My Yorkie Has No Teeth
 

:2omg: I am writing this in dispair, because 2 weeks ago, my Zoe had all her teeth taken out. About a year & a half ago, I had 6 teeth removed & then the rest were taken out 2 weeks ago, when I brought her in for a cleaning. I thought she may need a few more out, but I was shocked when they called to say that all should be taken out. She was a real trooper after having them all out. She slept well, took her meds (liquid drops) & was back to playing with in 2 days.
The problem now is.....her tongue is hanging out on the right side of her mouth...all the time & she wont use the other side of her mouth. I tried to get her to put her tongue on the other side with a treat & she wont. I have looked inside & all looks normal. The same as the other side.....So does anyone have experience with this?? Will she look like this forever? I have an appointment with my Vet on Wednesday....but I thought this forum would be the place to get some straight answers. Looking forward to your responces .....I think??! :icon5:

:aimeeyork:animal-pa One upset Yorkie Mom

I don't know how old your dog is, but the dog that I had that had her last teeth finally pulled was 16. Her tongue fell to one side and unfortunately stayed that way, but we had her since she was 8 weeks and thought she was precious that way too. Since you are concerned I am glad that you are taking Zoe to the vet. I too get worried if anything happens at all with my little ones. I pray that all is well with Zoe.

The teeth hold the tongue in so I would think it would have to hang out if there are no teeth. Not sure why she wouldn't use the other side though?

thanks for the feedback
 

thanks for the feedback everyone! Zoe is only 4 1/2 yrs old. And teeth or no teeth shes still a cutie patootie!!!:D I just worry about the implications down the road. So I guess on Wednesday I will find out something:confused::tonglash::tonglash:

,my cassie had her teeth pulled 4 years ago yes there little tounges hang out ,they look funny ,

I totally understand. Let us know what the vet says.

I'm sorry your baby went through this at only 4yrs old.
I read, before getting Buddy, that Yorkie's loose their teeth at
a very young age if not properly taken care of. It's hard to believe
but it's true. The teeth hold the tongue in place therefore without
teeth the tongue will come forward and stick out.
Hope your baby is feelings ok today. That's a shame.

Lacey will be 2 in February. I have asked her vet about cleaning her teeth and he said they look great and there is no need. After reading your posts the you are having them cleaned yearly, I wonder if I should check with another vet. I am willing to do whatever it takes to retain her teeth. This is my first Yorkie, so could could someone please give me their suggestions? Thanks!

if you feed raw, there is no need for teeth cleaning and teeth brushing. the diet seems to do very well with their teeth and they come back from vet appt. with no tarter or problems. someone mentioned that if they never use anything to strengthen their teeth, they may become weak and fall out, so we use bully sticks for teeth and chewing strength, but the raw keeps the tarter and build up off. i hope Sadie keeps her teeth for many long years due to a good diet. anyone that is interested in a home made raw recipe diet just PM me. we truly believe it benefits their body, teeth, skin/coat, digestive system and overall health.

We use bully sticks and I also use oxyfresh in her water. I would love to feed raw, but I don't think I could handle it. If I get up the nerve I will seek you out. Thanks.

Some diets are said to be better or easier on the teeth than other diets, but I would not say that feeding raw means no teeth cleaning or tooth brushing. Also, not all "raw" diets are really raw, and contain contain other things besides meat. Lets be careful of what we pass as "fact" in our enthusiasm of our food choice.

Nancy, you know i get along fine with you and don't mind being corrected if need be, but this came off a bit harsh to me and I just wanted to let you know that it hurt a little.

from first hand experience, my aunt's dog has been on a home made raw diet for two years and has never had her teeth brushed and has never had any sort of dental cleaning and at her last vet appt. was told there was no tarter whatsoever. so while not all raw diets give you these results, this one for the past two years at least DOES. and this raw diet does contain more than just raw meat, it also has partially cooked egg, spinach, cooked rice, cottage cheese, sometimes liver, safflower oils, ground beef and turkey (raw) supplements and you give a multivitamin and fish oil daily or every other day.

it's a great diet. we swear by it, no bad breath, clean teeth, healthy coat and skin, poop once or twice daily and have very healthy digestive systems.

not everyone including some vets will agree with raw diets, but this particular recipe has worked well for us and has given our dogs healthy teeth without dental cleanings and bushings

I'd like to see the documentation you base this statement on. Many toys dogs are genetically predisposed to dental problems like gingivitis and tartar just as humans are. As our dogs age, most require regular dental cleanings.

