dog showing blood on a bone

Question
QUESTION: My dog is a beagle mix with chow chow and he is 3 years old. He was chewing one of his old bone tonight when we were eating dinner, when we finished eating dinner, we saw that there are blood on the bone. Is there anything seriuosly wrong with the teeth? should we do something about it?
Thanks for your help

ANSWER:
Hi Van,

I can't say if there's a problem with your dog's teeth. You'd need to open his mouth, and have a look to get an idea if he's having a problem or not.

If your dog's gums look red or inflamed, if you see any sores on his gums, or if there is a lot of yellow tartar on your dog's teeth, or you see a chipped tooth, then he may be having a dental problem. Dental disease can be as painful to your dog as it would be for you. If you see any problems in your dog's mouth, or if he has chronic bad breath, it's time to have your vet examine your dog. He may be due to have his teeth cleaned.

If you don't see any problems in your dog's mouth, and if his teeth are nice and white and his gums are a healthy pink, this might be an isolated case of over-enthusiastic chewing. You should examine the bone your dog was chewing to make sure it hasn't fragmented or splintered. If it has, it's time for a new bone.

I hope I've been a help.
Best of luck,

Patti





---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: i just checked my dog's mouth, above the root to the teeth, i see some black patches and above that is pink gum. What's that the black patches? Also, I saw a teeth inside of his mouth that is oly poked out a little, what does that mean?

Answer

Hello again,

The black patches are normal, some dogs are just pigmented that way. It's not a sign of disease.
If your dog was having an oral problem, you'd see red puffy-looking or bleeding gums (at the base of the teeth), his breath would probably smell bad too. The following web site will help you to evaluate the condition of your dog's mouth:

http://www.lacrossevet.com/dog_dental.htm

You didn't say where the little teeth were, I suspect you were looking at the dog's premolars. Depending on how big your dog is, these teeth can be small, and appear as though they're just poked up through the gum. Dogs use their premolars to chew on rawhides, bones, and other chew toys. They hold the toy between their paws and grab it with these strong pointed teeth by tilting their jaws to the side.

Assuming your dog isn't having any dental problems at this time, at three years old you should ask your vet to examine your dog's teeth at his next physical exam. By 3 years of age, 80% of dogs will show signs of gum disease, which only gets worse as the dog grows older.

After a professional cleaning is a good time to start brushing your dog's teeth. Your vet can show you how to do this (it's not hard). You can read about how to brush your dog's teeth here:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2089&aid=384

Best of luck,

Patti