Tooth Trouble
 

Thursday I decided to play hooky from work and spend the last really nice day home with the dogs. I am also fostering a 5 year old female Pom. They are both addicted to bully sticks. I bought them 2 new ones to occupy them while I cleaned house. I also got them each a mint breath bone. Should have known better...it was like a greenie. Perkins got very possessive of his and would not put it down. He finally hid it and then sat with me. When the Pom walked by he attacked her. I gated him while I checked to make sure she was OK. She was. When I let Perkins back into the room I noticed his face was not right. His little front tooth was sticking straight out. Called the vet and brought him in to have it checked. Vet said it was fine. He didn't seem to be in pain and it was still attached really well, just shifted. He told me to just keep watch & if it bothers him to call for an appointment to get it pulled. Then he asked how old Perkins is. I was told he was 2 when I adopted him 2 years ago. Vet thinks he's closer to 8. I was shocked. Perkins has been a little grouchy but eating OK. Now he's started a new thing. He is constantly licking the Pom's face. So, I'm not sure what to do about his tooth. Not sure how old he is. And don't know why he is constantly licking the Pom's face. Anyone have any ideas???

That has to be upsetting to not know how old your baby is and I'm not sure what to do about this tooth. I have four little girls, all different breeds, but the oldest is always "cleaning" the others faces. It's quite funny actually, she cleans they're eyes and mouths the most. I've had friends ask me what she's doing. I think beacause she's the pack leader she feels it's her job although it's just my opinion.

The first thought that went thru my mind about his age is that it is 4 years less time I'll have with him than I originally thought. I'm giving his tooth situation a week to see if it bothers him before I make a decision about it's extraction. As for the face licking... I'm thinking he's apologizing for attacking her. LOL. As long as that never happens again I'm happy. So far everything seems to be back to "normal":)

I have a female who does the same thing, including the ears. The other dogs actually invite her to do it, and will nudge her to clean their ears, then she moves on to eyes and mouth.

I have a couple my dogs whose age I am unsure about. I am pretty sure they are over 14 years old, but I don't know how much older for sure. I do wish more, now, than I ever have, just how old they are.

I think it's a good idea to have it checked out again if it still looks strange. As for the face licking, all 3 of my girls do it to each other. Not sure why. I know what you mean about age. Nikki was estimated to be around 14 years according to the info from the rescue. My vets feel he is more like 16. It's sad they don't have a history or a true birthday, but good they have loving homes now.

Working with a rescue the hardest part is determing the dogs age. We generally get an estimate from a vet that checks the teeth to try and determine.

The probelm is that since Yorkies are prone to bad teeth and if rescued from a mill (with absolutely no care) the teeth are much worse which really goofs up trying to determine the age. :(

We have two that we just have guesstimate ages on...we celebrate their bdays on their adoption day! :)