Mouth and Throat
Canine Conditions and Responses Home
The oral cavity is bounded on the front and sides by the lips and
cheeks, above by hard and soft palate, and below by the tongue and
muscles of the floor of the mouth. Four pairs of salivary glands drain
into the mouth, the two largest being the parotid and mandibular glands.
The saliva of dogs is alkaline and contains antibacterial enzymes. There
is also a normal flora of bacteria in the mouth that keep harmful
bacteria from gaining a foothold. These factors reducing the frequency
of mouth infections in dogs.
The pharynx is a space formed by the joining of the nasal passages with
the hack of the mouth. Food is prevented from entering the respiratory
tree by the epiglottis, a flap like valve that closes over the larynx as
the dog swallows.
Signs of Mouth and Throat Disease
An important sign of mouth pain is a change in eating behaviour. A dog
with a tender mouth eats slowly and selectively, dropping food that is
particularly coarse and large. Dogs with pain on one side of the mouth
often tilt their heads and chew on the opposite side. With an extremely
painful mouth, the dog stops eating altogether.
Excessive drooling is common in all painful mouth diseases. It is often
accompanied by bad breath. Any form of halitosis is abnormal.
Periodontal disease and gingivitis are the most common causes of
halitosis in dogs.
Sudden gagging, choking, drooling and difficulty swallowing suggest a
foreign object in the mouth or throat.
Difficulty opening and closing the mouth is characteristic of head and
neck abscesses and jaw injuries.
SORE THROAT (PHARYNGITIS) AND TONSILLITIS
These two conditions have a common cause and thus often occur together.
In fact, sore throats usually do not occur in dogs as isolated
infections, the way they do in people. Most sore throats are associated
with infections in the mouth, sinuses or respiratory tract. They can
also occur with systemic diseases such as parvovirus, distemper,
herpes virus and pseudo rabies.
The signs of sore throat arc fever, coughing, gagging, pain on
swallowing and loss of appetite. The throat looks red and inflamed. A
purulent drainage may be seen coating the back of the throat.
The tonsils are aggregates of lymph tissue located at the back of the
throat in dogs, as they are in people. They may not be visible unless
they are inflamed. This generally occurs as a secondary symptom of a
sore throat.
Primary bacterial tonsillitis is rare. It occurs in young dogs of the
smaller breeds. Symptoms are similar to those of a sore throat, except
that fever is more pronounced (over 103°F) and the dog appears
depressed. The tonsils are bright red and swollen. Localized abscesses
may be visible as white spots on the surface of the tonsils.
Chronic tonsillitis with tonsil enlargement is caused by persistent
infection or by mechanical irritation from prolonged coughing, retching
or regurgitation of stomach acid into the throat.
Salivary Glands
The dog has four pairs of salivary glands that drain into the mouth.
Only the parotid gland, located below the dog's ear on the side of the
face, can be examined from the outside. The salivary glands secrete an
alkaline fluid that lubricates the food and aids in digestion.
DROOLING (HYPERSALIVATION)
Some degree of drooling is normal in dogs, particularly in breeds with
loose, pendulous lips. Excessive drooling is called hypersalivation.
Hypersalivation is commonly triggered by psychological events such as
fear, apprehension and nervous anxiety.
Drooling also occurs in response to mouth pain caused by periodontal
disease, abscessed teeth and stomatitis. A dog that drools excessively
and acts irrationally should be suspected of having rabies. Distemper,
pseudorabies and heat stroke are other diseases associated with
drooling. Another common cause of drooling is motion sickness.
When a dog drools for
no apparent reason and appears healthy, look for a foreign body in the
mouth.
Canine Bowen Technique and the treatment of Mouth and Throat Problems
Conditions of the mouth and throat can be supported using Canine Bowen Technique. Bowen is used to
encourage
the bodies own healing and rebalancing abilities. There is an extremely
useful procedure to help realign and stimulate
drainage of the throat and head area.
