Small dogs lose teeth very easily. Even on a strict diet of dog food and treats. We never give ours anything with sugar.
Mom’s first two Yorkies lost most of their teeth by age 12. It was kind of sad seeing their tongue hanging out. They passed on and mom’s next Yorkies have gotten their teeth cleaned every two or three years. Depends on what the vet finds at the annual checkup.
My Chihuahua has required teeth cleaning too. He’s eight and has only lost two teeth so far.
It’s more than cosmetic. A lot of little dogs get mean and snappy as they age. It could be chronic pain from gum disease and abscessed teeth.
We do worry about the anesthetic. Thats always a risk.
Small dog owners - do you get your dog’s teeth cleaned to prevent tooth loss?
Hmm, I’ve never had the vet tell me I need to get the pugs teeth cleaned for preventative reasons, but I have had them cleaned after we’ve found problems. Girly pug had a loose tooth, we had her teeth cleaned and they extracted the loose one and I think one other.
Now, the lil’ boy pug has a broken tooth, and he’s going to be going in this week or next for an extraction. Funny, he broke a canine (yeah, I know, they’re ALL canines) while chewing a nylon bone, and it looks really painful, but he sure doesn’t seem to be bothered by it. We took him to the vet right after, and the vet said it was fine to wait for a while to get it taken care of as long as we kept an eye on it. We were heading out of town so opted to wait, and so far, so good.
The vet has told us that pug’s teeth don’t have very long roots, and we can expect them to lose some as they get older. They’re 9 and 10, and are doing OK so far. I guess maybe I’ll ask if we should be getting them cleaned more often next time we go in.
I don’t think it’s just the size of the dog. I had a collie who had bad breath. The vet did the first cleaning and said that teeth are a problem with collies. Therefore I brushed her teeth at least once a week. She like the poultry-flavored doggie tooth paste.
On the other hand I have a lab mix and his teeth stay clean and no bad breath. I brush them once every couple of months anyway.
We clean our boxers teeth. I give them dental bones regularly, have several dental type chew toys (protruding bits the rub teeth clean while they play) and brush them with a bristled finger tip cover and chicken flavoured toothpaste when I see any need to.
I also check their mouths daily. We started when Kaia was a difficult to handle rescue to get her used to having my hands in and around her mouth and kept going because she had growths along her gumlines we wanted to keep track of. Apparently this all helped because after her surgery this month to have all of those growths removed she didn’t lose any teeth. Apparently the growths provide extra support so when they are removed there are frequently teeth that are too loose to keep. Or we were lucky. Either way
She had a complete tooth cleaning while she was under and the vet reduced the cost from the original quote because they needed much less time than they had budgeted for.
I do get my tiny dogs’ teeth cleaned. My chi had very few teeth when we got him, having lived on a diet of human food for his previous 2 years on the planet. He really struggled toward the end of his life because he couldn’t chew at all. I had a teacup poodle who also lost teeth, even though I did brush her teeth, give her dental chews, and have her dentist clean her teeth. She couldn’t be anesthetized, so he cleaned them under sedation.
My current small dog is just about due for her first cleaning. I should be brushing her teeth frequently, but I can barely remember to brush my own teeth, so I’ve learned to be realistic.
AIUI, the reason dental disease is seen so frequently in small dogs is that they have been intentionally (and rapidly) bred down in size to be “cute,” so their normal teeth are crowded into undersized jaws. Still, dogs of all sizes benefit from some amount of dental care, since they no longer have to tear flesh from bones and separate muscle fibers. They pay the price for their modern diet just as we humans do.
I’ve never brushed my golden’s teeth (well, I tried a couple times, unsuccessfully) but she’s been good at chewing so she hasn’t had much of a problem growing up.
They suggested a cleaning for her at 10, and want to do another here at 11 but we’re going to put it off until she’s almost 12 (long story). It’s preventative care at this point - don’t want her teeth to get so bad that she’s having to have dental surgery when she’s too old for it to be safe.
