Update: Puppy teeth--underbite and interference

[SkipChange]

My 5 month old miniature Australian Shepherd always had a perfect bite and straight teeth it seemed. A few weeks ago now I guess I started noticing her bottom incisors (permanent) were tilted forward. Now it seems she has an underbite, the bottom incisors come forward, and her bottom canines are too far forward which is pushing her top incisor closest to the top canine to shoot straight out instead of growing down. :no:

Log In or Sign Up to View

The incisors are all permanent. The canines are baby teeth, but the permanent ones are just starting to peek through.

Her next appointment is in 4 weeks to get 6 month vacc’s and be spayed. I know if they have retained baby teeth when they get spayed it’s pretty easy to take care of that while they are already under. Do I give it some time and see if her teeth sort themselves out or take her in to the vet now?

She eats and chews just fine for the record and the underbite is not visible at all when her mouth is closed. I’m not sure that this was genetic or if it was caused by chewing on balls that were too big for her little mouth or playing tug-a-war with her puppy friends?

[ljcfoh]

[QUOTE=SkipChange;6290097]
My 5 month old miniature Australian Shepherd always had a perfect bite and straight teeth it seemed. A few weeks ago now I guess I started noticing her bottom incisors (permanent) were tilted forward. Now it seems she has an underbite, the bottom incisors come forward, and her bottom canines are too far forward which is pushing her top incisor closest to the top canine to shoot straight out instead of growing down. :no:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3169376715338.2125979.1293060230&type=1&l=deb19dd71f
The incisors are all permanent. The canines are baby teeth, but the permanent ones are just starting to peek through.

Her next appointment is in 4 weeks to get 6 month vacc’s and be spayed. I know if they have retained baby teeth when they get spayed it’s pretty easy to take care of that while they are already under. Do I give it some time and see if her teeth sort themselves out or take her in to the vet now?

She eats and chews just fine for the record and the underbite is not visible at all when her mouth is closed. I’m not sure that this was genetic or if it was caused by chewing on balls that were too big for her little mouth or playing tug-a-war with her puppy friends?[/QUOTE]

No expert on doggy-orthodontia but I would say more likely genetic. My Viszla has it and doesn’t affect her one bit. I never noticed it when she was a little puppy either, but the vet just mentioned it on one of her check ups. I would say just let her teeth work it out as it sounds like the ones you’re concerned about are permanent…not sure the vet could really do anything for her.

[oliverreed]

I once knew a couple who had a gorgeous Bernese Mountain dog. Her lower teeth were actually starting to pierce her upper palate. They had braces put on her.

[Simkie]

Interesting. What are you feeding?

I have one with a terrible overbite and her teeth have sort of rearranged to accommodate, but it’s never given her troubles. It does mean that I cannot grab and hold her muzzle without causing her pain, which I do have to share with my vets, as that’s pretty common in restraint.

[SkipChange]

She ate Purina Puppy for a while but it had some pieces that were dyed red and I didn’t like it as it made her poops red. Now she gets Pedigree Puppy. Just standard dry kibble; I wet it with a little bit of water and sometimes she gets a few sauteed chicken bits. She’s always been a delicate eater.

I can grab her muzzle with no pain and I do when I play with her, she rather likes it.

I emailed the breeder who was very upset. She said sometimes they get an under or over bite as they grow unevenly and it will sort itself out but that my pup’s looked pretty bad. I’m sure she’s anxiously awaiting word of how her teeth sort out as to whether or not she should breed that cross again. She’s had the male a while, but it was the bitch’s first litter.

[Simkie]

Pedigree Puppy is terrible–it’s mostly corn. One Star on Dog Food Advisor. Poor nutrition could certainly be contributing, especially if the breeder has no history of underbites.

Try a better food?

[SkipChange]

[QUOTE=Simkie;6290378]
Pedigree Puppy is terrible–it’s mostly corn. One Star on Dog Food Advisor. Poor nutrition could certainly be contributing, especially if the breeder has no history of underbites.

Try a better food?[/QUOTE]

I’ve had trouble finding “puppy” food in the “better” brands. If they have puppy it’s “large breed” and really expensive. The breeder fed them all Purina, which appears to be basically the same thing, so I’d think that if the dog food were the case she wouldn’t be an isolated incident. (Although I don’t know how the teeth of the other puppies are). I’d rather this not turn into a dog food debate, but if you want to suggest a better puppy food that’s found at Petco or Walmart and is in a similar price range go for it.

