Puppy Teeth To Adult Teeth.

[Dame Aussie]

[quote

I've checked Ivy's mouth this morning and her two lower front teeth are missing, awww.

Isn't it cute when they have teeth missing?? Lili first lost those same teeth, two lower front ones, she looked so precious

Hehe I can't keep looking at her gummy mouth!! She loves to smile and show her gaps off.

Well Lili is 21 weeks now and she only has two teeth left to fall out, her two top canines....she's the same, since she started teething her mouth s costanlty open whether chewing, playing, panting grumbling.....

[Melissa4]

my pup started to lose his teeth at 5 months alto at one time, the other at 5 and only one has gone

[poochmad]

Henschke's breeder advised that sometimes Field Spaniels have difficulty losing their canines - so I'm glad I asked. He started losing teeth around 16 weeks and at 5 months is still losing them.

We gave him lots of pigs ears to remove the canines as apparently Fields also have 'soft' teeth and shouldn't be given hard bones. If I hadn't spoken to the breeder about this, I would never have known and could have run the risk of ruinining his teeth...

[silverdog]

These are the very questions you should be asking your breeder

I really don't see this as a question to be bothering the breeder with. it is a simple question to answer. You just really like picking at me don't you?

Get over it hey.

As a breeder, I cringe when I hear about "advice" doled out by well meaning but usually uninformed trainers, friends, dog walkers, pet shop staff etc. The fallout from such advice can be catastrophic.

I always encourage my puppy people to ask me first... no matter how minor or stupid the question may seem.

Perfect example:

One of my puppy people contacted me, extremely upset and anxious. They had been at puppy class with their five month old puppy. Trainer had noticed that the puppy had an overbite. Told them that this was a was very bad thing and that the dog would have serious jaw problems for the rest of it's life. Also told them that this was a sign of "bad breeding" . This puppy was at the vet the next day. Vet told them the same thing (including the bit about bad breeding! ;) ) and that all sorts of expensive dental work was necessary. This included extractions of the permanent canine teeth (which were only just erupting at the time) and filing down of the incisors to prevent damage to the palate. Multiple repeat visits to the vet would be necessary to correct all the damage this "overbite" would cause. As a bonus, this "vet" also pointed out that their puppy's rear legs were too long, that they didn't match his front legs, and that this would also cause problems for the dog later in life, including hip displaysia. He went so far as to suggest that the discrepancy in leg length was because this puppy was possibly not a purebred .

These poor people called me in an absolute panic. It's too bad they didn't call be BEFORE they went to the vet.

After I calmed them down (and told them this vet was an idiot ) I reminded them that the puppy's bite had been fine at 8 weeks old. I told them that a true overshot mouth is relatively rare in weims, and when it does occur, it is usually pretty obvious even at 8 weeks, before puppies go to new homes. I explained to them that the upper and lower jaw grow at different rates and that they are not always in sync . I discussed the particular bloodlines that this puppy was from, and told them that an overshot bite had been known to show up TEMPORARILY in puppies in this line, especially during periods of rapid growth, but that it almost always resolved itself by the time the dog was finished their skeletal growth. I advised them to wait until their puppy was full grown before making any rash decisions on what dental work, if any, would be needed, and to ignore any and all advice on the subject from trainers, vets etc, until such time as puppy was full grown. I also discussed with them in detail the particular growth pattern of weimaraners. It is a rare weim puppy indeed that does not go through at least one period of being "bum high", when the back end grows faster than the front. So common that we don't even take notice of it. Invariably shows up right before a specialty show, with puppy entered in puppy classes!

Well, six months later, this puppy once again had a perfect scissors bite, and rear end matched his front end. Dog is now 3 years old, and is a wonderful example of the breed.....and has been an absolute gem for them. Even though he was sold as a pet, I asked if I could show him a few times before he was neutered. Took home ribbons every time he was in the ring, titled him easily. He took a couple Best in Breeds over nationally ranked dogs and even a nice Group placement... (Bad breeding indeed.. bah! )

Owners found a different vet, enlightened their trainer (who knew a lot about training dogs, just not much about the growth patterns of weimaraners) had fun watching their dog kick some **s in the show ring, and have a lovely, healthy, dog with a full set of teeth.

So.. moral of the story. Always ask the breeder first. They will appreciate it. It will save you (and them) a lot of stress, and you will probably learn a lot more about your dog than you could possibly find out from a trainer, friend or even your vet.

Edited October 31, 2008 by silverdog