Some Blood from Gums

[arealhuman]

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Hi All,

Whilst brushing Rusty's teeth the other day - we don't use a toothbrush but one of these and Logic gel - I noticed a couple of smears of blood on my finger. It didn't overly worry me, I just made a mental note to monitor it. Yesterday, I bought him a rope toy which he loved, he ran off with it and chewed it, but when he dropped it there were quite few smears of blood on it. I've tried looking in his mouth at his gums, but he's not that cooperative so I didn't see much. We usually try to clean his teeth every other day, I'm thinking I'll try and up that to every day, however it's not an easy task but he will just about tolerate it (I work away from home so my wife will likely struggle on her own). Is there anything else I can do to help clean his teeth? He's on prepared raw food from Honey's which whilst it contains bone, it's not of the chewable size (although we do have those which he gets occasionally). I'm thinking of getting him some fish jerky treats like these which our beloved Jimmy liked, but I need to make sure they're gentle on Rusty's tum.

All tips greatly appreciated! Thanks

 

[JoanneF]

What do his gums look like? If they aren't puffy or red, I wonder if he has just got a little cut somewhere and if that's the case I wouldn't necessarily increase the brushing (which you perhaps would do if you were concerned about gum disease).

 

[JudyN]

I had the same thing happen with Jasper once - I asked the vet and he said just to keep an eye on things. If Rusty likes rope toys, it could be the abrasion caused by chewing/biting these has caused the bleeding. Or possibly he chewed too enthusiastically on a bone.

 

[arealhuman]

Thanks both for the replies. From what I can see his gums looks OK to me, no redness, swelling or obvious bleeding. That said, I can't see them all. I'll give gentle brushing another go tonight, if nothing else it'll show if there's any more bleeding.

Thanks again.

 

[arealhuman]

Didn't do any brushing last night as he visited the groomers for a face trim. He did not like it at all, and was a bit stressed, so we took him to the beach and let him chill out last night. He did get to chew on a bone when we got home through ;-)