eyes and ears

My vet--with a lot of Cav experience--is really into prevention.

She is a dictator about teeth--with Dental kibbles for snacks or main meals, daily tooth brushing, and get this....sealants. He had this done when he was neutered and now I apply a weekly ora vet plaque prevention gel. We brush with doggie tooth paste a few times a week and he loves to chew on his brush. (He also loves to steal our toothbrushes.) Maybe this is overdoing it, but my cats have had so many dental problems I want to do the best I can with him. We started it at 9 weeks and I must say his teeth are stunning.

Now to the eyes. Although I don't think his tearing is excessive, the discharge is smelly and I think requires daily care. I was his face with a warm wash cloth and or eye wipes. The vet pointed out that Cavs often have eyes that never permanently close and she recommend a very new product. It is Hy-Optic and I got it on the Internet. It has hyaluronic acid in it and is used daily as a preventative. Again, I probably only do it 4-6 times a week. But he is used to the drops so that is good. I hope they do have a preventative use and this is not too much.

But he is the best dog in the whole wide world, so we'll do whatever!

I am really interested in the hy-optic stuff, My shih tzu's eyes produce less tears than they should but it is not quite at the point where they need drops...I am really considerding buying a bottle because if it prevents having to spend $35 on a .5 ounce tube for drops in the future, it would be worth it.

I have never heard about the sealants..what did that entail and how much was it?

Where'd you come across this Hy-Optic ?? I've just started using "Safe Eye" by Top Performance. It's an eye lubricant, it's supposed to be good for dry eyes, plus you use it prior to bathing and swimming...

As far as King's teeth, he gets his teeth brushed 3-4 times a week. Plus he has almost every healthy dental chew on the market...There are some benefits to working in a pet store...New merchandise!!!

I got the best deal for HY-OPTIC (There is also a Hy-Otic for ears) via Amazon.com and it takes you to Kinetic Technologies. My vet wasn't even selling it yet. [If folks use Amazon, and you wanted to be really nice to me, you could go to the link at the bottom left of my website and I get a tiny percentage that goes to feed my book habit. You'll figure out what I do etc. (www.gaycourter.com)

I believe the dental sealant treatment was about $40 and it also included the dental during the neutering. I would have to check my bill for the cost of the weekly treatments. Barkleigh doesn't mind those at all.

NOW, some more questions:

The groomer who did his feet and anal glands today wanted to shave some of his ear hair to "prevent infections." Does anyone groom the ears? I adore his ears! But, this is Florida and I supposed we could have moisture and fungal problems. I DO clean his ears regularly with a soft tissue and there is no odor and little to get.

But, I need a snood (if that is what they are called) due to long ears really getting into the old food bowl. He loves a mid-day cottage cheese snack and it gets nasty to clean the little milk balls.

Anyone sell snoods around here?