Far and away, the best way is to brush the dog’s teeth. That is the way we take care of our teeth, and that's the way we recommend taking care of your dog's teeth as well. There's nothing that does any better than the abrasive action of brushing. But there are a few points we need to talk about with brushing. The first is, pets don't use human toothpaste. Our toothpaste is made to spit, and pets don't spit very well. So they need pet-specific toothpaste, and they make them in chicken, beef, and seafood flavors. Most dogs enjoy these flavors. But then the big thing is that we've got to make it fun for the pet. So we'll talk about that in the next question.

The other thing is that there are some chews out there. Everyone has seen the chews that say, "will clean your pet's teeth." And believe it or not, some of them do what they say. But there is a seal called the VOHC Seal, which stands for Veterinary Oral Health Council Seal. This seal is on packages for the products that truly do what they say they're going to do. They’ve been clinically shown to remove tartar if they say they truly remove tartar. Things like GREENIES can do that, and there are many other products out there. But there are many products out there that just say, "Clean your pet's teeth" that have no study behind them. It's just somebody putting that on the back. If you see the VOHC Seal, you can be confident that it's going to do at least something to help keep your pet's teeth clean. The solutions, oral treatments, and water treatments are primarily for the breath. They're not going to help clean the teeth, so brushing is number one, two, and three.

That's not an uncommon question. When that time comes, many of us want to think about being able to pass away in our sleep, or I hear many clients say, "I wish they would just go in their sleep," when they know that their dog is uncomfortable and at that end-stage. And again, I believe that's a personal decision. For veterinary medicine, we're able to decide on humane euthanasia when that time comes, so I think that's more of a question directly for the client to talk about personally. But I do feel that humane euthanasia is a kind decision we can make for them.

There can be many changes. We often associate eating with feeling good, but that's not always the case, especially for our larger breeds. Some large breed dogs - like labs - will eat until the very end. But I tend to say their back half is kind of shut down, as those are the dogs that often can’t get up to use the bathroom, and they can't get up to move. They may have pressure sores. They may not have control of their bowels or their bladder, making that a personal decision for everyone. Some dog owners may tolerate more nursing care than others. It ends up being a summation of all those things that diminish the dog's quality of life.

We have a conversation about that with you first, and we make sure that you feel that that time is right. I have many of those conversations with my clients about concerns over not wanting to make that decision too soon. But sometimes, the bigger regret is they didn't make that decision soon enough. And so that's a tough call to make. And through that conversation and a physical exam, we may be able to come to the best decision for you and your pet.

The way that we do euthanasia here at the Animal Hospital of Statesville is to make it as painless and as pleasant as possible for something that's not pleasant to think or talk about. We give them a sedative first that just calms them and all but puts them to sleep, and then we give them the final injection.

Euthanasia is, in my opinion, making a kind decision love your dog enough to let them go—an end-of-life decision.