Every dog and cat should be examined at a minimum once a year. And once pets get to about six or seven years old, they should be coming in twice a year. Again, dental pain is the most common pain that we do see that pets are living with. And if you've ever had a sore tooth yourself, you know that is no fun. And there are things we can do to help with that. If they're abscessed, we want to remove that because that's a chronic source of infection and pain. Your dog may have chronic arthritic changes, back pain, neck pain, and even skin infections, earaches, and ear infections can be painful.

Regular wellness exams help us determine pain, but if things are just not quite right in between those appointments and the dog is showing some odd symptoms, then bring them in, and we will help you determine the best course of treatment and care for them.

Many things can cause pain in dogs, such as if they have a sore paw, they cut themselves, or if another dog has bitten them. They could also have chronically changing arthritis in their hips or knees, which can cause pain. A dog’s nervous system is very similar to ours, so whatever could cause us pain can cause them pain also. And certainly, dental pain is a huge one. We see many animals living with pretty severe pain in their mouths, and they will not tell you when they have a sore tooth. That’s upon us to help you figure that out.

Some of the most common signs for dogs would be hiding, shaking, and not behaving like they usually would. I always tell people that if your dog always comes to greet you at the door and they're not doing that right now, that's probably a good sign that they may have some discomfort or something is not right.

What I tell people is that the chew toy has to be softer than the tooth. When things are harder than the tooth, the tooth loses. Things like cow hooves and deer antlers and even some of these harder Nylabones can fracture a tooth. And once that happens, we're looking at either root canal or extraction of the tooth because that's a very painful condition for the pet. There are many quality chewies out there. We carry some CET rawhide chews that have some stuff in to help keep the mouth healthy. They can work nicely, but you've got to be careful. I'm also a big fan of KONG toys. They're soft enough that they don't break the dog's teeth, but they're hard enough to be indestructible. I've seen some pets destroy some KONG toys, but they tend to generally hold up pretty well. I’m not a big fan of either Pigs’ ears or bully sticks and find them kind of gross. Pigs' ears are fatty. Bully sticks are bull penises, and that's not something I would want to give my dog.

By all means, you do. Again, brushing is the best. GREENIES are a supplement. The chews are a supplement. And they can help, but they're not taking the place of brushing.