[Simkie]

The reason Pedigree food is so cheap is because it’s all filler. Meat is expensive.

You could try Chicken Soup for the Puppy’s Soul. I hear it mentioned here as a lower cost “good” food. The regular puppy is a little high in calcium, but the Large Breed Puppy is low enough. It’s a little low in protein, but at least it’s mostly MEAT. It’s a four star food on dog food advisor: http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/chicken-soup-dog-lovers-soul-dry/

[SkipChange]

There’s a thread currently going about Diamond that says that manufacturer makes Chicken Soup. People seem to really hate Diamond, sounds like it’s sourced from China or something so I’m not sure that it’s going to be a whole lot better.

[Emryss]

It’s likely genetic. It looks more like the lower jaw grew faster than the upper jaw, rather than interference, in your dog’s case.

You can certainly see if extracting puppy teeth with help the situation, but it looks to me like your dog will be undershot or have a reverse scissors, at best. It won’t hurt her, except for a conformation show career, and really isn’t caused by diet or chewy toys.

[Simkie]

@SkipChange;6290860

There’s a thread currently going about Diamond that says that manufacturer makes Chicken Soup. People seem to really hate Diamond, sounds like it’s sourced from China or something so I’m not sure that it’s going to be a whole lot better.

Just about ANYTHING will be better than Pedigree

[GraceLikeRain]

It is better to feed adult dog food than “puppy” low quality food.

I would also try to find blue ridge beef bones which are raw shank bones. You want those baby teeth out asap. A good bite is not only aesthetically appealing but it affects the ability to correctly chew and prevents weird pockets for food to get stuck which can promote tartar.

Granted my puppy is a conformation prospect but I would rather go in and have a tooth pulled then wait too long and have the bite affected. I have the exact situation going on with all four of Dexter’s emerging canines. I had an appointment scheduled for removal but the night before he was playing with a long haired dog and lost three teeth (and saved me $200).

So (1) better food (2) lots of rec bones and toys (3) encourage playing with other dogs. Hopefully you can get these teeth out asap before they permanently alter his bite.

If finances are an issue, 4Health from Tractor supply, Blue buffalo, chicken soup for the soul, and kirkland brand dog food are all very reasonably priced foods that provide better nutrition than pedigree or purina.

[Marshfield]

I agree with those who said it’s likely genetic. That said, with feeding a higher quality food, you often feed less. So while the price per bag is higher, the jump in price per meal isn’t as extreme. Holistic select puppy is a decent option.

[Mara]

My cocker had an underbite so severe you could fit a thumb in the gap. Never bothered him. He did sort of look like he had a permanent pout. We did have to have his teeth professionally cleaned pretty often, even with tooth brushing, but I don’t know if that was attributable to the underbite.

[SquishTheBunny]

Not a food debate…the alignment of the teeth have nothing to do with the food of your choice. Guess what, raw food eaters also have bad teeth alignment, so do grain free dogs. Its happens, with horses, with people, with rabbits, mice, pigs, birds etc. Most of the time its a non-issue.

[SkipChange]

Update

Her baby canines fell out and her adult canines are really coming in now. Sadly her bite hasn’t straightened any in the past few weeks, in fact her adult canines might be interfering even more. I took her to the vet and they said doggie braces exist, but she would have to refer me. Since she eats completely fine they are just going to pull the outside two incisors (dogs have 6, they said she’d be fine with only 4) when they spay her in 3 weeks. Since they stick out of her jaw at about a 60* angle I’m scared if she gets bumped in the face she’s going to cut her lip so that will fix that.
A few cute pics:

Horse shows are dirty work
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/529939_2959121219082_1293060230_42174477_2038852887_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/529628_3022118233968_1293060230_42203320_2115439495_n.jpg

[Logical]

One of my dogs has a pretty severe under-bite. My guess with her was genetic. (Really tightly line-breed/in-breed and mom had a slight under bite.) She eats just fine and has no issues other than trying to pick up “rolling treats” from the floor. Quite amusing actually, because she will take the treat from your hand, walk away, drop it, and then roll it around. She will turn 5 this year and still has some pearly white teeth.