when I found it while searching for these answers. Has anyone else had experience with this? My dog is ten years old.
BestBeagleGirl2

 

[Murphys Dad]

I wish you could have joined us under better circumstances but welcome nonetheless. I feel so bad for your pup (and you!) but this doesn't mean she won't enjoy food or eating. I personally haven't had experience with this but one of my co-worker's did with her terrier (who I think was also 10 years old at the time). She had already switched to a nutritious canned food (there are many -- Innova has several, so does Merrick's). You will probably have to rethink your idea of treats -- it might be that green beans (canned, low salt) or canned carrots (also low salt) would be enticing. I think you are just going to have to try different things and see what your pup can eat and enjoys eating. I am assuming you have confidence in your vet and don't feel the need for a second opinion. Keep in mind that, if your vet is recommending food/treats that he/she sells, you might find better choices elsewhere (and perhaps less expensive).
When you get a chance, do post an intro in that forum and we would love to see pics!

 

[BestBeagleGirl]

Thank you for the reply, Judy.

 

[Murphys Dad]

I just want to say

Judy had good advice, and I can't think of anything to add.

 

[jassy]

One of my cats only has a few teeth. In the beginning I gave him canned food only. I have several cats so dry food is always available also. I find my almost toothless guy at the dry food bowl often. He manages to eat a fair share of it even though he could eat the canned. He also gets cooked salmon or chicken that I have shredded finely.
For treats for your beagle, you might try some of the dehydrated chicken or salmon broken into little pieces. If you use people food at all you could add yogurt, cottage cheese or egg. My senior cats like shredded cheese.
As Judy said, once you start experimenting you will find lots of things he can eat.

 

[Opus]

Welcome to BeagleWorld. I am curious though, why do the teeth need pulling? What will happen if they aren't pulled?

You can soften kibble in warm water. I did that to hide pills for Winston.
Hope all works well for you. Hope to hear some beagle tales from you!

 

[BestBeagleGirl]

Winston's Mom,

Her teeth need to be pulled because her jaw and gums are infected and a lot of her teeth are loose. She is on Rimadyl and an antibiotic and the vet said the bacteria could spread to her heart and liver.

 

[BestBeagleGirl]

I should add that I work with someone who said her dog had a similar diagnosis and they left it alone and the dog's teeth just fell out. That was four years ago. But, my beagle was in pain before we got her Rimadyl. AAhhhhhhh, I am worried about this and the operation is Monday.

 

[Brisen]

I don't have any experience with this type of problem, but just want to wish her luck on Monday. Welcome to the forum!

 

[Sephly]

i also have no experience with this but i have seen and heard of dogs with no teeth that are fed a special diet and live a full life. I wish you and your beagle babe the best of luck, my recommendation would be just go with a nice wet food merricks is great as well as others mentioned above and treat wise you could make liver brownies, soft dog biscuits (there are TONS of recipes online) etc.

best wishes to you and your pup.

 

[threedognight]

My Chloe only has six of her upper teeth left. I am about to start her on a regimen of antibiotics once a month. As for her food, I feed her dry food that has been soaked in water for a minute and she gobbles it up with no problems. Your baby will be in our prayers Monday that the operation goes well. The last time Chloe had her teeth cleaned, FIVE teeth had to come out, but she seemed to feel so much better and happier.

 

[BestBeagleGirl]

Thank you everyone for your kind words and advice.

 

[Opus]

I am very sorry to learn about your babe's health problems. What is her name? We'll be praying for her. I am sure she will come through this fine.
There are LOTS of helpful people here and I'm sure you'll come up with a diet that works for her in no time.
She's a beagle after all. If she wants to eat, she'll find a way to do it!

 

[Opus]

You know I just had a thought. Baby food is about as natural as a puree as you can get. It might just be thin enough that she can lap it up, at least until she heals. You can get several meat only varieties. It might also be something you can use to mix with kibble, it'll absorb some of the moisture and soften.
You could also freeze it in little chunks in an ice cube tray to make frozen treats that will melt once in her mouth!
I bet it would freeze well in a kong toy for those need a treat to last times. (I think I'll try that myself) She'd be able to lick that out.