Rawfood Diet for Dogs and Cats: recipes ideas

http://photos.imageevent.com/3bear/p...RAWfeeding.doc

Pet Home Magazine - Pet Nutrition - Raw Diets

Raw Food Diet for Dogs

[QUOTE=Ladymom;2875355]I'd like to see the documentation you base this statement on. Many toys dogs are genetically predisposed to dental problems like gingivitis and tartar just as humans are. As our dogs age, most require regular dental cleanings.[/QUOTE]

totally agree with you Marj! :thumbup:

i'm just going to say that there are many sources you can look at that mention raw diets as giving better overall health and specifically teeth. there are many who see results in better teeth with no/less tarter without dentals and brushings.

i have listed some in the previous post if you are interested in reading them.

raw diet is a CHOICE, with much research and seeing the results from my aunt's experience, I CHOSE to put my dog on it and love the results i'm getting as well. I never said anyone had to Choose this diet over commercial pet food. I personally believe there are many benefits and a lot of other dog/yorkie owners agree. If you do not agree then do not feed your dog raw food. it's as simple as that! if you would like to try it or are interested i'm offering the recipe, just PM me. If you aren't interested there is really no need to say so, just don't ask for the recipe and i won't send it.

I'm not trying to force anything on anyone, i'm simply relaying that with first hand experience and many others who have had the same results that i believe raw diets to be better for teeth and keep them cleaner without brushing or dental cleaning. saves a lot of money in the long run to not have to have cleanings done!!

Since Sadie is just a puppy, it would be impossible to base your statement on "firsthand results".

While many Yorkie owners choose to feed a raw diet, it is misleading to suggest that a dog on one will not need dental cleanings.

first hand results from my aunt's dog who is TWO YEARS old and has never needed a cleaning and has NO tarter and never had her teeth brushed...it's not firsthand from me, it's from my aunt...if you want to ask her about it you certainly can...she'll tell you from her own experience her addy is Karrie

as far as the other articles, there is plenty more out there that say the exact same thing as I just did.

i think you have decided that today is another great day to argue over silly matters. i don't feel like arguing, i've made my point about the benefits of raw and like i said, you don't have to do it, so if you don't like it, then don't do it okay???

I requested the raw diet recipe from Rachel and bought all of the ingredients and supplements. Then I went over it with my vet. He said "absolutely not!" I was disappointed because of all the good things Rachel had said about it, but, I live in a fairly rural area and he IS my vet. I feel that I should listen to him. His reasoning was the chance of bacteria being present in the raw meat. So, we're still eating Chicken Soup, getting dentals, and working on brushing. Just my 2 cents.

Two yrs old isnt really that old as far as getting a dental. Mine are going on 5 eat canned food everyday and still havent needed a dental. Plus I think some yorkies are more prone to teeth problems than others

I have found usually at least in my yorkies and I feed commercial kibble dog food that my yorkies teeth are typically tarter free until they mature and that is over the age of 2 years old. I have some that have more of a tarter problem than some of my others. I've tried RAW and I have found it's not for my dogs as they dont' like it AND some have digestive problems when I switch their food so I won't fix something that isn't broke. My yorkies after the age of 2 have yearly dental cleanings. Anyway that is my take and my experience :)

Donna Bird
Brooklynn's Yorkshire Terriers

bacteria in raw meats, i've heard that one before from guess who...my own vet! they all say that, but what do you think your dog would be eating if it got loose in the wild? would it eat nicely baked kibble, or kill an animal to survive and cook it over a fire pit...NO they eat raw food naturally, so what makes a vet think that they would get some kind of bacteria from it. dogs stomachs are NOT the same as human ones, just because we get sick from raw meat doesn't mean that a dog will be the same way.

