Here’s an update on Woody who is now an official “Gummy Bear” as he has zero teeth!
This was a really hard decision for us to make as he came to us 4 years ago with really bad teeth (and breath to match – ugh!) and for a long time until fostering 8yr old, brindle Suzy he held the kennel record for the most teeth taken out in one go, which was 31 (she beat him by 3)! Since then we had regularly cleaned what had been left – 4 canines, 2 incisors and a rather lonely molar, but once the “rot” has set in it is really only a matter of time before they get bad again and need further attention. Throughout the last few years he has gradually lost one or two more until just before Christmas when I was worried and took him to the vets for a check up my worst fears were confirmed – they would ALL have to come out.
Our worry was with any operation there are risks but for us it was his age. He was now 11 and we were worried about putting him through not only the trauma of a general anaesthetic but also loosing his last remaining teeth, most of which were very large canines. Taking canines out can be a risky business they have roots like icebergs, you can only see a small amount of the tooth above the gum line the rest is below and in the jawbone and sometimes getting them out is tricky and could involve breaking his jaw, which because of his age is another problem. You see we were in a catch 22 situation and agonised over what to do for the best.
Eventually we decided that despite his age (and on the advice by our vet she would try to be as gentle as possible and take them out in two goes if necessary one half at a time to allow him and his jaw to recover) we went ahead based on the fact that he was in otherwise good health. We didn’t want his teeth to shorten his life and if by taking the risk on having them removed his life would be prolonged then we would take that chance.
The night before his op the “condemned dog” ate a hearty meal and scoffed all his biscuits at bedtime and crunched his chewy bone. I must admit to a pang of guilt when I gave them to him thinking to myself that “this will probably be the last time he’ll be able to eat his bedtime snacks” Oh how guilty did I feel?
If that wasn’t bad enough he had to go without breakfast the following morning, which is not an easy thing to get away with when you have two others that do want breakfast. Sorry girls but the kindest thing to do was that no one had breakfast that morning. Still feeling full of guilt I let the two girls out in the garden before I went to work, sneakily separating Woody so that I could put his collar and lead on him. At this point he starts prancing and getting all excited thinking he was going out for a walk. Don’t do this to me because now I feel an even bigger traitor than I did before as I secretly bundle him into the back of the car.
A few minutes later we arrived at the vets and still all bouncy we walk into the surgery. By this time my nerves have shot it and very bravely I go through all the paperwork and nervously hand him over, oh for god sake women pull yourself together! Off he trotted happily with the nurse, oblivious to his fate whilst I walked out to the car in a rather misty eyed haze, asking myself if we were doing the right thing and was he going to make it through the operation. Well, what a long morning I had in front of me and I must say that I was rather glad to be at work with at least some distraction ahead of me. When I did get the call from the vets, thankfully it was good news, they had managed to get all the teeth out in one go and he was going to be fine and ready to come home when I finished work– hooray!
When I arrived to collect him he was very wobbly on his feet still but nevertheless managed to wag his tail in greeting, which was lovely. The vet then showed me his teeth (after cleaning and soaking them in coca cola, so kids be warned!) and asked if she could keep them to show other owners how large dog canine teeth are (his were about 2 inches long, and there will always be a little part of our Woody to live on and educate other owners!). The next hurdle was to get him in the car, 35kg of wobbly, dribbly greyhound. Between the vet and me we got him in but all the way home he refused to lie down, so there I am driving as slow as I can, with a huge tailback of cars behind me just because the dog might fall over! Fortunately (for the other drivers on the road) we didn’t have to go far and were soon home, where the two girls were unsure what to make of him as “he smelt funny!”
I spread lots of sheets over the floor and on his bed as he was still dribbling a little blood, but he refused to lie down, I think he was worried that if he did something nasty might happen to him, as the last time he woke up in pain and without his teeth! Eventually the only way I could get him to settle was if I sat on the floor with him, where eventually he gave in, while I was stroking him and he rested his head on my lap.
Next was dinner time and the girls were obviously hungry so I thought I would try him with a little mashed up Webbox chub roll, watered down into a “slop”. To my complete surprise he scoffed the lot and as I’d only given him a small amount I gave him some more which also didn’t touch the sides – it did however go all up the walls in the hall, over the mat on the floor and all over him as well, his aim wasn’t good without teeth! When Suzy had had her teeth out she hadn’t eaten for several days.
We are now two months further on and I’m pleased to say his aim at eating has improved and it no longer flies up the wall, he can now eat normal food (dried kibble the same as the two girls) and he can also eat his soft chewy bones and even biscuits at bedtime, in fact apart from bones (which he can lick and suck!) there is nothing he can’t do and no special dietary needs. There have been a couple of other changes though………..his breath is a joy to behold and as a result his sense of smell is heightened and with our Woody, that is not necessarily a good thing!!
He will rub himself all over you at the slight whiff of perfume, body spray, deodorant, any excuse and he’s all over you like a rash – if we thought he was bad before he lost his teeth, he ten times worse now! He’s playful with his toys and will regularly pick up his favourite (pink pussy cat) and carry it out in the garden, sometimes having to have it prised out of his mouth before going for a walk as I refuse to take him out carrying his cat – all the other dogs we meet would laugh at him!! He now has an even glossier black coat than he had before, albeit there is a lot of grey in it now too – but none of us are getting any younger are we! Pickle and Pepper have noticed a difference with him too as he will insist on being a pest and poke his nose up their backsides, not nice for any “young lady” – dirty boy!!
So at the age of 11 ½ we have our Woods back and hopefully by being brave and taking that chance we’ve given him a whole new lease of life. It wasn’t an easy decision to make as we could have lost him but now at least we know we did the right thing and we’re glad we did. He is pain free, with fresh breath, happy and maybe a little bit weird but he’s definitely one of a kind and hopefully will be with us for a few more years yet and he’s our “little gummy bear” and we wouldn’t have him any other way!
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