g8erjackie
New member
Ok, so first, I'm sorry I've been totally MIA and haven't posted in forever. It's not a great excuse, but I was consumed with work and lots of my fun side activities like being involved here fell of my radar. But we're BACK!
Unfortunately my first post has to be about Ruckus and his bad tooth.
The short version is that the vet thinks he has a bad tooth that is causing him a lot of pain and it needs to be extracted and he needs a thorough cleaning. Has anyone been through this? Advice or tips? Or if you're in the DC Metro area, a veterinary dentist recommendation?
The long version is that yesterday Ruckus started yelping at what thought was random times. I finally realized it was when he opened his mouth wide or chewed. So he was yelping when he yawned or when he tried to play tug with a rope toy. Then, he stopped wanting food -- he snubbed a FRENCH FRY! So I tried looking down his throat thinking maybe he had something stuck there. I patted him down rubbed his jaws, his face, everything. He doesn't yelp when you touch his mouth, just when you make him open it.
So, I call the vet, it's 4:40PM when I'm told that the last appointment for my favorite vet is at 5:30PM. (I'm talking super sweet, bulldog whisperer vet. She is awesome and used to have a bulldog, that sadly just passed away late last year at SIXTEEN years old, 16!!! So yeah, whatever you did for your bulldog, please work your magic on mine.) Washington, DC traffic is terrible, horrible, no good, and very bad at this point because it's rush hour. So I say ok, great, book us in that timeslot! I throw Ruky Ruk in the car and engage my evasive driving maneuvers. I then realize that unless I take the HOV roads (oh yeah, entire roadways are HOV during certain times) I won't make it even close to the appointment. Sooooooo I decide to risk the giant ticket and HOV lanes we go! I held my breath as we drove by the heat seeking radars without getting detected and then chuckled because I'm thinking that maybe Ruckus is big enough that they thought he was a kid! 5:32 we arrive at the vet, rush inside only to encounter the issue that they can't find my appointment in the computer! Why? Because they booked me on the wrong day and luckily the vet I love is actually at the office until 9pm.....anyway.....
Poor Ruckus, we had to pry his mouth open (it took two of us holding him and the vet) so that the vet could look down his throat and check out his mouth. I've never heard him scream like that and I felt awful for him. All of the vet techs were saying how sweet he was to let them poke and prod him without sedation and never once trying to bite. So then to add insult to injury for the poor guy, they had to do xrays and flip him on his back to get a good shot of his jaw (someone had to lay on top of him) and then do bloodwork to rule out masticatory myositis (a scary jaw muscle issue). The xrays showed one tooth with some decay. You can see some discoloration on it, but it never bothered him before and it seems like you can touch it without him caring, but it's that jaw opening motion.
We went home with an antibiotic, pain meds, and a recommendation for a veterinary dentist. Ruckus was pooped last night, and seemed to be thankful for the pain meds. He was snuggly and needy (I hated the circumstance, but I'll take bully snuggles anytime). Fast forward to today, he yelped a few times this morning and I had to feed him shredded chicken and rice because he won't eat his kibble. But now he's doing zoomies running around the house chasing after a new toy -- still not opening his mouth wide. I also can't get an appointment with the dentist my vet recommended until November....which is way too long....so now I'm researching other options....
Sorry for the rant, but like I'm not sure what to do at all. Do I wait it out, maybe it isn't the tooth? Do I book an appointment with different dentist?
Yikes!!!
Unfortunately my first post has to be about Ruckus and his bad tooth.
The short version is that the vet thinks he has a bad tooth that is causing him a lot of pain and it needs to be extracted and he needs a thorough cleaning. Has anyone been through this? Advice or tips? Or if you're in the DC Metro area, a veterinary dentist recommendation?The long version is that yesterday Ruckus started yelping at what thought was random times. I finally realized it was when he opened his mouth wide or chewed. So he was yelping when he yawned or when he tried to play tug with a rope toy. Then, he stopped wanting food -- he snubbed a FRENCH FRY! So I tried looking down his throat thinking maybe he had something stuck there. I patted him down rubbed his jaws, his face, everything. He doesn't yelp when you touch his mouth, just when you make him open it.
So, I call the vet, it's 4:40PM when I'm told that the last appointment for my favorite vet is at 5:30PM. (I'm talking super sweet, bulldog whisperer vet. She is awesome and used to have a bulldog, that sadly just passed away late last year at SIXTEEN years old, 16!!! So yeah, whatever you did for your bulldog, please work your magic on mine.) Washington, DC traffic is terrible, horrible, no good, and very bad at this point because it's rush hour. So I say ok, great, book us in that timeslot! I throw Ruky Ruk in the car and engage my evasive driving maneuvers. I then realize that unless I take the HOV roads (oh yeah, entire roadways are HOV during certain times) I won't make it even close to the appointment. Sooooooo I decide to risk the giant ticket and HOV lanes we go! I held my breath as we drove by the heat seeking radars without getting detected and then chuckled because I'm thinking that maybe Ruckus is big enough that they thought he was a kid! 5:32 we arrive at the vet, rush inside only to encounter the issue that they can't find my appointment in the computer! Why? Because they booked me on the wrong day and luckily the vet I love is actually at the office until 9pm.....anyway.....
Poor Ruckus, we had to pry his mouth open (it took two of us holding him and the vet) so that the vet could look down his throat and check out his mouth. I've never heard him scream like that and I felt awful for him. All of the vet techs were saying how sweet he was to let them poke and prod him without sedation and never once trying to bite. So then to add insult to injury for the poor guy, they had to do xrays and flip him on his back to get a good shot of his jaw (someone had to lay on top of him) and then do bloodwork to rule out masticatory myositis (a scary jaw muscle issue). The xrays showed one tooth with some decay. You can see some discoloration on it, but it never bothered him before and it seems like you can touch it without him caring, but it's that jaw opening motion.
We went home with an antibiotic, pain meds, and a recommendation for a veterinary dentist. Ruckus was pooped last night, and seemed to be thankful for the pain meds. He was snuggly and needy (I hated the circumstance, but I'll take bully snuggles anytime). Fast forward to today, he yelped a few times this morning and I had to feed him shredded chicken and rice because he won't eat his kibble. But now he's doing zoomies running around the house chasing after a new toy -- still not opening his mouth wide. I also can't get an appointment with the dentist my vet recommended until November....which is way too long....so now I'm researching other options....
Sorry for the rant, but like I'm not sure what to do at all. Do I wait it out, maybe it isn't the tooth? Do I book an appointment with different dentist?
Yikes!!!
