Pet The World

Pomeranians have tiny mouths and itty bitty teeth, but not caring for them properly can cause serious health problems for your dog.

Dental disease in dogs can cause serious health issues as the bacteria from infected gums and teeth can “spread” to other parts of the body and affect vital organs such as the heart, kidneys and intestines. Tarter or dental calculus starts off soft but can harden on the dogs teeth. Once hardened, it cannot be brushed away but requires a dental scaling just like you get in the dentist chair! If the teeth are left untreated, the buildup can cause the gums to become inflamed and can also cause serious infections.

Does Your Pom Have Bad Teeth?

Pomeranians are prone to dental problems. Buildup of plaque and tooth loss can be severe and cause problems with their daily routines. To tell if your dog has bad teeth, lift up his lips and check his teeth at the gumline - can you see tarter? Are the teeth white or discolored? Does his breath smell? Are there broken teeth?

All of these can indicate the need for better dog tooth care. Your veterinarian will probably do a dental check as part of they yearly checkup and can advise you as to the extent of the problem, if any.

Providing Better Pomeranian Tooth Care

Bones

Chewing on raw bones can be a good way for your dog to remove built up tarter but Poms have very small mouths and may not be able to chew a real bone so you might want to try one of the manufactured bones that are made specifically for dog dental care. I would advise against cooked bones as they can splinter and cause damage to the gums or intestine if swallowed.

Brushing Your Poms Teeth

Brushing is a vital part of dog tooth care and should be done at least once a week - preferably every day. There are plenty of flavored toothpastes formulated for dogs that your pet will love the taste of. You can use a finger brush (a rubber piece that fits on the end of your finger with bristles), a hand held brush that looks much like a human tooth brush, or a little brush that fits on the end of a “ring” which you put on your finger. My Pomeranian is extremely tiny and I find the “ring” brush works best for me.

Scaling

This procedure is done by your veterinarian and is pretty much the same thing as the scaling you get at the dentist. The teeth are scraped and polished and any loose or badly damaged teeth are removed. Your dog is put under anesthesia for this procedure and it is quite costly. Proper brushing will limit the need for this to be done.

Getting Your Pomeranian Used To Brushing

While it’s best to start when he is a puppy, it’s not too late for your older Pom to get good dental care! Start off slowly, maybe with just a dab of the toothpaste on your finger so he can lick it off (my dog loves the taste!). Be sure to use a special paste for dogs and not human toothpaste - human toothpaste can be harmful to your pet. You can get a paste from your vet that has enzymes that will help fight the bacteria. Also, you’ll want a soft brush so you do not damage the gums.

Take it one day at a time and gradually get the dog used to you touching his head and opening the mouth. Each day try to go one step further - open the mouth, then touch his teeth, then his gums. Use your finger at first and introduce the brush later. This can be a a bonding time for you and your dog - eventually your pet may even look forward to his nightly brushing! Remember that your Pom is very small so you don’t want to scrub roughly and hurt the dog - just brush gently.
You should try to brush your dogs teeth every day or at least every other day so that the plaque will not have a chance to harden. While this may seem like a chore, think of it as an important medical need for your pet.

Frequent brushing and proper dental care can add years to your Poms life!

Lee Dobbins is a pet lover and webmaster of Pomeranian Pages.com where you can find out more about the Pomeranian Breed. Be sure to check out their dog care articles.

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What influences the condition of a dog’s coat? There are many factors that influence a dog’s coat. Below is a list of some of these factors:

Genetically, a dog can inherit coat quality

Diet

Exercise

Housing and bedding

Grooming regime

All coats can be improved with effort and consideration of the dog’s individual needs.

Feeding

What you feed your dog does influence the quality of your dog’s coat. It is always advisable to listen to your breeder’s advice about feeding. A reputable breeder is careful to give new puppy owners a diet instruction sheet to follow through from puppy hood to adult age. Excellent breeders will support the new puppy owner and provide after-sales advice throughout the dog’s lifetime.

It is possible for two pups from the same litter to have completely different dietary needs. This is unusual, as dogs are basically scavengers. Some dogs do, however, have special needs. Your breeder should be able to suggest a suitable diet. Your vet would be the next logical advisor about diet for your particular pup or dog.

What does being a scavenger mean? Dogs retain many of their original characteristics from when they were living in the wild. They are largely resistant to food poisoning. They have large teeth for cutting meat and tearing tough tissue. Even a small dog will relish a good meaty bone or a chunk of chewy meat.

Natural Diet

Many people believe the more they spend, the better the results, which is not necessarily always true. Dogs are what they eat. Feeding the dog is important to skin and coat care. It is essential to point out that needs of individual dogs can and do differ. No matter what your preference is for dog food, not all dogs are suited to your personal preferences. If a natural diet is fed, there is far less likelihood of adverse reaction. The coat of your dog will tell the story of the quality of his diet. A meal made from brown rice and chicken is a healthy, natural diet for a dog that can be fed two or three days a week to enhance the quality of the dog’s coat.

Some dogs may benefit from additives such as evening primrose oil, flaxseed oil or starflower oil at a dose of 500 mg daily. This is especially beneficial when the coat is poor from a previous diet, if the dog has a flea allergy problem or has suffered inherited or environmental effects that leave the coat looking far from good. Natural food also rarely attracts fleas. The dog’s skin is less pleasant for parasites.

Cheese has many essential nutrients and is a good source of calcium. Most dogs love cheese. Vegetables can be given to a dog as treats. Packs of mixed vegetables from the freezer at the local supermarket are easy to feed occasionally and as a treat. Most dogs love mixed vegetables. Feed in small amounts to small dogs only 2 or 3 times per week.

Dogs also love fruit, even raw cabbage and raw broccoli. Avoid grapes. Grapes are toxic to dogs. Fiber, such as oat bran, will help to prevent anal gland trouble. Cider vinegar is useful in helping the immune system.

Avoid raw meats.

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If you are looking for tips on breeding tropical fish, you must first decide what type of tropical fish you wish to breed. Some tropical fish are live bearers, which means they give birth to live minnow babies. The other type are egg bearers, which means the mother lays eggs and the minnow babies hatch from the eggs.

Most sources that provide tips on breeding tropical fish suggest that live bearers are the better place to start, especially for beginners who have limited to no previous breeding experience. Beginner breeders should hone their skills using any of three live bearer fish types, which are the three of the easiest to breed: mollies, guppies or platys.

One of the first, and perhaps most important, tips on breeding tropical fish that bear live young is to keep the baby fish, called fry, away from the rest of your community tank. Adult fish consider fry to be excellent food, so if you don’t keep them separated, your breeding efforts will be sacrificed to the appetites and instincts of the rest of your fish. In fact, even the fry’s own parents enjoy eating them.

Your best bet to avoid this fate is to use a separate breeding tank, with heavy foliage to provide cover for the fry. Once the mother has given birth, she can be returned to the main tank, which the young fry can grow in comparative safety.

Water temperature and tank size are both very important when it comes to tips on breeding tropical fish. Each different breed of fish has a different optimal breeding temperature, so first determine that. Fish will breed when the water temperature signals to them that it is breeding season. If you maintain this optimal temperature, the male and female fish will be more likely to breed. As a general rule, larger tanks tend to produce larger numbers of fry in one birth as well.

These tips on breeding tropical fish are but the tip of the iceberg. If you are serious about breeding, seeking the advice of an experienced breeder and relevant literature is always advisable.

Please visit my site for more tips on breeding tropical fish.

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