The two biggest problems that we see in vet med are one, gingivitis, which is inflammation of the gums. Usually what that looks like for an owner is you see a rim of red around the tooth right at the level of the gum line. That's the first sign of gum disease or gingivitis. In time, that can progress to periodontal disease, which is disease below the gum line that's affecting the alveolar bone or the bone of the jaw that holds the root of the tooth in place. These are both prevented with a lot of the things that we're going to be talking about.

A healthy dog's mouth is just like your mouth when you leave the dentist. It is clean and you see no plaque, no tartar, there's no redness, there's no bleeding of the gums, and especially there's no odor. That's one of the big things that we see as a first sign of dental disease in our canine patients.

One common misconception is that many clients don't view it as a major surgery, while in reality, it is. For females, we are removing body parts, and the same holds true for males. Ensuring that the dogs are calm and resting during the recovery is very important. Some clients don't believe in spaying and neutering for various reasons, but there are many health benefits to spaying or neutering your pet.

Dog spays typically take around 20 minutes on average. The time varies depending on the size of the dog; smaller dogs take less time, and bigger dogs take more time. Dog neuters, on average, take about eight to 10 minutes, as we don't go inside the abdomen for these procedures.

Although there's always a possibility of complications during any surgical procedure, the chances are usually very low. The most common complication we see is during the recovery period. If the owners don't put the cone on their dogs when unattended, the dogs may lick their incisions, attempting to alleviate the itchiness of the healing process. This could potentially introduce infection or even open up the incision.

We take great care to ensure all our surgeries are pain-free. We use local blocks, such as Lidocaine and Bupivacaine, as well as preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative pain medication. We also provide medication for the dog to take home. This ensures our patients are extremely comfortable, and usually, it's all the pet parents can do to keep them quiet because they feel so good.

Dog neuters, unless the dog has a retained testicle (known as prepped orchid), are not performed inside the abdomen. Instead, a small pre-scrotal incision is made, from which both testicles are removed, double-ligated, and then the incision is closed.

A dog spay is an ovariohysterectomy, which means that both the ovaries and the uterus are removed. The procedure involves making an incision on the midline of the abdomen. Once inside the abdomen, the ovaries and the uterus are located and removed. Dogs have a right and a left side, called horns, and a cervix. Everything above the cervix, which is both ovaries and the uterus, is removed. The abdomen is then closed up with a three-layer closure once the spay has been performed.

We would not recommend it because your kitten will not be fully protected. We recommend not letting them outside until they have received their rabies vaccine.

If your kitten misses a vaccine, give the veterinary clinic a call, and we will look at the vaccines that we've already given and that your kitten still may need. We can then come up with a new schedule.