Smiley Goes To The Vet

The other day was Vet day for Gypsy and one of the cats. Sandi is always taking a cat to the Vet for one reason or another. Everyone at the Vet's office knows Sandi and the cats very well. They named the new wing of the building in her honor. Actually, we take great care of all our animals. You see so many animals that are abused and not getting them the Vet care they need is a form of abuse. Animals can't tell us if something is hurting so getting them checked out is important. Gypsy goes for check ups and shots from time to time. She likes going to the Vet's office and thinks it's an excellent adventure. Yesterday she met a few other dogs in the front lobby and made friends.  About the most serious problem we've ever had with Gyp has been ear infections. Standard Poodles have big, long, hairy ears that require constant grooming and care. You have to go inside and pluck the hair out and clean the ear. I also use this swimmers ear product that the Vet gave us to keep the inside of the ear dry. This is imprtant during the hot, humid days we are having right now.  I've been pretty good about grooming her ears and feel like a really bad owner when she gets an infection. So, I was anxious to hear what the Vet had to say about her ears and all her other vitals.

She weighed in at 40.9 lbs. We can't get any weight on this dog. She is a bag of bones. I'd like to get her up to about 45 or so but, in the grand scheme of things I'd rather have her slim than over weight. I wish I had that problem.

Ears were a bit hairy but looked OK with no infections going on. This is a good thing. I guess I have to get a bit more aggressive on the plucking. I wonder if they make a plucking tool I could get?

I think I mentioned in the past we (Sandi) calls Gypsy Smiley. Obviously because she is always smiling and has some big, white choppers. You can see them in all the photos. Well the Doc comes back with a report of tarter on her teeth! Yikes, this can lead to all sorts of other issues. We have a neighbor that has an elderly Yorkie that he just adores. The little guy was not doing very well, didn't want to go on walks and just was laying around all the time. We just assumed that the old guy was nearing the end. They took him to the Vet and learned he had several bad teeth that had to be removed. The little guy is now back to his former self acting like a puppy again. So, we have to start a daily teeth brushing routine for Smiley. 

We bought some chicken flavored dogie tooth past with Fluoride. I never even knew such  thing was made. Gave her a good sniff. Smiley liked it.
I hope this tooth paste whitens too!

Getting to the teeth in the back of her mouth is a bit of a challenge. She kept eating the tooth paste before I could get back there.
Hey, this tastes like chicken!

The teeth in front were a breeze. She just sat there and let me brush away on them.

Between the ears, teeth, daily brushing, going to the groomer, I'm going to spend more time grooming Gypsy than I do myself.

The price we pay for beauty!