Hound Absessed Tooth

[SMITTY1233]

Anyone have any dealings with abscessed tooth removal in a hound. I took my lead dog to the vet yesterday and had his tooth removed as it was badly infected and abscessed they said. He had swelling in his face etc. They kept him 7am until around 6pm when I picked him up. His swelling was worse when i picked him up and he was bleeding way more than I had expected. Front legs covered in blood, tail, etc. They said they cleaned him up a couple times but he's ready to go. I took him home put him in his box last night checked on him two or three times he was not very active but otherwise acted ok. This morning he was to start antibiotics and take pain meds if acting less active then normal. I opened the box and he was laying in a lot of blood which was concerning and wheezing and coughing. I called the vet as I was a little concerned they said all normal and likely still draining causing the wheezing and coughing. I had a hard time giving him medicine he wouldn't eat and mouth was real sensitive to touch. I got the antibiotics and pain meds down him after a little work. Curious if anyone else has had any dealings with this. Had hounds my whole life never seen an abscessed tooth ever. Thoughts welcomed.

[BCBeagles]

I have...it nearly killed one of my best hounds. He had about 7 teeth removed in the whole ordeal,but had a few that were severly infected. Vet said it would have killed him in short order.

He had really slowed on his eating and lost weight. After they did the work, in which they cleaned his teeth as well he was like a new dog. Within a week he was back to his old self in the field and in the pen. I followed up with him to the Vet as he suggested.

I would follow the protocol of the Vet and realize that a dogs mouth is an extremely important part to how they feel. It is obvious you pay attention or you would not have noticed his pains. I hope he bounces back like mine did. Good luck!!

[SMITTY1233]

Right after extraction did you notice any wheezing and coughing? Doc says its drainage which makes sense but it caught my attention quickly this morning. He ate a little today which I think is a good sign but doesn't seem to drink much water. Its just been over 24 hours now so maybe more time will ease my mind. I didn't like the wheezing and coughing at all...

[Mhouse]

I had one last year (first time ever) that had a golf ball sized knot on his face. Had tooth removed and meds. After a couple of days he was back to himself. Hang in there, hopefully he will recover quickly.

[BCBeagles]

Yes he did cough some. I believe it was when they had him under they accumulate some fluid. I would monitor him, but eating is a good sign. I put mine on raw ground deer for about a week to make the whole eating thing easier.

Good luck.

[SMITTY1233]

Little update I jumped the gun a little on the problems. After four days he is doing 95% better all swelling is gone and no coughing or wheezing. The blood and the coughing and wheezing had me really concerned. This guy has been very good to me over the last couple seasons. He just turned two and is the lead dog in the pack. Makes your nervy when you see them struggle a little

[warddog]

Glad he is on the mend Smitty. I suppose you were kind of like a parent who had not dealt with a child being sick with something you had not encountered. We never get too old to learn by new experiences. By the way I have watched this with interest as I have never dealt with an abscessed tooth either. Good luck with him and thanks for sharing the learning experience.

[SMITTY1233]

We do almost all of our own vetting on simple things at home. When I first noticed he had some facial swelling and possibly infected tooth I gave him penicillin for three days through injection. I waited two to three days after and all symptoms were the same. After taking him in the vet said I was treating symptoms but not problem. She made it sound like she sees these all the time. I called her in a panic the next day when he was coughing and wheezing and she said it's completely normal and guess what she was right. This was the first time I went to this vet as well which I'm sure not having a trusting relationship didn't help. She was recommended as a friend of one of the guys in our hound group. This morning when I gave him his meds he seemed almost completely normal. I was relieved to see that. I posted here cause I have some really good friends here and have gotten great advice here in the past. Here is Red this fall on his first bear kill.

[Randy Osborne]

Back when I was still cat hunting with walker dogs, I had a gyp that her head swelled up and was like a small basket ball and was about to cut her breathing off, it seemed from the swelling of her head and throat. She was one of my best dogs if not the best at the time. This happened while in the pen. I was trying to figure out what was wrong, maybe a spider bite. It turned out to be bad teeth and it got so bad, I let a friend take her with the understanding about the problem. He wanted her anyway, as he knew the gyp and said he would be willing to doctor more. It was a on going problem with more teeth trouble and she was only about three yrs old at the time. I sure didn't want to get rid of her, but knew her teeth was bad and my friend wanted her. I did not want to keep doctoring her. She had several pulled by the vet, but got more bad ones later.

[SMITTY1233]

Randy that has been my biggest fear is that it will be a reoccurring problem. Vet said to brush his teeth good once a week or so. I probably will have too.

[BCBeagles]

I buy the filled bones that you can get at most pet stores. My dogs like the peanut butter and beef filling the best. Bones work well for teeth cleaning, but those filled ones really keep them interested in chewing them for weeks. I buy them about once a month.....good luck!

[mybeagles]

RAW Diet....end of story

[SMITTY1233]

Why do most vets discourage raw diet. I've asked several and they almost all to a T discourage it. They say there are nutrients in dog food a dog needs. I'm not disputing your knowledge or that it would help or be better I'm just curious why. I've always been told part of healthy teeth is dog food.

[mybeagles]

Not all vets are against it...I've talked with some that strongly recommend it....look at a five year old dogs teeth that's been on kibble, then look at the teeth of dog on raw diet then get back with me....