A New Start!

Finally got a great internet connection today! YAY! There is no new Winston Wednesday post today but I will make it up to you with a nice long post on Saturday. Thank you for being patient and for supporting this blog. Winston and I really appreciate it. Please follow this blog through Bloglovin.

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Winston Wednesday: Dental Cleaning

Happy Winston Wednesday! I really wanted to make a Meow Monday post this week but my parent's internet sucks! So it's been really hard for me to put any type of post together because the internet is so ridiculously slow! I am probably going to switch them over to a different provider that is much faster by next week. Today the internet has been working moderately well so lets see if I can get this post out. I wanted to talk about dental cleaning for dogs. Winston who is going to be 4 in April just had his first dental done on February 3rd. He has always had really clean teeth because I have always made sure to brush them regularly and give him dental chews. Let me tell you, Greenies are one of the best dental products out there for both dogs and cats. About a month and a half before I had Winston's dental done my husband and I had noticed a foul odor with his breathe that was unusual and not his normal dog breath. After failing to look in his mouth to see if anything was stuck in his teeth (Winston HATES his mouth messed with), I took him to the Veterinarian and she told me he had a fractured carnassial tooth (diagram below to help you see which tooth that is). We figured he fractured it chewing on one of his hard plastic toys or his antler chew because Winston is a mega chewer. I think all Pugs are. I ended up scheduling Winston for a dental so they could clean his teeth because he was starting to gather some tartar due to his age and how small his mouth is and due to the fact that his teeth are all close together. I actually had his dental done at the Vet office I worked for so they were able to get me in earlier than I had originally scheduled it for. I get the question a lot about whether I was worried about him being under anesthesia, which yes...of course I was but I felt very confident with my co-workers abilities and knew they would take very good care of Winston. I got a call during the cleaning asking me if I wanted them to pull the fractured tooth because eventually it could cause an infection or pain. It was kind of a hard decision though because dogs use their carnassial teeth to chew with so I didn't want Winston to have a really hard time after the surgery because he would no longer be able to chew his food on his right side. In the end I trusted my friend and co-worker who is an extraordinary Veterinarian and she told me if it was her dog she would pull it. I had her pull the tooth and I am glad I did! I brought Winston home that same afternoon and he was definitely out of it from the anesthesia and pain medication but overall he did well and when I gave him his dinner he chewed on his left side. He adapted very quickly and for the first two days afterwards he was on pain medication but seemed like his usual happy self. I have taken away all his hard toys for the time being because I wanted to give his mouth time to heal properly but I am going to slowly give them back to him one at a time and just monitor him more closely. Really you should have your dog's teeth cleaned once they reach two-three years old. After their first dental most Veterinarians recommend a dental cleaning every 6 months to 1 year. The process of a dental is really simple. It is basically the same as getting your teeth cleaned except the dog needs to be anesthetized because they don't understand what is happening and don't like the noise all the machines make. A scaler will be used to remove plaque and tartar from your dog's gum line and teeth. After the teeth are scaled and all the plaque and tartar has been removed the teeth will be polished to smooth out the teeth and keep them sealed so it will be harder for plaque and tartar to reoccur. According to the American Veterinary Dental Society over 80% of dogs over the age of 3 have gum disease. This is large in part due to the fact that a lot of dog owners are just uneducated about cleaning their dog's teeth and also because they feel like it's not something they can do at home. Signs of gum disease are bad breath and a buildup of plaque which will eventually create pockets which get food and debris stuck in them. The buildup can result in possible tooth loss and infection. Other signs include inflamed gums, receding gums or ones that are bleeding or painful. Untreated gum disease can infect other parts of the dog's body such as the liver, heart and kidney because it will spread from the mouth into the bloodstream. There are many ways to prevent gum disease one of which is getting home dental products like Greenies or other generic dental chews. Also I recommend buying a toothbrush and toothpaste so you can brush your dog's teeth daily just as you would brush your teeth. If that is too demanding for your busy schedule then at least try to brush them several times a week. I have found that dental wipes can be easier to use instead of a toothbrush since Winston has such a small mouth. After I finish brushing his teeth I reward him with a dental friendly treat. If you have questions about a dental cleaning for your dog or cat talk to your Veterinarian and see what they recommend. I had a lot more I wanted to put in this post but I feel like I shouldn't push my luck with this internet. I hope everyone has a great week! Pugs and kisses!

Showing which ones are the carnassial teeth

Dental wipes I use for Winston and I love them!

I give Winston Greenies and he LOVES these so much and I LOVE them because they are great at freshening his breath and keeping tartar away.

This is the toothbrush and toothpaste set I have for Winston.

You can buy these products at your local pet store. 

Officially Back in Washington!

I am excited to report that I am officially living back in Washington state! YAY! After a few days of stressful travel I am very pleased to be back in my home state. I don't recommend driving over 2,000 miles with 4 pets in the car but you do what you have to. Obviously my husband and I took turns driving and we rested in California for a couple days visiting some family. That way we could get a nice break and so could the pets. We also would make frequent stops to let Winston out to go potty and then we set up a litter box in the backseat and would let each cat out of their crate to use it (which none of them did because they were curious about the car). I am a very anxious person and I was worried the entire time about my three cats and getting them to use the litter box and eat/drink so it was eating me up inside and making me feel guilty when they wouldn't use the box. Fortunately all the cats actually did pretty well and Charlie only meowed for like the first two hours then they all slept and were little angels. Then once we reached California we set up a litter box and Rusty and Jasper used it immediately. Rusty being fifteen years old scared me to have her traveling so far but she only had one accident in her crate while we were driving which wasn't a big deal because I had anticipated that and had put training pads down in her crate. Charlie actually didn't use the litter box for a whole two days which I didn't like but he ate and drank water and acted like his normal playful self so I knew he was just adjusting. When he finally did use the box I was extremely relived. While in California I met a bunch of my husband's family and caught up on some sleep. We stayed for 2 and half days and then packed up the pets and drove straight through to our final destination in Washington. Right now we are staying at my parents house in my old bedroom. The cats have free range of the bedroom and they all seem very happy. Winston is loving it here too because my parents have a dog who he gets to play with. My parents also have a cat that Rusty used to live with but they never got along. In the next month I will be looking for a part-time job and Alex will be hopefully getting a full-time one. Our goal is to buy our first house in the next couple months. I am excited for the next couple months to see what they hold. On Monday I will have a new Meow Monday post so definitely stay tuned for that and then Wednesday will be a brand new Winston Wednesday post! I just wanted to update you guys on life and let you know that my weekly posts will be back starting on Monday! I would also LOVE to start posting some YouTube videos regularly so hopefully I can make that a reality. Well I hope everyone has a great week! Pugs and kisses!

All of my babies on the bed last night.