powdering pellets

turbo123 · Mar 28, 2014

Hi I have noticed over the last couple of weeks that there has been a lot of powder left in my chins bowl and have just read on another post that this can be a sign of tooth problems. They are both eating fine and chewing their wood treats/toys and seem fine in themselves. Could their be any other reason they're doing this? Thanks Cathy

BookWorm · Mar 28, 2014

You may want to bring them to the vet just to make sure. My girls leave a lot of powder behind as well, but I have been assured after multiple vet visits that their teeth are fine. What pellets do you use? I use Maizuri. It seems it's only the latest batch that has been as powdery for me, so it may be the pellets themselves.

turbo123 · Mar 28, 2014

It's bearts pellets I use. You may not have heard of them as they are a UK based company. I sometimes give them a cheerio as a treat and they don't seem to do it with them. Will probably take them to get checked out though just to be on the safe side. Thanks

ticklechin · Mar 28, 2014

I have had ALOT of malo chins, and powdering pellets was never a symptom. If anyone wants to check for teeth issues, first start weighing the chin on a regular basis same time of day-the very first symptom that all malo chins develop is slow gradual weight loss.

mknoblich1 · Mar 28, 2014

I will have powder in my food bowls as well and believe it's just the pellets naturally breaking down into smaller bits and pieces over the course of a few days. I dump out the food dish every couple of days and clean it unless they make a mess in it then I'll clean it right away. I wouldn't worry to much unless the vet says they have an issue if you bring them in. Weighing on a regular basis is a good way to tell if there is a health issue as you can see if they are losing weight over time.

Godofgods · Mar 28, 2014

All four of my dishes always have some powder in them each day. I wipe them out every day before i put fresh food in them cause some of it could probably be dust that was on them.

Not saying nothing could ever be wrong with a chin for that, but my my chins it is completely normal.

Snickers · Mar 28, 2014

I just took one in to have her teeth file again since she was making powder and loosing weight. The last time she had her teeth filed was Feb. The vet said her teeth are fine. He didn't find anything wrong with her. He gave me a new medicine that is suppose to be a little bit better than metacam.

turbo123 · Mar 28, 2014

I don't weigh them but they are only 6 months and I've had them since they were 12 weeks and they have definitely put weight on. They are still their happy little selves so I don't think their is anything wrong. It hadn't even crossed my mind until I read that comment then it made me worry. Thanks for all the advice think I will invest in some scales

Shooper · Mar 29, 2014

My oldest chin does the whole powder thing. His pile of powder is always on the fleece liner outside his bowl. I was worried at first, but he is healthy.

AZChins · Mar 29, 2014

I have a 15 year old female, who I have had since she was young. She has always put back little tiny pieces of her pellets into her dish. After a day it looks like someone ground up all the pellets! I just dump out the food dish and start over with new pellets every evening. There are a few others that do it, too, but Ingrid I have had do it for the longest (she was one of my first few chins...) One of my males, who passed recently, did this before he died, but I don't think it was a real symptom of anything. He didn't have tooth issues ever, he was older and he had developed a heart condition and died from congestive heart failure.

ChinChild · Mar 29, 2014

Mojo does this all the time, since the day we got him; he grinds up his food, breaks them up and throws little chunks back in his bowl, or sometimes simply grinds them to a fine powder (a big pile, however). He's been completely healthy for the 4 months that we've had him (vet checkup was solid), although the behavior has become less frequent recently. I wouldn't think it necessarily is an indication of poor health, but I've only had chins for about 8 months so I'm not very experienced.