veterinary medicine Archives

Yep! He does!

OK, then. See you next time! (:

Just kidding… but, yeah, your dog probably does need a dental cleaning.

Today, Cooper goes in for his first full dental. The crazy thing is that Cooper will be 7 years old next month, and this is the first time he’s truly needed one.

(OK, that pic is from a couple years ago… Cooper SMILES when he’s happy to see you. Our pet sitter friend, who he loves, snapped this gem!)

When Coop had his annual exam in October 2015, his vet said that he’d need a dental the following fall. Same thing with Newt. So, when I took them both in October 2016, I was surprised to hear her say that, actually, his teeth were still in pretty good shape, but we might as well schedule one within the next year. (Newt, on the other hand, needed hers ASAP and ended up discovering a cracked tooth.)

So, we put it off since we were dealing with Emmett’s myriad health issues, followed by Violet’s arrival.

But, I constantly flip his lip.

Do you do that?? You totally should! Every so often, flip up your pup’s lips and check out his teeth and gums. If you know, generally, what they look like, it’s easy to tell when something isn’t quite right.

And that’s exactly what happened.

His front left canine had some serious gunky discoloration along the gum line. And, while we were poking and prodding his other teeth, we noticed a small, hard lump just on the inside of his upper lip. Hmm. So, we called the vet and got his appointment scheduled ASAP. Today.

The plan: A full dental cleaning, along with an aspiration and possible removal of the lump. (trying not to panic… trying not to panic… trying…)

Cooper’s never been under anesthesia before, so they’re doing a full work-up first to make sure he’s a good candidate.

Our animal hospital is AAHA accredited–one of the reasons we chose it, to be honest–so there are a few things I know and feel comfortable with him going through this for the first time.

AAHA hospitals have to meet a series of mandatory standards, then earn points beyond what’s required. So, for today, I know that for the anesthesia, a trained tech will monitor Coop with required equipment throughout the entirety of his anesthesia. That allows for him to be closely monitored while he receives a thorough clean under the gumline, plus any extractions (which I reallllllly hope he doesn’t need), and then the aspiration and possible removal of this mystery lump. So, the whole time, he’s carefully monitored by focused, well-trained staff. They also have mandatory procedures for surgery, pain assessment and management, and protocols for recovery, like delivering oxygen in a number of different ways, if it’s needed.

These are the types of things I focus on when I’m trying not to panic…

It’s recommended, of course, that dogs get a full dental once a year. You and your vet will have to decide if that’s the best course for your pup. With Emmett, he had a dental every other year and definitely needed it each time. Lucas got one every two or three years because his teeth were in better shape than Em’s overall. Cooper truly hasn’t needed one until now, and he’s almost seven.

Every dog and every situation is unique.

So, does your dog really need a dental cleaning at the vet?

Probably.

According to the American Veterinary Dental College, “Periodontal disease is the most common clinical condition occurring in adult dogs and cats, and is entirely preventable. By three years of age, most dogs and cats have some evidence of periodontal disease.”

If nothing else, take a couple minutes this weekend to flip your dog’s lip. Look at his teeth and gums. If you spot anything off or gunky or smelly, call the vet. If all looks well, add it to your calendar to check again in a couple weeks.

As for me, I’m going to go pour over the AAHA website again to refresh myself on their anesthesia, dental, surgery, and recovery standards so that I can focus on the good care he’s getting rather than all the worries…

Happy Friday, y’all!

One of the best parts of the PetSafe summit was our afternoon at the UT vet school. There were three BIG take-aways for me that I want to share here.

A quick note: While there were animals all over the place, we weren’t allowed to share pictures. Our guide explained their policies as “HIPAA for animals” so I took what I could. You’ll just have to imagine the animals that were there. (Including a TIGER! Having SURGERY! Which I SAW!!! I have the pics on my phone if our paths ever cross…)

Take-away one: We need a better understanding of the root cause of animal behavior. That means scientific inquiry, rather than just theory.

At veterinary schools around the country, behavior is diminished in importance compared to other specialties. The reason? According to Dr. Julie Albright, the PetSafe Chair in Small Animal Behavioral Research, it just doesn’t bring in the money that other areas – like oncology – do. At UT, PetSafe pays for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist to hold a post at the school where she sees patients, consults on behavior issues, and conducts research. This is huge since there are so few veterinary behaviorists around the country, and PetSafe is ensuring UT keeps one in their school. We spent some time chatting with her and learned, not surprisingly, that her most common dog cases are aggression (cats are inappropriate elimination). But she made the fascinating point that there still isn’t a genuine understanding of the causes of aggressive behavior – there’s a lot of theory, but the data isn’t there. Her research is looking at play behavior among puppies, mapping the differences between breeds and changes in play as the puppies develop.

Take-away two: The care available to our animals is far more sophisticated than I ever imagined.

And it’s such an uplifting demonstration of the compassion and love we have for the animals in our lives. I was amazed at the resources they have, like physical rehabilitation and sports medicine to stem cell therapy and emergency care. They have two hyperbaric chambers – one for small animals, which was even used on a guinea pig who had smoke inhalation, and one for horses/large animals. Here’s the small animal one:

They’re able to treat avian and exotic animals all the way up to that tiger mentioned above. The Equine Performance and Rehabilitation Center was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. There was an underwater treadmill designed exclusively for horses.

State-of-the-art equipment and procedures are available for every type of animal you can think of. The entire place blew me away, and it made me feel all warm and fuzzy thinking about all the attention and care our beloved animals are receiving. They literally have the benefit of every type of treatment under the sun. (Like, the CT machine there was IDENTICAL to the one at my oncologist’s office!)

Take-away three: Veterinary social work is an important emerging field. We need more of it.

There aren’t a lot of these programs. Yet. But they play such a critical and often overlooked role in veterinary medicine: caring for the people. We happened to be at UT shortly after Dr. Sophia Yin’s tragic suicide, and there was a somber mood as they spoke to us about this program. But there was a light, too. These social workers are specializing in the veterinary field so that they’re able to support vets. At UT, they’re offering courses on wellness and self-care, suicide prevention, and more for the veterinarians. But they also support the patients. They help upset or confused clients communicate with the medical stuff. They arrange community resources and pet loss support groups. In the hospital, they provide emotional support to patients who have to make difficult decisions and are available to be present during euthanasia. They provide grief counseling. And so much more. Can you even dream of a better service to be offered in a veterinary hospital? And it makes so much sense, right? We have those services in human hospitals across the country. This, to me, is a natural and much needed extension of that, and I can only hope that this field grows rapidly! So much warm-fuzzy here, too!

Overall, it was an amazing visit. I learned so much, and I was inspired to see how perfectly the school combines compassionate care with technology.

(Oh, incidentally: We heard a presentation from a veterinary nutritionist. I think Cooper needs one of those. I’m going to see if we can get some sort of referral at his next appointment…)

Does my dog really need a dental cleaning?

An eye-opening visit to the UT vet school