Dr. Satpal Gautam

Did you know that regularly brushing your dog's teeth and providing her with a healthy diet and plenty of chew toys can go a long way toward keeping her mouth healthy? Many pooches show signs of gum disease by the time they're four years old because they aren't provided with proper mouth care—and bad breath is often the first sign of a problem. Give your dog regular home checks and follow the tips below, and you'll have a very contented pooch with a dazzling smile.

1. The Breath Test

Sniff your dog's breath. Not a field of lilies? That's okay—normal doggie-breath isn't particularly fresh-smelling. However, if his breath is especially offensive and is accompanied by a loss of appetite, vomiting or excessive drinking or urinating, it's a good idea to take your pooch to the vet.

2. Lip Service

Once a week, with your dog facing you, lift his lips and examine his gums and teeth. The gums should be pink, not white or red, and should show no signs of swelling. His teeth should be clean, without any brownish tartar.

3. Signs of Oral Disease

The following are signs that your dog may have a problem in his mouth or gastrointestinal system and should be checked by a veterinarian:

Bad breath
Excessive drooling
Inflamed gums
Tumors in the gums
Cysts under the tongue
Loose teeth
4. The Lowdown on Tooth Decay

Bacteria and plaque-forming foods can cause build-up on a dog's teeth. This can harden into tartar, possibly causing gingivitis, receding gums and tooth loss. One solution? Regular teeth cleanings, of course.

5. Canine Tooth-Brushing Kit

Get yourself a toothbrush made especially for canines or a clean piece of soft gauze to wrap around your finger. Ask your vet for a toothpaste made especially for canines or make a paste out of baking soda and water. Never use fluoride with dogs under six months of age—it can interfere with their enamel formation. And please do not use human toothpaste, which can irritate a dog's stomach. Special mouthwash for dogs is also available—ask your vet.

6. Brightening the Pearly Whites

Taking these steps will make brushing a lot easier for the both of you:

First get your dog used to the idea of having her teeth brushed. Massage her lips with your finger in a circular motion for 30 to 60 seconds once or twice a day for a few weeks. Then move on to her teeth and gums.
When your pooch seems comfortable being touched this way, put a little bit of dog-formulated toothpaste or a paste of baking soda and water on her lips to get her used to the taste.
Next, introduce a toothbrush designed especially for dogs—it should be smaller than a human toothbrush and have softer bristles. Toothbrushes that you can wear over your finger (or a clean piece of gauze) are also available and allow you to give a nice massage to your dog's gums.
Finally, apply the toothpaste to her teeth for a gentle brushing, as in step 7.
A veterinary exam beforehand may be helpful to find out if your dog's gums are inflamed. If your dog has mild gingivitis, brushing too hard can hurt her gums.
7. Brushing Technique

Yes, there is actually a technique! Place the brush or your gauze-wrapped finger at a 45-degree angle to the teeth and clean in small, circular motions. Work on one area of your dog's mouth at a time, lifting her lip as necessary. The side of the tooth that touches the cheek usually has the most tartar, and giving a final downward stroke can help to remove it. If your dog resists having the inner surfaces of her teeth cleaned, don't fight it—only a small amount of tartar accumulates there. Once you get the technique down, go for a brushing two or three times a week.

8. Know Your Mouth Disorders

Getting familiar with the possible mouth problems your dog may encounter will help you determine when it's time to see a vet about treatment:

Periodontal disease is a painful infection between the tooth and the gum that can result in tooth loss and spread infection to the rest of the body. Signs are loose teeth, bad breath, tooth pain, sneezing and nasal discharge.
Gingivitis is an inflammation of the gums caused mainly by accumulation of plaque, tartar and disease-producing bacteria above and below the gum line. Signs include bleeding, red, swollen gums and bad breath. It is reversible with regular teeth cleanings.
Halitosis—or bad breath—can be the first sign of a mouth problem and is caused by bacteria growing from food particles caught between the teeth or by gum infection. Regular tooth-brushings are a great solution.
Swollen gums develop when tartar builds up and food gets stuck between the teeth. Regularly brushing your dog's teeth at home and getting annual cleanings at the vet can prevent tartar and gingivitis.
Proliferating gum disease occurs when the gum grows over the teeth and must be treated to avoid gum infection. An inherited condition common to boxers and bull terriers, it can be treated with antibiotics.
Mouth tumors appear as lumps in the gums. Some are malignant and must be surgically removed.
Salivary cysts look like large, fluid-filled blisters under the tongue, but can also develop near the corners of the jaw. They require drainage, and the damaged saliva gland must be removed.
Canine distemper teeth can occur if a dog had distemper as a puppy. Adult teeth can appear looking eroded and can often decay. As damage is permanent, decayed teeth should be removed by a vet.
9. Chew on This

chew toys can satisfy your dog's natural desire to chomp, while making his teeth strong. Gnawing on a chew toy can also help massage his gums and help keep his teeth clean by scraping away soft tartar. Ask your vet to recommend toxin-free rawhide, nylon and rubber chew toys.

P.S.: Gnawing also reduces your dog's overall stress level, prevents boredom and gives him an appropriate outlet for his natural need to chew.

10. Diet for Healthy Teeth

Ask your vet about a specially formulated dry food that can slow down the formation of plaque and tartar. Also, avoid feeding your dog table scraps, instead giving him treats that are specially formulated to keep canine teeth healthy.

