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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

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Original poster

Elderly Dog With No Teeth

22 replies

itsnotmeitsu · 02/10/2021 20:07

Anybody got one of these? I'm looking for advice on feeding. Our Greyhound boy was adopted by us at the age of eight, and he's now 10 and a half. He's going to lose his final four teeth on Friday. The vet's said they can still eat with no teeth, but how, and what? We currently feed him on a mix of two kibbles. I hate the idea of the poor boy ending up with no teeth, but his remaining ones are no longer serving any purpose. Also, he's in pain.

OP posts:

Aria20 · 02/10/2021 20:20

Ahh poor thing. Can you feed a semi moist kibble like Eden. Or just add some water to the kibble to soften it? Or wet food?

WoodchipNightmares · 02/10/2021 20:42

I'd switch to a good quality wet food immediately at this point - he's going to be gumming his food rather than chewing it. www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk is a great resource for finding a new good quality option.

Original poster

itsnotmeitsu · 02/10/2021 20:53

I'm just hoping he comes through the general anaesthetic. He was a hard-working boy before he came to us. Apparently the vet can test a dog's blood and add something to the anaesthetic if need be. Thanks for the link @WoodchipNightmares.

He's a massive pain in the backside, and has been since we took him on two years ago, but oh how I love the boy.

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Floralnomad · 02/10/2021 21:03

My sister has a border x JRT that is 19 and almost toothless and she has wet pouches and manages fine , she’s also partial to a chicken nugget or indeed chicken of any type .

Alfxn · 02/10/2021 21:09

Most likely if the last few teeth that are there are in bad condition/painful, then he hasn't even been using them to eat... they often manage just as well, and in fact better, without the painful teeth. So you may be surprised.
If he is finding it tricky, then soaking his nuts may do the trick.

Doveyouknow · 02/10/2021 21:13

We had a cat with no teeth. He ate both wet and dried food no problem. You wouldn't of known .... until he yawned

Brollywasntneededafterall · 02/10/2021 21:17

Our Lurcher has half her teeth! Can just imagine your vet bill op. Mine made my eyes water!!
She still manages everything but am awaiting being in your shoes op... Apparently sight hounds have terrible teeth. Likely due to years of neglect in past lives...

Kittykat93 · 02/10/2021 21:18

Oh bless his heart. I would ask the vet for advice. They will have come across this before

Original poster

itsnotmeitsu · 02/10/2021 21:18

@Alfxn > 'soaking his nuts'? Not sure he'd agree to that.

OP posts:

Letsnotargue · 02/10/2021 21:21

Our grey has barely any teeth but he eats his kibble no problem. I think he only really chews proper dog chews and the rest of it just gets briefly tasted and swallowed.

We wet his kibble more to stop him choking on it, but he does fine.

Fingers crossed for the op - ours is 11.5 and recently had X-rays under general. He was pretty pissed off when he got home and whinged non-stop for about 24 hours (I think he was disorientated) and had a bit of an upset tummy for a few days. Less than a week later you couldn’t tell anything was wrong.

Original poster

itsnotmeitsu · 02/10/2021 21:25

@Brollywasntneededafterall

Yes, it does seem to be a problem. Not sure if it's neglect or another reason, as we've had rescue sighthounds of varying ages. With all of them we've had to spend money on general anaesthetics for removal of teeth, and trying to keep the ones they've got.

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Brollywasntneededafterall · 02/10/2021 21:37

Ours snapped one eating pumpkin 2 years ago!! Hanging out! . Not envy..
Vet had said previously they weren't great. Her diet I know had been bad (knew her past owner).. Now she eats all veg and some fruit... Favourite treat is tinned mandarins at Xmas!
They snatch your heart do sighthounds ime!

Original poster

itsnotmeitsu · 02/10/2021 21:41

@Letsnotargue > "pretty pissed off when he got home and whinged non-stop for about 24 hours (I think he was disorientated) and had a bit of an upset tummy for a few days."

I love the 'pretty pissed off ...' , and the whinging. Ours has been on anti-biotics for seven days and, God, the size of the poohs and the difficulty in picking them up.

He was such an idiot last time he had a general anaesthetic. He was able to walk to the car, and we lifted him in. At home (five minutes away), my husband lifted him out of the car (he's heavy), put him down, and he collapsed on the ground. He was picked up and carried to his bed, where he again flopped down. I said to my husband, 'I'll get a blanket to roll up behind him'.

As we moved away he leapt up to follow us. Twerp. I just hope he come through this operation okay as, much as he absolutely drives me round the bend, I can't imagine being without him.

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MountainWitch · 03/10/2021 09:59

Our elderly dog had to have almost all of her teeth removed (poor diet under previous owners) and it was amazing how well she did. She just ate the dry food no problem. In fact the difference in her was astounding, she had clearly been in so much pain before, and her breath improved immeasurably too! Good luck to him.

Original poster

itsnotmeitsu · 03/10/2021 19:43

Thanks @MoutainWitch and others. He had very few teeth when he came to us, and luckily we've never had to put up with bad breath from him. Just hate to think of the old boy having another GA, so will be glad when Friday is over.

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Wincarnis · 04/10/2021 04:00

I adopted a senior dog, his teeth were bad and all had to come out, he was 15 at the time. There are lots of good soft foods available. I gave mine Country hunter frozen cubes, or minced meat and a few cooked vegetables or egg. He could eat small kibble but was swallowing it whole. Belcando dog food you can add water to make a gravy and they slurp it up. Good luck!

Pinkandpurplehairedlady · 04/10/2021 07:46

My poodle only has three teeth left and he manages a mix of wet and dry. The vet told me that the gums harden.

Darklane · 04/10/2021 20:03

They do get surprisingly hard. My tiny, ancient Yorkie now has only one tooth at the back having had the others removed over the years. My DH names her Juanhita now
She manages any sort of food enthusiastically, soft, kibble, meat, fish even the odd little gravy bone dog biscuit & she may be the smallest but she’s still top dog in my brood.

XenoBitch · 04/10/2021 23:55

I hope your lad's dental goes smoothly. I have a greyhound of a similar age who is having a dental (her first one) next week. Just got started on the antibiotics.

XenoBitch · 11/10/2021 22:00

@itsnotmeitsu how did your old boy get on with his dental?

Original poster

itsnotmeitsu · 12/10/2021 14:28

@HiXenoBitch Thanks for asking. He did fine. Was on opiates when we picked him so was even dopier than usual because he'd had tricky bottom incisors out. I was worried about the GA at his age (and he's had several over the years), but it turned out they can do a blood test which shows whether to add something to the GA mix if needed.

I was astonished at how quickly he was able to eat in just the same way as he had before. He certainly hasn't lost his enthusiasm for food. The only downside has been the terrible diarrhea from the antibiotics . I'd say to anyone worrying about their dog having to have most of their teeth removed; it's well worth doing to stop the pain, and they obviously adapt a lot better and quicker than we would if false teeth weren't available. Ours is still on the same food he had before.

OP posts:

Sitdowncupoftea · 14/10/2021 14:55

One of my elderly dogs had to have teeth removed. He only had two in the end. The vet said feed him the same kibble as before. I did with no difference to him. He still enjoyed his food.

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