That I love Junior goes without saying. He’s sitting on my right foot at the moment because he’s a little codependent and when you work from home dogs end up expecting even more from you. Unlike humans I enjoy Junior’s neediness, he’s like a little baby that snuggles but doesn’t require diapers or sleepless nights. He specializes in adorableness.
I’ve made some mistakes with Junior, the biggest one being dental care. I just didn’t bring Junior in for a scraping every year. I was busy doing things like, oh I dunno…. running a household and raising two children. Unfortunately Junior paid the price for that in pain and I paid the price in cash. I knew I was going to write about canine dental care today so I called the vet and asked them to fax over (they don’t email) some of Junior’s bills.
I could have bought 25 dogs for the price of two dental emergencies.
And yeah, I microchipped Junior for no apparent reason. Understand that if I hold his leash he walks next me. Let’s face it, that dog is going nowhere solo, I spent $70 extra because I was swimming in guilt.
So after all this work the vet was super sweet to me and explained that little dogs can have more severe dental issues than big ones because when they scrape their teeth if there’s any decay the tooth will sometimes just break apart. To be fair their version of kindness didn’t leave me feeling better but they did their best. I’d ignored the first five years of his dental care and these enormous bills were indicators of how much pain my sweet dog had to experience.
In addition to getting junior to the vet for cleanings every 9 months or so he now gets treats to help maintain his teeth. I’d walked past those things for years not understanding that for a few dollars a month Junior’s teeth could have been getting cleaned with treats. The folks at Vet IQ sent some Minties for Junior to sample and he (predictably) loves them. Oh also, Junior is wheat and grain free and Minties are too.
An added bonus with Minties is that they use natural breath fresheners so Junior no longer smells like an animal that spends a good bit of his day licking himself. There’s something about the density and shape of Minties that cleans Junior’s teeth while he chews. Also I was looking at ingredients and Minties includes chlorophyll, parsley, dill, peppermint oil and fennel… am I the only person who seems to remember these ingredients being in Breath Assure (which frankly some humans around me could use).
Since Junior loved Minties enough to dance I’ve arranged for a giveaway from VetIQ where one lucky reader will get a prize pack of at least $100 of VetIQ products, everything they make is veterinary quality made in America. I know our house could use some VetGuard this time of year to keep the fleas away.
Entering is easy, good luck! Your pets will thank you and so will your wallet.
We’re looking at a potential bill of over $750 to have Nellie’s teeth cleaned and a fatty growth removed. I figured if we’re going to put her out for a teeth cleaning, might as well have the growth (which isn’t bothering her) removed, too. We give Nellie a competitor’s teeth cleaning product, but I’d like to try Minties since I believe they’re cheaper. (You’ve convinced me Jessica!)
I will buy my Minties at …uh … Kmart? YES, let’s go with Kmart. There’s one of those around here. I could have sworn I saw those at the Petco but now I’m thinking I’m obviously wrong and have been getting sub-par dental chews for my Bassett Hound. Damn me.
Well you can’t argue with how cute he is, but wow to those vet bills. I love my dogs, but have been horrible with the dental stuff. I had no idea these were at Rite-Aid, which is all I have local from the options. I will check there!
When my brother died I ended up with his small dogs, eventually convincing my parents to take the elderly dachsund. He had not ever really properly cared for her teeth, and when the trouble came it came to about the same tune as what you’ve dealt with. 9 teeth she lost, all abscessed or just about to do so.
My pit bull rescue would LOVE Minties. And, the flea prevention is a must!
You can also brush your dog’s teeth. Not too bad once a week, and can make a huge difference.
I’m thinking that Minties would make a perfect snack for all The Hydrant Club kids here in Las Vegas :)
I’ll buy them either at Costco or Kroger.
KMART…IT IS THE CLOSEST.
Kmart
I usually buy dog dental chews at Costco. We joke that he is our million dollar dog, he is highly allergic to a lot of foods as well as some anesthetics, which makes for fun times when the vet gives him a dental.
i refer you to my latest facebook update…
I think RiteAid; it’s right nearby and I can only very rarely cope with Costco
{in the contest I am Margot Core on the Rafflecopter}
will but at RiteAid
RiteAid and Costco, especially
Kroger
Kroger.
This would be gifted to my bro that has a dog. I have 4 cats.
Kmart for sure, we’re really close to one! :)
Probably at Amazon.com since that’s where I buy most of my pet stuff. If not at Rite Aid probably though there web site says they’re available at Walmart which would acutally be closer for me.
costco
I love minties! I would probably buy them at Rite Aid.
Rite Aid
Kroger or rite aid since we have them
I will buy them at Kmart
I will probably buy them at Costco. :-) Thank you.