Hi, give him homoeoathic medicine as they can be given to animals and are effective on them! give arsenic alb. 30 and nux vomica 30 - both 3 times a day daily for few days.

How old is your dog. Best treatment for parvo virus is regular fluid therapy. You can use parvo virus immunoglobulin along with fluids. Antibiotics for prevention of secondary infection.

There is no confirm pills available in the market for abortion in bitches. You have get her operated, but take care of her health and stage of pregnancy.

It is better you contact your vet or any breeder nearby for the proper help in breeding your female labrador. Thank you.

Might be digestion complication . Please take it to a vet and also concentrate fibre content in the dog as it will also lead to such compliances

PET-SAFETY Guidelines for SUMMERS!
- Never leave a pet in a car/vehicle alone, even for few minutes. The temperature inside the car goes up substantially compared to outside temperature and can cause life threatening heat stroke in pets.
- Change timings of walks – switch to early morning walks before sun heats up, and late in the night when environment cools down – May be 8AM-8PM!
- Keep ample drinking water available all the time for the pets!
- If you are housing your pets in A/C rooms, make sure to avoid “Temperature Shock”. I.E. Do not take them out immediately from a A/C room, or vice versa. Switch off the A/C  let the room temperature become normal  and then take them out, so as to minimize temperature difference to which pets are exposed.
- Watch out for TICKS! - Summer is active tick season, and it is better to be safe than sorry. Talk to us for the preventive strategies for tick infestations so as to protect your pets from the tick borne diseases.

Can you elaborate how are symptoms of breathing problem. Also share what is the breed and does his/ her breather rate increase v high after exercise or at night or any particular time of day. Is would be better if you can share video clip while showing signs of breathing problem.

What is the age of your dog. Deworm your dog regularly once in 3 months. Provide well balanced food, take for walking in late evenings.

Its seems ur dog has bacterial infection. It requires ear cleaning and ear drops and systemic antibiotic therapy

As she is 12 years of age, please dont do any surgery and try to maintain it with tablets and let it have happy life and favourite food.

What are the rules every dog owner should follow?

The number one way to communicate to a dog that you are his pack leader is to take him/her for a Pack walk daily, where the dog is made to heel beside or behind the human who is holding the lead. This is most important for all dogs, as in a dog?s mind, the leader always leads the way.
A dog must not be allowed to sniff or eliminate anywhere he wishes, but only where you allow him.
The dog should be concentrating on following the human.
All humans must eat before the dogs.
No table scraps should be fed to the dog during a meal.
Feedings must be at a scheduled time.
Humans must not let the dog go through any doorway first.
When you have left the house or the room, even for a minute and come back, ignore the dog for a few minutes.
A simple obedience command should be given before any pleasurable interaction with the dog. A child in the house should give the commands at least once a day and reward the dog with a treat when the command is followed.
You should not lie on the floor to watch TV when the dog is around, as a human should never put himself in an equal or lesser height position than the dog.
You are the first one who greets newcomers; the dog is the last that gets attention.
If a dog is lying in your path, do not walk around the dog, either make the dog move or step over the dog.
If you establish eye contact with the dog, the dog must avert his gaze first. Tell the children not to have staring contest with the dog.
Dogs must not sleep in your bed.
Games of fetch or play with toys must be started and ended by the human.
Dog should not be allowed to lie on your furniture.
No tug?of?war, as this is a game of power and you may lose the game giving the dog reinforcement (in the dog?s mind) of top dog.
Dogs need to be taught ?drop it? or ?release? command.
Dogs should not be allowed to pull on the leash.
When you put the food dish down, the dog must wait until you give the "OK" to eat it.
Small dogs or puppies who demand to be picked up or put down should not get what they want until they sit or do another acceptable quiet behavior.
Dogs should never be left unsupervised with children or anyone who cannot maintain leadership over the dog.
Last but certainly not least... avoid emotions, when you are around your dog. Your dog can sense these emotions and will see you as weak.

Do not become yourself doctor or assume without base, to be a babesiosis case, there are certain symptoms like high fever, severe conjunctivitis, urine dark colored like coffee, & you should take the blood for diagnosis of this disease, to lab. The ticks in the night bite & go & can not be found on the body, what your doctor said is correct, he may be having some other problem also, and you are treating for that. His temperature can be taken by keeping the thermometer in the anus,

As you said you are vaccinating dog for only rabies these years that's ok. Still dog has to get its yearly vaccination of corona, distemper, lepto, etc as an single shot. These viruses might have given the dog enteric form of disease of corona (affect the digestive tract). So you people don't need to worry about your health or vaccination. Just be as normal as usual.

As per symptoms your dog is suffering from gastroenteritis (chances of parvo infection). You should take him to vet. He required fluid therapy for the problem.

You can do 1. Keep away your lab from water lodges area or not allow to go that place 2. Apply the ointment for pets it will work or some powder preparation so it will not licks for more detail consult a doctor.

Normally bitches come in estrous 4-6 months. Best indication of pro-estrus is vaginal bleeding. If in last 3 years your bitch never had vaginal bleeding then you should get her examine to vet.

If he is climbing please take x-ray or if not just pain killer would do with calcium tablets please consult your vet as soon as possible

You can start giving high nutritious diet to you dog like egg, chicken paneer etc. You can give him good quality feed like pedigree professional or royal canin for growth.

Yes safe to feed your dog with boiled chicken as by birth they care carnivores and for hair shedding please give him omega fatty acids to control shedding or fish oil.