Cost of dental treat for older dog

mollsnan

My daughter's 13yr old dog (cross breed) hasn't been well for a while now underactive thyroid, teeth problems, generally slowing down. Insurance wasn't covering him so wasn't renewed as she lost job. Pdsa seen him gave antibiotics, breath is putrid and dog not very happy. Husband wondered if we could get him more help if he took him to vet privately, but worried about cost as daughter couldn't contribute, we would have to pay ourselves. While we would like to help we have to try and look at the finances. Anyone had to pay out recently for similar problem? Also would it be fair to dog to put under anaesthetic is required at this age?

krlyr

You could try phoning around a few vets to ask for a rough estimate. Impossible to guage as it will depend on a lot of factors, e.g. what needs to be done, how long he'll need to be under anaesthetic for. A vet will be your best bet to know whether he is fit enough for the op too - I believe dogs with thyroid issues are a bit more sensitive to anaesthetic (mine's just been diagnosed hypothyroid and I remember seeing it in my research somewhere), they may want to do a pre-op blood test to see if his organs are in good enough shape.

One thing you could try for the teeth before splurging out, raw chicken wings. Mine are completely raw fed and their teeth are in great shape - Casper's were in really poor condition when I first got him, from a cheap diet of wet food, but raw food soon cleared it all up without the need for a dental. If he's on antibiotics to deal with any underlying infection, you may be OK to trial the chicken wings for a week or two to see if it helps clean up the teeth. Just hold one end of the wing (carefully - mind your fingers) until he learns to chew them properly. You can freeze them and feed frozen or defrosted, but don't good them as this makes the bones brittle and can damage the throat/digestive system.