pretty much this. There are no 'on the cheap' solutions once the gums are bleeding.
find a vet and work out a payment plan. If your friend doesn't, the dog will stop eating (too painful) and there will be far bigger problems down the road
Seconded. Most vets will work with you on care. The best you can hope for is to get her to a vet and fix what is wrong now, and then try to keep a regular schedule. I *think* that February is dental pet care month (or it's called something like that), so maybe a vet will cut a deal on a dental special.
And yes she will probably lose some teeth, maybe even quite a few -- but it will improve her overall health.
Around here, something like a dental would be near-impossible to get low-cost. Getting dentals every 2 years or so is a really good way to prevent the situation you're describing
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http://www.fveap.org/sys-tmpl/door/ (edit, sorry, my bad. This post is about dogs, but this link is for cats. Leaving it here so others can use it if needed)
Try the various charities above, be aware though, that an animal that old ... it's going to be risky no matter what you do. They have to sedate animals for dental care and a 13 year old small dog is old for that.
Re: raw bones from poser above. Sorry but ... bad idea, espeically for an animal with essentially open wounds in it's mouth.
ETA: I didn't see your comment below about raw food diets. I don't personally care for them, but I know a lot of people have great success with them, and do it very carefully.
I agree. There really are no good options at this point. If the dogs have teeth that have gotten this bad, there is a chance that there are going to be other health issues that are not as visible, making sedation extra dangerous. Raw bone are great for dogs and their teeth, but would be dangerous and painful for a dog that probably already has a hard time eating kibble.
I really can't help with what to do now, but as a cheap preventative, give your dogs and cats raw bones. Yes, RAW BONES. Chicken, turkey, beef, pork, deer... it doesn't matter but always, always, ALWAYS RAW. The number one reason behind bad teeth is commercial food. Dry food is no better than canned.
Since I switched to raw, my dogs teeth are *sparkling* white and have not needed a dental cleaning at all. My vet is very pleased with how they look.
Does your vet support the raw diet? I haven't taken my dog to the vet since I've switched him over, but I've been reading about a lot of vets disapproving of it.
Not in so many words. He just asked why I switched and when I stated my reasons, he agreed that they certainly looked healthier and didn't have any reason for me not to feed them raw.
Now, I took one trip to the "Holistic" vet in our area and she told me that dogs are HERBIVORES and need vegetables and proceeded to try to sell me her high dollar "natural" kibble. I never went back.
Veterinarians spend about 5% of their education on diet and nutrition. Most of it supplied by Hills Science Diet reps.
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The dog most likely has periodontitis and that's not something anyone should have to deal with.
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find a vet and work out a payment plan. If your friend doesn't, the dog will stop eating (too painful) and there will be far bigger problems down the road
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And yes she will probably lose some teeth, maybe even quite a few -- but it will improve her overall health.
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http://www.aahahelpingpets.org/grant_guidelines.html
http://help-a-pet.org/apply.html
http://www.all-creatures.org/gcm/help-cf.html
http://thepetfund.com/application/
http://www.fveap.org/sys-tmpl/door/ (edit, sorry, my bad. This post is about dogs, but this link is for cats. Leaving it here so others can use it if needed)
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Re: raw bones from poser above. Sorry but ... bad idea, espeically for an animal with essentially open wounds in it's mouth.
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Reply
ETA: I didn't see your comment below about raw food diets. I don't personally care for them, but I know a lot of people have great success with them, and do it very carefully.
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Since I switched to raw, my dogs teeth are *sparkling* white and have not needed a dental cleaning at all. My vet is very pleased with how they look.
Reply
Reply
Now, I took one trip to the "Holistic" vet in our area and she told me that dogs are HERBIVORES and need vegetables and proceeded to try to sell me her high dollar "natural" kibble. I never went back.
Veterinarians spend about 5% of their education on diet and nutrition. Most of it supplied by Hills Science Diet reps.
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