To stay healthy and happy for a long life, your pets’ teeth need regular cleaning to remove plaque and prevent tartar build-up. This helps promote healthy enamel and minimize erosion of gum tissue. Good dental health goes beyond making your pet a more enjoyable housemate; it can help pets live healthier lives. It’s easier than you think to maintain pet dental health between visits to an animal vet clinic for cleanings.

Dental Exam and Supplies

Bad breath in pets can be caused by teeth and gums that need cleaning, but it can also indicate kidney failure, animal diabetes, cancer, infections, or unhealthy eating habits. Before starting a dental cleaning routine, schedule a pet dental exam at our veterinary hospital to eliminate other concerns first. You will also make sure there are no sores on the gums that would make dental cleanings a painful experience for everyone involved. Our Spokane veterinarian can also give you a demonstration of proper cleaning to get you started out right with puppy and kitten wellness or extend pet senior wellness.

Our animal vet clinic and Spokane pet stores offer specialized cleaning tools and toothpastes for pets. Custom-made pet toothpastes in great meaty flavors for dogs and cats feature enzymes that are safe to swallow (unlike human toothpastes) and continue to clean teeth over time. A brush cleaning tool works best in most cases, so start there, but a number of styles are available on the market for when pets prefer them as alternatives.

Getting Started and Using Chew Toys for Additional Pet Dental Benefits

It’s important to get the right start, so start slow. Let pets lick the toothpaste from the brush the first few times, praising your pet’s acceptance of the tool and toothpaste. Once your pet is comfortable, gently clean gums and teeth with the brush, staying focused on focusing the outside surfaces. Most pets will benefit from regular cleanings.

There are many treats, chew toys and bones designed to clean your pet’s teeth and minimize the need for manual dental care. Our veterinary hospital team can recommend what we have seen work for our own pets, but the best one for your animal is the one that is enjoyable and safe. Don’t forget to consider the impact on your pet if you’re counting calories to keep a healthy weight.

Let our team at A-1 Animal Care help you develop a practical routine for dental health. Call our veterinarian with questions!

What tips can you share with other pet owners about home pet dental care?

At A-1 Animal Care Veterinary Services in Spokane, we provide veterinary care for all stages of your pet’s life, including pet senior wellness care. As pets grow older their bodies change and they require a different care regimen. Because common pets, such as dogs and cats, have a short lifespan, they may be considered seniors after living only about a decade in human years. Like humans, as animals age their bodies develop ailments faster. Even if you keep up on veterinary check-ups and care, such as pet vaccinations and pet dental care, your pets need specialized pet senior wellness care in their elder years.

Veterinarian Provides Pain Management for Dogs and Other Aging Pets

Elderly pets suffer from health conditions similar to those conditions of elderly people. They can develop arthritis, which causes pain and stiffness in the joints from loss of cartilage between their bones. Your animal will become less mobile due to its age, which means he or she will burn fewer calories and upping the risk for obesity. With age internal organs will become less efficient, causing high blood pressure, diabetes and tumors.

If your senior pet is drinking lots of water and experiencing rapid weight gain or loss then they may have some kidney or thyroid problems due to an aging body. Older pets require regular veterinary attention so that these chronic conditions do not go unnoticed. Our Spokane veterinarian can treat elderly pets and make them comfortable by providing pain management for dogs and cats who are experiencing aches and pains from their aging bodies.

Our veterinarian and office staff are dedicated to providing excellent care for your pets no matter their age. We will treat you and your pet like family and work to make both of you comfortable. Some of the specialized services available in our office include senior pet wellness, pet dental and pain management for dogs and cats. If you live in the Spokane area and are seeking veterinary care call our office today to get your pets the extraordinary care they deserve.

What are some things you do to care for your senior pet?

Welcome to our first blog post! At A-1 Animal Care Veterinary Services, we reach for the top in everything we do and believe that pets and their humans should have a long, happy and healthy time together. We created this blog to serve as a resource that will provide you with all the pet information you need to achieve that goal. If you have questions for our veterinarian or one of the caring team members at our veterinary clinic, please send it in and we’ll be happy to answer.

A-1 Animal Care Veterinary Services is a full-service animal clinic run by Spokane veterinarian Dr. Lohr. We treat cats and dogs of all ages and love working with senior pets. We provide routine pet care such as pet dental, pet vaccinations, pet dermatology, spay and neuter services and much more.

At A-1, Love is a Four-Legged Word!

At our Spokane veterinary clinic, the primary focus is pet wellness and preventative health care so our animal companions in Spokane, Airway Heights, Deer Park and Rathdrum can experience a healthy and fulfilling life. Treatment includes pain management for dogs and cats as they age or puppy and kitten wellness recommendations for your newest addition. Whether it’s pet dental, pet vaccinations or pet dermatology, we’ll treat you and your pet with warmth and kindness. If the need arises, emergency and urgent care services are available.

Our full range of services features diagnostic medicine, pet surgery, geriatric medicine, radiology, orthopedic, senior wellness physicals and weight control programs. Because we know that a visit to our office can be a stressful time for you and your pet, we make our clinic warm and inviting, and try to maintain a calm atmosphere. We operate an open hospital, which means that we welcome owners to be with their pets during any medical procedure.

What veterinary medicine topics would you like to have our Spokane veterinarian discuss in upcoming blogs that will help your pet thrive? Whatever your topic, A-1 Animal Care will provide top-notch information.