[Dailydrool] Senior Dental

[Tom Hickcox]

At 22:47 1/31/2010, Cheryl Medlin wrote:

>I was rightly concerned about the risks of cleaning for my senior 
>Basset. When he had to be put down in August, the sedation shot 
>collapsed his veins and it was  a bad experience. They had a hard 
>time getting the shot into a vein to euthanize him. Bad circumstanes 
>made worse. My point; I wouldn't risk it for a cleaning.I think a 
>cleaning would have been the end of my baby.

My Maggie Lou was slow to get over the effects of the 
anesthesia.  Two months later she was dead from liver cancer six 
weeks shy of thirteen years.

This certainly did not hasten her end, but it was the first 
sign.  The next sign several weeks later was she was finicky about 
eating her food, certainly a danger sign in the bassets I have known.

That raises a question:  My daughter leaves kibble down for my 
grandpups and they eat when they are ready.  When the basset brigade 
is in town, we have to put the food up as they will eat what is 
available.  Does anyone have a basset that eats only when it is 
hungry and you leave food down?  Mine take what is down and then lick 
the other's bowl.

Tommy in Baton Rouge