Blood coming out of teeth when he chews his bone?

[Freddie]

Ok, I kind of have two questions. My dog freddie was biting on a bone today and he was chewing it up really good, the end got all mushy and wet but I started noticing blood on his teeth and some on the end of the bone where he was chewing, is this normal when dogs chew bones for their gums to bleed? I think he was chewing it so hard that the bone may of started scraping his gums, anyways, I took the bone away. I don't want him to chew it if his gums will bleed, but at the same time, he likes the bone and it keeps him busy, he won't play with the other toys I bought him (Ball, Kong)

THe other questions is about Frontline flea control, i had the vet put some on him last week and today I saw a flea on him and he has been scratching alot. I was just suprised cuz the vet told me it whould work within 24 hours. He could be scratching just to scratch??? Like I said, i saw one flea but not alot on him since then but the scratching has been a little excessive. Does a dog with no fleas still scratch alot? I hear people telling me to use advantage but I didn't hear about frontline until I went to the vet, has anyone had good luck with this brand? I'm new with dogs so if these questions sound newbish, that's the reason why

 

[Renee750il]

Sometimes a bone can scrape the gums a bit Freddie. Are you giving him processed (smoked/cooked) bones or raw? The raw is a better choice as they won't splinter and they aren't as hard. Just make sure you've frozen them first. There is a parasite that can infect dogs from raw meat, but freezing first takes care of that problem.

I'm trying to remember which one I had better results from, Frontline or Advantage - it's flea season again and I need to know too, lol!

Your dog may still be itching from the flea bites he already had before you treated him. Give him a week or so and maybe give him a bath with a mild shampoo, making sure he's rinsed well and see if that doesn't clear up the scratching.

 

[Vickih]

Last year we used Frontline on Lucy for the first time, and we saw great results and have bought some more for her this time around

 

[jackrussgirl]

I use Frontline too.

 

[Freddie]

Hi, thanks for the reply both of you. I"m not sure what Kind of dog bone it is but it is the manufactured type. THere may be some kind of flavoring that was put on it i think but not too sure. I just took freddy for a bath today so we will see what happens, i've noticed when he itchs he scratchs on his collar, maybe his collar is causing him to itch? It's a thick leather collar, was thinking maybe getting him a lighter one.

 

[Gustav]

I use Frontline for Gus and Lili!! I buy the combo one that kills any eggs that may be in your house as well, coz those pesky critters get in your carpets and everywhere!!

 

[Mordy]

re: bones/gums
how old is your dog, and does he chew bones regularly? what do you feed? do you give any real bones, or only artificial ones? does he have any brown or grey buildup on his teeth? is there a visible red line on the gums where gums and teeth meet, with the part of the gums further away from the teeth being a paler color??

the reason i'm asking all these questions is that periodontal disease is very common in dogs, especially in those who eat only commercial food and don't get a chance to clean and condition teeth and gums by chewing on natural bones.

re: fleas/scratching
it's still possible for your dog to pick up fleas, even with a preventive. they do not necessarily bite, but don't drop dead instantly either.

if frontline doesn't work, give advantage a try. i often hear from people that one doesn't work, and the other one then usually does the trick. for me personally frontline has never worked well but advantage does, for other people it seems to be the other way around.

scratching can have many other causes as well, from food sensitivities and allergies to contact allergies and so on. renee is also right, it could be that the old flea bites are still bothering him.

 

[candy722]

I know that Toki had that while chewing his raw hide but that was because he was trying to loose his baby teeth. Sometimes you can't tell if flea medication works because they might be allergic and they will strach.

 

[pitbulliest]

the reason i'm asking all these questions is that periodontal disease is very common in dogs, especially in those who eat only commercial food and don't get a chance to clean and condition teeth and gums by chewing on natural bones.

Mordy..if I'm feeding my dog cooked food and high quality kibble (timberwolf organics)...am I allowed to feed her raw bones as well? not a raw diet (just yet anyways)..but bones...I clean my dog's teeth, but I am really interested in the whole raw bones as an option deal...its much more natural and healthier than using doggy toothpaste (even though I don't use it that much)...

may I please get more information on raw bones?

 

[Mordy]

pitbulliest, yes you can feed bones, even if you feed home cooked and/or commercial food otherwise. the most beneficial bones for cleaning are consumable ones tho, so you will have to adjust feeding amounts on the days you give the bones.

the bigger the pieces are, and the longer the dog has to work on them, ripping, pulling and chewing, the better the effect on the teeth. so for example, a larger dog would benefit more from eating half a chicken carcass (skin, meat, cartilage, bones) than just gnawing on some knuckle bones for a while.

here are some suggestions for bones that work out well:

beef and pork necks (cut according to size of the individual dog), lamb shanks, knuckle ends of beef femur bones, beef and pork ribs, pig's feet, chicken and turkey backs, oxtails. specifically for smaller dogs: chicken necks, wings and feet, pork and lamb ribs.

