ANAL GLANDS, TEETH, AND TEETH SCALING
We strive to provide informative information to our viewers. Below you will find more information regarding anal glands, teeth, cleanings, and scaling. We also discuss some of the health risk and diseases of more teeth hygiene. If you have any questions please contact us.
Anal Glands
Teeth Cleaning
This is a pair of glands, located at about 8:00 and 4:00, approximately a quarter inch on each side of the rectum of a dog. Checking and emptying these glands on big dogs should be done at three to four times in a year. As for the small ones, checking should be done once or twice every month. There are certain types of breeds that need frequent checking of these glands than others. A qualified dog groomer or your vet doctor can demonstrate how the glands are emptied should there be accumulation. The job is somewhat nasty, so arm yourself with shampoo and water to wash it off and the dog. Usually, when the anal glands are plunged, they can become swollen and result to restricted movement or cause hindquarter paralysis.
If such symptoms are seen on your dog, let your vet or groomer check and empty the glands. The excretion usually comes out in the form of thin gravy. If it has a thicker texture, then there could be a problem developing hence may need to be checked and released frequently. The frequency is after every two weeks. If the condition becomes worse, then the glands may have to be removed. Take caution that this is a very serious problem. If your dog has an anal gland problem, he/she will drag her butt on the floor or carpet. Earlier on, this behavior was mistaken to be for a dog with worms. However, if that were the case, then the worms would come out of the dog’s rectum in large numbers. A dog that dragging his/her butt on the ground is not as a result of worms. Another similar misconception is when a dog chases their tail, which is not an indication of worm infestation.
Note that the anal glands of a puppy should NEVER be released, unless under the circumstance that the release is not happening as it should.
The teeth of a dog are among the most important, yet not so many of dog owners give them the attention they need. For many, it’s not something to be bothered about. But it doesn’t hurt to spend some time at least once in a week to clean your dog’s teeth by brushing. Doing it once a week for your puppy isn’t asking for too much.
The market is flooded with a lot of gadgets that can be used to “brush” dog’s teeth. However, there’s one which we’ve been using for years and has proven effective in removing plaque and food debris from the teeth. This gadget is called the Oral-B Vitality, Precision Clean with an oscillating powered, manufactured by Braun.
Yeah, I know it’s meant for humans, buts it’s pretty handy as we’ve been using it for years to brush the teeth of our Westies. We keep two units of this gadget at out grooming shop for cleaning our Westies’ teeth. This brush (Vitality model) is available at Walmart at about $26.00. On purchase, there’s only a single brush head with it, but more can be purchased in one or three packs in stores.
It does sound like a sales thing, but all I can assure you is that we get clean teeth for our Westies using this product. Any product you’ve come across on this website that has been endorsed by us is for the SOLE REASON that we believe it works perfectly fine for our dogs as they are what we use to keep our puppies groomed. When using this brush, do not use toothpaste with it since the latter has a grit that causes the brush to wear out quickly. When used without toothpaste and used at most twice a week, the brush can last for up to 10 months. When used with toothpaste it will only last two months.
Now, in the case of your dog, it will take lots of effort for him/her to accept the rotating action to get into their mouth. But don’t give in! Just 5 to 10 times of use and all will be well. We often encourage dog owners to use dog toothpaste of good quality with the brush. At our grooming shop, we use the Petrodex enzymatic toothpaste. This is available in many local vet shops or pet stores. A point of caution: NEVER use the human toothpaste on your dogs! This could kill your puppy.
Teeth Cleaning Procedure
Removal of Tarter From your Dog’s Teeth
Here’s a simple procedure on how you can go about cleaning your dog’s teeth.
- First, place a little grain size of the dog toothpaste on bristles of the brush.
- Pull up the side lip near the molars then place the brush onto the teeth.
- With the brush still switched off, make slight movements around his/her mouth to let them realize something’s about to happen. This will also allow them to taste the paste.
- Turn the brush on then visualize his/her teeth while moving the brush around their mouth. The dog will start doing some chewing motions with their teeth. This will allow the upper and lower teeth set to be exposed to the brush.
Note that there’s a small tooth lying behind the big tooth to the end. Move the brush back and forth to this point and clean it too. After reaching the k-9 tooth (the big long tooth to the corner of the mouth), add some more toothpaste. All front teeth and k-9s are the most difficult to clean. The vibrating action of the brush will cause the dog to offer some resistance at first. But after getting used to it, it will be easier. This procedure needs one person brushing the teeth while another is holding the dog’s head. This is the same process we use to clean our Westies teeth at our grooming shop.
The outer side of the teeth is where much of the tarter and plaque builds up. The inner part seldom has build-up thus may not need brushing. The dog’s tongue and crunchy kibble help keep the area clean, though not always. NOTE that the soft canned dog meals, as well as table scraps (not good for your dog’s health), often create a massive build-up of tarter and plaque. Plaque is simply the soft stuff that forms on the teeth resulting from the food the dog, and we eat. Tarter is hard stuff that forms from a plaque that hasn’t been removed for long. This stuff is the ones responsible for causing gingivitis, gum infections, tooth loss, bone loss, heart, kidney and liver problems plus general body poisoning.
Just like it is for humans, keeping the dog’s teeth and mouth clean is very important. When there’s bad breath from your, it’s a sign that something isn’t well in their mouth. We have taken care of our dog’s teeth for considerably long, and we understand most of the problems associated with teeth, so if you encounter any problem with your dog’s teeth, send us an email or contact us. Your vet doctor can also serve you well.
