I've booked my bitch in to have her teeth descaled and claws clipped. She came from a previous owner who hadn't kept up with these things, and now she's been with us for ages and is very settled I've finally got around to booking her in to have this done on 11th this month (this is the earliest it can be booked).  She has come into season (yesterday) and I had planned to mate her (I've sorted out a stud dog and everything) but I am not sure of the timing of the anasthetic etc as the dates for fertility and the op look likely to collide.  I can cancel either the mating or the dental/claws/microchip.  I have been reading up for months about breeding and prepared everything meticulously, but I would prefer to canvass opinions here from those of you who have hands on experience.

Forgot to add that my bitch has had relevant tests etc and passed suitable for breeding.  I would ask my vets advice but there is a locum covering the practice at present so I am waiting until regular vet returns.  Just my general curiosity prompted me to post here for your take on things.  The dogs breath is quite smelly but she's now fed complete dry food and plaque off in wetter food a few times a week.

Can't you clip nails without a GA?

You may also find that some bones would help wit the teeth or are they beyond that?

I agree you could clip the nails yourself but I'm not sure about bones...do chis have better teeth than cresteds? I know if the chinese cresteds got a nice raw meaty bone you could almost guarantee there would be a tooth or two left sticking out of it :rolleyes:

Hi, thanks so much for your response.

I could try to clip her nails as she's quite still and well behaved, I suppose (as with the chip)  it seemed easier to get them done under GA because she was going in for the dental.  I was happier to let the vet do them as they are really quite thick and dark and I am so over cautious about catching the quicks, but I need to get more proficient in these things.  It's mainly her teeth that are ghastly, but to be honest it wouldn't hurt her to wait 4 or 5 months to get them descaled, I just like to keep upto date with all thier health and hygiene.

My vet did recommend raw rib bones for small dogs, but yes the teeth are yuk.  I think once they are done I will use a combo of the complete food, bones, plague off and denta stix to maintain the oral health.

I'm still getting over the fact that the little show dog I bought went in for a descale, and the vet removed an upper front tooth because it was wibbly.  She didn't ask me as I do a lot of rescue work and hadn't mentioned this lad was my show dog, so I am really disappointed as I know it will probably prejudice his chances in future comps.  He certaily won't win Crufts this year.  To her credit tho, she has done some work on two of the rescue dogs over Xmas with no charge, but nothing can bring my lads tooth back :(

My rescue dog had really brown, scaly teeth when we got him. Raw bones cleaned the teeth up almost completely :)

Daisy

Oooohhh it was my larger dog the male vet in the practice saw when the bones were recommended, I did ask about smaller dogs, but maybe before I proceed I should double check with the other lady partner when she gets back.

Chis teeth are notoriously bad, so possibly could be on par with Chinese Cresteds. 

Daisy that's really encouraging, that's got to be better than having a GA.  I'll deffo check the bones situation out.

Did the breath improve?  It's death breath at the moment :rolleyes:

I may be over cautious but I would rather not be whelping a bitch with terrible teeth.  I would worry about what might happen when she chews the cords, or washes the pups - possibility of causing infection etc.  But If it were me, I'd sort out her teeth first.   I may just be being stupid - but maybe it's worth asking the locum vet?

I agree with everyone about the bones but to be honest if I were breeding my bitch I would want her to look imaculate for the perspective puppy owners on meeting her before or after the pups were born, if I met a bitch of a perspective pup and her teeth were not looking good and she had really bad breathe and un clipped claws, I'm afraid it would put me off the pup, I know that the bitch has come to you and it is not your fault at all, but I know I would be thinking this bitch has not been looked after properly, just my own perspective on it.

I would hope to have her in the vets descaled, clipped and chipped just before the mating, which it will hopefully just fall in with, it will not affect the pups developement, I'm not sure about after the mating, though even then I doubt GA would affect the growth of an embryo though would check that first with my vet.

IMO she needs to be shown as a good quality bitch in all aspects.

P.S. Just saw your post Ridgielover, that is actually a very good point with regards to the cords and bad teeth another valid reason and not just cosmetic to have the teeth sorted first.

IMO any bitch being mated should be in first class condition.  What's the rush to get her pregnant?  You only 'recently rescued' her in September when she was "neglected and underfed" or is this another rescue?  She obviously hasn't done well in the ring with filthy teeth and overgrown nails.  What has she done to be a better than average example of her breed and make her suitable to producing puppies? :)

My vet did not think the descaling and mating were a good idea.I think it was a worry about the GA and advised I do one or the other so we waited for the next season.

I would definately put the teeth cleaning before the mating. She could be in pain,and many,many more problems could arise in 4-5 mths,and you could be looking at a whole new expensive set of problems.Dirty teeth/tartar dont just affect the mouth,the bacteria harboured  can also affect the heart,kidney's and liver.

Please put you're girls health,comfort and wellbeing ahead of producing pups,even though IMHO you could get both done if need be.
It's never too early to start rmb's,unless there's pain in the mouth andthey cant chew.

Hi ChiChi - I have the breed, and my very tiny stud boy had probelms with tartar, he won't chew a bone, yet all the others do.  Vet recommended Hills T/D which one of the veterinary nurses reckons did wonders on her cats teeth.  I bought the smallest size biscuit they had in stock, and it's too big for his mouth.  All the others tucked in, but not him.  Grrr!  However, my vet isn't one for high fat chew sticks, but does recommend giving them rawhide chews, he says they are not high in calories, and great for teeth.  I bought the round tiny skinny ones for my boy, and at last have found something that he will chew on!  I am now introducing him to toothpaste, well it's worth a try!

Hi all, thanks for your feedback, very insightful as usual, Champdogs is a great place to come and gain a good broad spectrum of advice, and I didn't want to just take the advice of one person (my vet) as even these differ and I know many people here will have had more hands on experience.

In light of what everyone has said I have decided to wait on the mating with this bitch, I do want to put my girl first and any pups she may have aswell as making the best impression possible on prospective new owners.  I have spoken to the owner of the stud who understands totally as we'd not definitely confirmed as I am still waiting to take my other girl to be checked by the vet to see if the mating I did recently with her has taken.  If she is pregnant then I wasn't going to take up the other stud just yet anyway as this will be my first litter I feel that is one is more than enough to be going on with as I'm feeling quite daunted.

Val this is not the dog that I rescued who was neglected and underfed by the way, that was a Pom on rescue who has since been rehomed with a lovely family as sadly my GSD wasn't getting on with her.  Very strange as my GSD allows my other Chihuahuas to really bully her.