Emily is all kisses. © Johnny Ortez-Tibbels | http://www.Rufusontheweb.com

On Tuesday, Rufus and Emily had their annual anesthetic teeth cleaning. This was Rufus’ fourth & Emily’s third consecutive year. Lily and our friend Milo go next Thursday, and it will be Lily’s first time. She’ll be four in July.

I’m always nervous about taking our hounds to the vet and putting them under, but we have worked hard over the years to build a strong and trustworthy relationship with our local vet and his staff. We feel very comfortable with them, and they’re all really good about going the extra mile to make us all happy and confident in their quality of care. I personally enjoy their very transparent approach.

What pleases us most about our vet’s philosophy to the their anesthetic teeth cleaning is they only use a sparing amount of anesthesia. Which is evident when I pick up our posh pups up later that day; they’re never wobbly, drowsy or dopey. See video below.

Additionally, our vet only schedules two dogs a day for surgical procedures so when we take our hounds, we get his complete and full attention. I truly cannot underscore the importance of having a good relationship with your local vet; invest the time and effort to find one you like and love because it will pay dividends over the life of our dogs.

Rufus shows off his pearly whites. © Johnny Ortez-Tibbels | http://www.Rufusontheweb.com

Neither dog needed any extractions – yippee! Rufus does have a tooth that concerns our vet, but we’re going to wait and watch, at his recommendation. Rufus has had four teeth extracted to date; two due fractures for chewing things too hard. We now know better. I believe dogs often have 42 teeth so… missing one, two or four, really isn’t a very big deal.

Rufus’ X-ray.

Also, we always use the occasion – the dogs being under, to do anything else that might need to be done. For example, Rufus had an anal gland infection. We suspected it last month. Confirmed it this month and waited until today to flush them out and infuse them antibiotics. We also started a series of cold laser light therapy for Emily, who recently showed some early signs of discomfort in her back. We check them regularly, because we know early detection and prevention is key to avoiding that costly and painful back surgery. When Lily goes next week we plan to remove an unsightly wart. 🙂

Rufus shows off his pearly whites. © Johnny Ortez-Tibbels | http://www.Rufusontheweb.com

Okay friends. I’m thrilled that two dogs are done, and only two more to go next week. Stay tuned and we’ll keep you posted. Have a wonderful day!!! And remember to spoil them while you got them. JOT 🙂 #HappyHoundsHappyHumans #DachshundDude