Dental Hygiene in Dogs

Imagine not brushing your teeth for years on end! Not only would you have bad breath and feel uncomfortable all the time, but you would also develop terrible toothaches or even severe gum diseases. This is precisely what happens to some dogs when their owners are oblivious of the importance of good dental hygiene and do not send them for dental scaling. In case you are unaware, oral care is equally important for dogs as it is for us humans.

Very Bad Teeth

Missing and decayed teeth

By the time they are past 10 years old, the teeth in these dogs would have become rotten. At this point, some dog owners would fall into a dilemma, worrying that their dogs are too old to go under general anaesthesia to clean their teeth (dental scaling). However, did you know that dogs who have bad teeth left uncared for are at risk of death? Bad teeth will cause septicemia, which is blood poisoning. Septicemia will kill a dog, thus it is best to take your dogs to have their teeth cleaned. 

Many rotten teeth extracted during dental

Most dog owners may not know this: the ideal situation is to bring your dogs for dental scaling every 2 to 3 years. As they get older, the risk of going under general anaesthetic (GA) is higher and riskier. What we do for our senior rescues, we first send them for a heart ultrasound, to ensure their heart is reasonably good. Then we send them for dental, but not under GA. Their dental would be done under Local Anaesthetic (LA) and sedation. Compared to GA, sedation is safer and puts your dog at a lower risk. Although your dog's teeth may not be cleaned as thoroughly under sedation in comparison to GA, it sure beats having rotten teeth!

After Dental - pearly whites

One vital mistake dog owners have to ensure not to make is to bring their dogs to the groomers to clean their teeth. Groomers are not professionally trained to clean your dog's teeth. Imagine how terrifying and painful it would be for your dog to stand still for such a long period of time, waiting for the groomer to complete their "teeth-cleaning process". It might be tempting to see the clean, shiny teeth that the groomer promised you and showed you samples of. Unfortunately, this is all superficial. Groomers are unable to clean your dog's gums, which in other words mean that your dog's dental hygiene problems would not be fixed. You wouldn't let your hairdresser clean your teeth, would you? Therefore, please do not allow groomers to clean your dog's teeth. Why not simply take the safe option and just bring your dog to the vet?

Rotten tooth that fell out while dog was eating

Written by: Chu Yi

Benefits of Adopting from Hope

If you've been sitting on the fence about adopting a dog, especially from HOPE, here's why you should:

We take very good care of our dogs. So when they head to their forever homes, they would have been through thorough medical checks including checking for their liver and kidney health, heartworm and tick fever.

Our dogs are sterilised if not done, microchipped, and even their dental is taken care of.

Often, vet bills can range from $500 and above, but we're only asking for an adoption fee of $350 and that you love them till the end of time, because they deserve that much.

Should our dogs have minor health issues, we will highlight them to you.

We believe in being upfront.

The dogs who are currently in our care, Adoption Page, who will make lovely members of their future families.

To open up your home to them, please PM us or email us at hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg and we will be happy to tell you more.

Written by: Felicia

Teri the Old Abandoned Dog

Teri at the vet (1st visit right after rescue)

How could someone dump an old dog outside, or worse on a road? We can only say they are heartless.

Teri at a foster home

This poor Jack Russell Terrier was left to fend for herself. At 14 years old, she may have past her prime, but it is also the time when she needs a little extra love and care to spend her few remaining years. Instead, she was abandoned for god knows how long before someone found her in a parking lot at Jurong last December. The dog had no microchip. The rescuer took the dog off the streets, and eventually surrendered her to HOPE on 19 Apr 2021 when she could not trace the owner and could no longer keep the dog.

A very sad and confused dog

Teri was immediately examined by our vet after we took her in. At 4.2kg, she is underweight. Probably a little fearful, she did not like her mouth to be touched. Otherwise she was rather sweet and well-behaved at the vet. A series of medical tests were done for Teri, which is a standard protocol for all new rescues in HOPE. These were findings by the vet:

• Spinal pain
• Hind legs knuckling
• Red skin but no signs of itchiness
• Signs of dementia because she gets stuck in corners, walks in circles 
• sometimes
• 6 teeth left
• Gums are red, sore and receding.
• Hardened lump on right last nipple
• Unlikely to be sterilized

At the vet

Initially, we wanted an X-ray for her spine but she would not keep still. So, we will head back to the vet for a back X-ray and a biopsy of her lump in the nipple. She will also get a cartrophen jab for joint pain in her next vet visit.

One swollen and hardened nipple. We have scheduled an upcoming biopsy

Vet checking Teri

Knuckling in her hind legs -generally a nerve issue

Such a sad dog

Sore gums / poor dental health 

Teri seems alright at this point, and eating well. She is a very sweet old dog, but has a host of underlying ailments that requires medical treatment.

Our resources are limited especially after we have spent so much on Zeus, but we simply can't turn a blind eye and not help Teri out. If you can help with our medical bills, please email hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg

Note: Teri is now in a home. Thankfully, kind people do exist.