scrappynsuzie Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Hope someone might be able to cast some light on this topic. My life ong dream to be able to show and ultimately breed my chosen breed is now in doubt, I think. I picked up my long awaited puppy two weeks ago at the age of 11 weeks. The breeder and I did not notice that her jaw was undershot, and I did not pick it up until last week when she was 12 weeks. It is about 1/8 inch under, which does not seem too much, but it is very noticeable. She is still teething. I rang the breeder and she was absolutely shocked that the puppy has this fault. She did offer to replace the puppy with her litter mate which she is keeping to show, but my hubby said that he was too attached to this puppy to exchange her. What I would like to know if anyone has any expertise in this area and is it possible that the jaw may correct itself, or is this only wishfull thinking on my behalf. Anyones thoughts please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shekhina Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 From what I know undershots do not correct, as the lower jaw is the last bone to finish growing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlyking Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 It is about 1/8 inch under, which does not seem too much, but it is very noticeable. She is still teething. Just wanting to clarify this. Do you mean the pups lower jaw is in front of the upper one or the upper jaw is in front of the lower one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrappynsuzie Posted October 27, 2006 Author Share Posted October 27, 2006 It is about 1/8 inch under, which does not seem too much, but it is very noticeable. She is still teething. Just wanting to clarify this. Do you mean the pups lower jaw is in front of the upper one or the upper jaw is in front of the lower one? The lower jaw is shorter than the upper jaw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shekhina Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 It is about 1/8 inch under, which does not seem too much, but it is very noticeable. She is still teething. Just wanting to clarify this. Do you mean the pups lower jaw is in front of the upper one or the upper jaw is in front of the lower one? The lower jaw is shorter than the upper jaw. So you mean the top teeth are over the bottom ones? That's not undershot then, that's overshot. Puppies mouths move around a lot, and as the lower jaw is the last bone to finish growing it could move up a bit to bring the bite to scissor. What breed is this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 (edited) In my breed once the jaw goes undershot it stays undershot and can even get worse, 1/8 inch under is a fair margin. I don't know what breed you have and I know that some breeds have mouths that go through a lot of changes before maturity, perhaps if you mention the breed some of the breeders on DOL may be able to give their opinion. I'm actually surprised that no one noticed that this puppy had a bad mouth, I watch my puppies' mouths very carefully and any mouth that looks a bit iffy is sold as a pet. ETA that I've just noticed your last post, an overshot mouth can correct itself as the puppy grows, you'll just have to hope for the best. Edited October 27, 2006 by Miranda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlyking Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 There is a chance and from my experience a pretty good one - but that is only speaking from experience with my breed - that this may be OK. What I would be doing NOW is taking the pup to a Veterinary dentist and having it checked out professionally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrappynsuzie Posted October 27, 2006 Author Share Posted October 27, 2006 It is about 1/8 inch under, which does not seem too much, but it is very noticeable. She is still teething. Just wanting to clarify this. Do you mean the pups lower jaw is in front of the upper one or the upper jaw is in front of the lower one? The lower jaw is shorter than the upper jaw. So you mean the top teeth are over the bottom ones? That's not undershot then, that's overshot. Puppies mouths move around a lot, and as the lower jaw is the last bone to finish growing it could move up a bit to bring the bite to scissor. What breed is this? scottie terrier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 You will have a better idea when the adult teeth come through, in my experience mouths nearly always close a little as the dog matures, in my breed up until about 8/9 months of age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 (edited) . Edited May 29, 2009 by cavNrott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rugerfly Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 dont panic yet, sounds like normal growth to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SALTWOOD Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 I agree, don't panic yet - with time things may work out OK!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
becks Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 I have a 6 month old pup here now and he was overshot to a similar extent when he was younger but he now has a perfect scissor bite. Try not to panic - even if it doesn't correct itself totally it is only one fault, don't loose track of your pups good points!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nadia Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 No need for panic yet, as others have said the lower jaw grows at a slower rate, after teething things often look a whole lot different. Just a question though did you tell the Breeder that the jaw was undershot, or did you describe the jaw. I would not be overly concerned if a pup of mine was OVERSHOT at that stage, UNDERSHOT is a whole different ball game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrappynsuzie Posted October 27, 2006 Author Share Posted October 27, 2006 No need for panic yet, as others have said the lower jaw grows at a slower rate, after teething things often look a whole lot different.Just a question though did you tell the Breeder that the jaw was undershot, or did you describe the jaw. I would not be overly concerned if a pup of mine was OVERSHOT at that stage, UNDERSHOT is a whole different ball game. I always was told that when the lower jaw is shorter than the top jaw it was undershot, so I told the breeder that it was undershot, obviously I had it around the wrong way. Thanks everyone for the comments, and I hope and pray that this does correct itself in time. thanks all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allerzeit Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 (edited) I hope you'll contact your breeder and explain the jaw to them so that they aren't trying to work out where the undershot bite came from. ETA just did a quick Google search, if you go to this page and look at the diagrams down the right hand side you will see the difference between overshot and undershot http://clubs.akc.org/stca/illustrated_standard-Pg6.htm Edited October 27, 2006 by Allerzeit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrappynsuzie Posted October 27, 2006 Author Share Posted October 27, 2006 THANKS ALLERZT for the link. Checked it out and yes she has an overshot bite. Hope it corrects, anyway if not she is a little tearaway, and has wormed her way into our hearts, and she certainly will not be leaving here. It just means if it doesn't correct, my dream will be on hold for a lttle longer and I might have to get myself another to show and breed. Also I will be surrounded by my favourite breed. Thanks again scrappynsuzie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tree Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 wow thanks Allerzeit, that was a good diagram too look at. Our new pup has a slightly undershot jaw and even though I'm familiar with them, it's good to see a proper picture of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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