Using “Scaling tools” is the only better way of removing the hardened stuff off your dog’s teeth. The process is grouped under Veterinary Care in most states and needs to be done by licensed vets.
Earlier on, we removed tarter from teeth of dogs whose owners felt they couldn’t put their dogs in sleep to carry out the procedure or felt they could not give out the $150 (or up to $300-400) required by most vets. On our part, depending on age, health status and breed, we charged up to $35 maximum. Vet doctors charged that much because of anesthesia used. However, we carried out the procedure without needing any drugs but still accomplished same results as the vets. Out of all the dogs that we had performed teeth scaling on, we never had even a single one that reported teeth infection problem. We always made a follow up through the phone on every single client just to be sure their dog’s gums were okay.
We have reason to believe that we did so well because of our:
- Love for dogs
- Lots of experience
- Lots of effort
- Knowledge in the dog world.
But because of the order from the Idaho Vet board, there are so many dogs in the state who are going to remain with unclean teeth. The only way dog owners (who can’t take their dogs to the vet for teeth scaling) to rescue their dogs is to learn how to do teeth scaling themselves. But they can’t do it on dogs owned by other people. At our ranch, I have made custom tools through which I use on our puppies. And since there’s no law restricting me to make these tools for anyone else, I’d be pleased to help anyone who needs to learn what it takes to keep their dog’s teeth free of tarter. If you are particularly interested, give us a call or email us.
Periodontal disease on dogs
Out of 10 dogs older than three years, eight suffer from periodontal disease. This disease includes periodontitis, gingivitis, inflammation, infection of the gums/ jaw bone. These conditions are as a result of bacterial infections. Food debris allows bacteria to thrive, which then create soft plaque. If not removed while still soft, the plaque hardens to form the hard stuff known as tarter. When tarter builds up to reach the gum line and start pushing its way into the gums, teeth problems start to emanate. When tarter creates an open space into the gums, bacteria find a conducive place to thrive in. The dampness and darkness of the gums facilitate quick multiplication. The tissue that aligns with the teeth then becomes swollen, and a red line forms at the gum and teeth meeting point.
The appearance of the red line is the first strongest signal that periodontal disease is just getting started. If not attended to, the disease advances further and destroys more tissue further around the teeth. At this stage, the gums start to bleed when eating or when touched with a finger. The eating process of the dog will be hindered as they might take very long doing so. This is where tooth loss is at its initial stage. Gums became very sore and regressed as the bone supporting the teeth is eaten away. The dog will be under a considerable amount of pain, and very bad odor will be coming out of their mouth. The high level of infection causes the gums as well as the bone to wear out at a faster rate to almost a point of no return. The gums are eroded away at a faster rate than the tarter is being formed. The teeth at this point are supported by only about 50% of what holds them in place. The worst of it is what happens to the gums. But what is happening to the bones under plus the damage to the kidney, liver, heart and bold vessels isn’t visible. Teeth infection that goes untreated eats away the whole body and will soon result in a very painful early death.
Dogs have a subtle way of expressing pain, so you must be carefully tuned to them for you to find out. What you might have mistaken to be a mild pain can be more than five times severe. If wondering about cavities, dogs rarely do have cavities. Therefore, brushing using fluoride toothpaste is of no use. Also, the safety of fluoride to your dog is questionable.
Below is a set of photos showing how to use a power brush to clean your dog’s teeth. The rotary action of the brush is very strange to your dog. Therefore it may take a while before they are used to it.
The first image shows how to open the dog’s left side of the mouth, while the second shows how to apply the power brush to the dog’s molars. A slight chewing movement of the teeth by the dog is good while brushing as it helps expose upper and lower jaw to the bristles of the brush.
The third image shows how to brush the left K-9 teeth and the small teeth found between molars and K-9’s. The fourth image displays how to hold the snout to brush the front teeth.
This is the most difficult task of grooming your dog as they seem not to like it. But doing it will allow the only little amount of tarter build-up.
Teeth Scaling Video/Tool Package
If you don’t like the idea of putting your puppy to sleep just to have their teeth cleaned, plus if you’d like to acquire necessary knowledge and tools for cleaning, I bet this video/tool package is a handy solution for you. This tool package is retailed at only $85.00. 
It comes equipped with a special custom built teeth scaling tools I designed and created purposely for use on K-9. The package also includes a magnifying headset, a very bright 130 lumen light modified to create a spotlight beam, which is attached to the headset. This light plus the headset are necessary for a brightly lit, clear and magnified view while scaling the dog’s teeth.
Using these tools require that you know how to scale teeth properly. Therefore the tools are PART OF THE VIDEO AND ARE SOLD AS A UNIT. The video featured is an instructional video running for one and a half hours. As for the video DVD, it may be sold separately at only $95.00. The cost of video, added to the cost of the tools make a total of $180.00. No shipping or handling charges included. This may seem very expensive, but it’s a one-time investment which equals single teeth cleaning session with a vet in most places. And IT DOES NOT REQUIRE YOUR DOG TO BE PUT IN A SLUMBER!
At La Terra Dios Ranch, we care much about dogs, just too much to let someone experiment with their dog the rush to find a solution later on. This is the sole reason why the tools CANNOT be sold with the video excluded. It is very IMPORTANT for the procedure to be done correctly! It isn’t difficult to master and can be done by even a teenager, but CORRECTLY! You love your puppy and want the best for him/her! So do us!
The video can be purchased without the tools, but after watching it, you’ll realize that you need the tools. Getting the whole package will save you more frustration, time and costs of dealing with what does not work.