I didn't mean to come off as harsh, I do not believe you can take antidotal evidence and pass it off as fact. You can say what you or a friend experienced, but to suggest that this means that other dogs will not need any dental care is not careful enough. From what I've read in the forum, many people say raw is very good for the teeth, but from what I gather, there are all types of raw. A dog tearing meat off a chicken leg is much different than eating raw ground hamburger with no bones, also the amount of time food would stay on the surface of the teeth is much different. Furthermore, the actual gnawing the meat from the bone would help to keep tartar off. We are not producing anything "natural" when we give a diet of ground hamburger, cooked rice, etc, not to say that this isn't healthy, but it's not something dogs would find in the wild, and the ingredients might be much more likely to stick to the teeth.

From what I've read on the forum, and again this would be antidotal, so it's not "fact", many people seem to think that homemade/canned is the worst on teeth, while kibble is in the middle, and raw is the best, but some raw diets contain such things as cooked rice, which is no different than homemade diet. The pure raw diet may be the best, but to suggest that people should not brush teeth or have periodic teeth cleanings would be irresponsible. I looked at your links, and I didn't see anything to suggest that dogs don't need to have their teeth cleaned if they eat raw.

you are correct, i reread my statement and i did make it sound like you never will need a cleaning or brushing...

correcting my mistatement: I believe that feeding raw will help their teeth and give them LESS tarter problems and LESS of a need for regular cleanings and I personally do not brush teeth. Not all dogs are the same, so what works for me might not work for you. Raw is said to be better for teeth, but i didn't mean to make it sound like there would be NO issues, because there might be.

thanks Nancy for clarifying.

While I agree with you that if they were in the wild they would be eating raw meat but they are domesticated now and the environment is different and domesticated animals have adapted to their environment and they are not wild any longer. In the wild they have no control on what they eat so of course naturally they would have to eat raw meat, grass or leaves ect...just so they wouldn't starve, it's called survival. Now that's not the case :) I'm just not a fan of feeding raw and the dangers of contamination (not sure how to spell that).

JMHO

Donna

I guess my opinion on that would be that even though they are domesticated, even a domestic cat/dog will eat meat from their own kills if they are lost in the wild or allowed to, Sadie the other day ate a cricket. and i know of many yorkies who catch and eat mice before their owners can take it away. it's natural instinct even though WE have made them domestic to eat the meat fresh from a kill. despite adaptations to our lifestyles, dogs and cats are still much closer in body to their canine and feline ancestors than they are to us domestic humans...thus i personally see more benefit from raw foods that try their best to mock their natural feedings than commercial packaged rotten grain and meats that were not good enough for human consumption. (which i've found that a lot of dog foods are made from)

anyways, the whole dog food recall is what started us onto raw home made diets because i don't want to kill my dog on commercial foods and i know that they almost killed my dad's dog Ruger, she was having either kidney or renal failure from commercial foods and almost died and luckily he switched her and saved her life for a few more years....

anyways, like i said i see the benefits outweighing any negative and just because a vet says there is bacteria in meats that make a dog sick doesn't mean i believe it, i still think their systems are very different than human ones and no matter how domestic a dog gets, they still don't know how to make a fire and cook their food so they still should be eating as close to raw natural as can be.

Don't get me wrong, it's up to each individual as to what they feed their dogs whether it be RAW or with commercial kibble. I have found that in dogs as with people some just can't eat RAW and some just can't eat kibble so we make the best choices for our dogs. I just happen to feed kibble and prefer it over RAW just my preference :)

Donna

I can totally agree with that statement!! It's a choice we all must make and no two dogs are exactly the same!!

Awww... I pray you're little girl adjusts to her lack of teeth quickly. My darling Maltese has inherited her bad teeth and gums from her mother, sadly she's had more taken out than she has left in her mouth. They do adjust quite well, the gums actually harden and they are able to eat pretty much like they used to. As for the hanging tongue on just the one side, it's just the side she likes it to go, it could be the side she used to chew on (we have fav sides we eat on, so do they...lol) and it's a habit or more comfy. I'm sure you're vet has shared what you should be feeding her in the meantime while she heals, during that time I felt so horrible that I would feed her special snacks made special for her....lol Today Shy'la eats anything and everything and in her book the more the merrier...lol Her last visit the Dr had to take out her lower left canine and yep, her tongue hangs out... I just laugh these days as I do know it wasn't ALL my fault she lost her teeth, but I wouldn't trade her for the world. Keep us up to date on how your baby is doing!