My poor bitch had a slab fracture of a premolar this afternoon and she was very distressed because a part of the broken tooth remained attached. Once this had been removed she seemed happy enough but if you or I had broken a tooth would we have been so unconcerened. The question, do dogs not feel pain in the same way as we do or is it that we just worry? She is booked in on Monday morning to have the rest of the tooth removed. I hate it when one of my babies has to have an op. Jackie H.

Hi Jackie-
My Lurcher bitch had a slab fracture as well, of an upper carnassial tooth ( the really big teeth at the back). I noticed it when I did the weekly teeth cleaning session, she must have done it chewing bones as she really gets stuck in! There was a flap of tooth, still attached behind the gum, and when touched, it bled a little. Apart from being a little careful about chewing on that side, she showed no signs of discomfort at all- can you imagine the agony if a person had broken a tooth like that!! By the time I got her into the vets on the Monday morning, the tooth was already starting to discolour, and smell. It took 3 vets to pull the tooth out!( but don't worry, a premolar will be much easier- this tooth was about an inch across!)
Next day, she was chomping on chicken wings again, as if nothing ever happened...aren't dogs amazing!
Good luck for Monday, Liz

Jackie, I think they feel pain the same as us, but many have an extremely high pain threshold, therefore it doesn't bother them as much.

Bit like the difference in pain thresholds between women and men. Where men never complain when they're ill, and carry on as if nothing were wrong :)

Seriously though, hope she's alright.

>>Where men never complain when they're ill, and carry on as if nothing were wrong <<

Its not quite like that here on planet earth Dave :D :D

dave'n :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

it's just us that worry jackie! Dogs have a much higher pain threshold than us, and they deal with ops 10 times better than us :) just think how quickly they're up and about after having major ops like spaying etc, or how bitches cope with giving birth, damn sure I couldn't pop out 8 babies with no pain relief then go for a walk after! :D

And worry where their dinner went, come to think of it , where their dinner went is the only thing my dogs worry about. Jackie H

My horse had two wolf teeth out, the vet used morphine and a sedative, it took 1/2 hour to lever the teeth out with a metal tube - it was gross to watch - horse was eating normally 3 hours later and did not seem bothered at all - put me off my food for ages !

Not running true to form my bitch took over 48hrs to return to normal. She is still on soft food but is back to her usual obnoxious self. Not a good week for me. Bitch in the vets on Monday and my old boy in on Friday. Not good for the bank balance either. Jackie H