 

[Freddie]

\
Mordy, to answer your qeustions

the dog is 2
only had him a week so i don't know if he had
chewed regularly
I feed him Nutro, it's what the adoption center people told me to get him, it's dry food.
I gave him an artifical bone, not a real one.
I'll have to look at his teeth more carefully to answer the rest

So if i'm eating a peice of chicken leg, I can
suck it down and then give him the bone?
May sound like a stupid question, but
i'm a newbie dog owner, and i figured since ppl
say not to feed them table food, the same would
go for bones, and why they manufacture
regular bones when you can get them off
of chicken?

Well thanks to everyone who has cared enough
to reply!

 

[Mordy]

So if i'm eating a peice of chicken leg, I can suck it down and then give him the bone?

no! please don't do this. never, ever feed cooked bones to your dog. they are brittle and can splinter, so you are putting your dog's life at risk.

everything i have written above only only only applies to raw, unprocessed bones. not cooked, not fried, not boiled, not baked, not barbecued, not smoked, not sterilized or otherwise processed. when it comes to your dog, it's best to forget that anything but raw bones even exists.

the one and only exception where it is acceptable to feed cooked bones is when they have been cooked in a pressure cooker or slow cooker long enough to fall apart to mush - as in you will be able to break them down with a spoon without applying much pressure.

from what you posted it's quite possible that your dog just has gums that are slightly inflamed, but giving him lots of opportunities to chew on raw bones should fix that quickly.

food also plays a role in dental health and you might want to look into switching to a better food than nutro - it's a popular brand but ingredient quality isn't so great and you can get much better foods for the same price or even less. if you click on my signature, you'll find more information on the topic than you could read in an hour or two.

 

[moe]

I agree raw bones are brilliant at helping keep the dogs teeth clean all my dogs are fed a completely raw diet and they have no tarter or plaque on their teeth, if you give a bone with a little meat attached as they try to get the meat off the bone they will be working their teeth on the bone itself and hence clean the teeth,they will then start to eat that actual bone too which is all good. NEVER GIVE ANY FORM OF COOKED OR PROCESSED BONES.

Mo

 

[Freddie]

allright, i understand now. I was confused at first. I think that's what happened with the other bone I had, althogh it was not raw, it was still chipping and cracking which probably punctured his gums somewhere.

About the flea control issue, I found like 3 fleas on him today after he was in the garage with me. I remember my friend dog was over about 2 weeks ago and was infested with fleas, he spent the night in my garage and i'm sure this is where Freddie is getting the fleas from, now according to Frontline, they should die off on him in a day anyways, but I still don't want any fleas on him. Is there a good type of spray that I can spray the whole garage with to get rid of the fleas that exist in there? Doen'st have to be a spray, can be any kind of flea control that would not involve the fleas having to get on to freddie before dying bc I already have frontline on him.

 

[Mordy]

there are a lot of products for premise treatment, but pretty much all of them contain chemicals that are harmful to the environment.

one harmless, natural way to get rid of them is to sprinkle diatomaceous earth (food grade only) or borax around the infested area. it doesn't kill the fleas and larvae by poisoning them but by abrading their waxy outer "hull" or dehydrating them.

 

[moe]

normally if you have to treat the dog for fleas you also have to treat the home, the dogs bedding, furniture carpets etc too, otherwise you will just get re infested.

Mo

 

[Freddie]

that's what I thought but the vet told me to just let them jump on him and they will all eventually die through him, I know it sounded kind of weird.

 

[BagelDog]

Revolution is awesome. It begins to work in 30 minuters our vet told us. We put it on our puppies, and in 20 minutes flea were fleeing and staggering and running in terror. It was interesting. By the next days sickly, dying ticks came off. It also prevents heartworms, and lot of other worms I think, and mange too I believe. Its amazing stuff

 

[Freddie]

has anyone had luck with Adam's Flea bomber of fogger? i'm going to bomb the garage b/c everytime little freddie goes out there, he gets a flea or two jump oh him, even though he's on flea medication from Frontline.

 

[Renee750il]

If you use a bomb, whatever you do, keep anything living out of it for at least a week, no matter how much sooner the directions say is safe!