 

[BestBeagleGirl]

Great Idea, Winston's mom!!!!!!!
Thank you so much.

 

[Erin]

Welcome to the forum! You'll find all kinds of wonderful people here who, as you can see from this post, are so kind and give great advice!

We'll be praying for your pup and her surgery!

 

[beaglesmom]

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"> </span> I'm so sorry this is happening to your little girl. One of my rescues came to me with major dental problems. She had one abcessed tooth pulled before I got her - the day after I picked her up at the airport in Spokane, she saw MY vet and he did an emergency dental on her right then. She had to have 7 abcessed and/or broken teeth removed <span style="text-decoration: underline">that day</span>. He also removed a dime sized chunk of dead black bone from her jaw. Since then she's had dental surgery twice - and has few teeth left - but it does NOT stop her from eating like a BEAGLE. My dogs all get very good quality food - and good care - she came from a large kennel of show beagles - and I think perhaps they didn't feed their dogs very good quality foods or pay much attention to their dogs unless they were being shown. She is a tiny little girl, but is extremely food aggressive. In all the years (and with all the dogs I have), I've never had one of MY dogs have this kind of problem - my keeshond was 14 years old before she had A TOOTH pulled. And only Lottie (out of my 11 dogs) has had to have any teeth pulled. Princess is 9, Chloe and Romeo are 8, Saddie is 7, JoJo is 5, the boys, Joe and Jack will be 4 in September, Bella is 3 and Angel is 2. Lottie was 3 when she came to me and already had major problems.
Lottie is able to eat anything that doesn't eat her first

- even with few teeth left. I DO soak her regular kibble - but she manages to gobble if even if it isn't soaked. I also give her yogurt for extra calcium and protein. Baby food is a good idea. I also gave Lottie a lot of yogurt and cottage cheese until she was able to eat the kibble. It apparently bothers ME much more than it bothers HER.
My mom's little poodle lost all his teeth - but he was 19 years old - and his teeth were bad when she adopted him when he was 5! They were so bad they poisoned his system and caused many other problems.
You'd be amazed what she will be able to eat with few or no teeth. The only thing you will probably notice is that with NO teeth, her tongue will hang out - as there will be nothing there to hold it in. At least Lottie does have her canine teeth so her tongue doesn't hang out.

 

[Murphys Dad]

You did come up with some great suggestions, Sonja! When I was home cooking for a while with my Maggie, I would mix in the baby sweet potato and green beans and later on fed her just baby food. There were lots of varieties and textures. Freezing them is a wonderful suggestion -- you'd just have to figure out where to have your pup eat them so it didn't mess up your house.
Home cooking is another alternative -- I cooked up extra lean ground beef, then put it in food processor with baby food, yogurt, rice and cooked veggies. I would prepare a few days meals at a time and store it in the fridge. If you decide to do that long-term, I would recommend that you consult with an animal nutritionist to make sure that your pup is getting all the necessary nutrients that a senior dog requires (and there are differences for a senior). Regular vets do not typically have a background in this area.
(P.S. Just recently watched a Dogtown episode where an adorable long-haired daschund had to have all of his teeth removed. He, too, had an infection in his gums and it had gone into his jaw. The surgery was done by a vet who was a dental specialist. Is that who is going to do your pup's surgery? If he does have infection in his jaw, I would strongly recommend it. If cost is a factor, maybe your vet can at least consult with a specialist prior to the surgery. The pup on the show did great after surgery and was adopted shortly thereafter.)

 

[Gingergoose]

Hi!

The first thing that came to my mind was the meat baby food and soaked kibble. Good advice and I have none to add.

I will wish you and your baby good luck tomorrow; try not to be afraid but it's understandable that you are worried.

Please let us know how she does.

~Denise

 

[cobismom]

I know nothing about this, but I have a book of soft dog food that I would love to send you. It's a good your own, but it's healthy, and recommended by vets. I would think that like with people who have had their teeth pulled, she will have to eat soft foods to begin with, and soft treats. You could partially cook carrots or green beans as treats -- al dente' --- I think they call it. But if you want the book, it's yours. PM me and we'll exchange addresses.