Base Narrow Canines - Help!

[robugmum]

Does anyone here have any experience with "fixing" a puppy's base narrow canines? Our vet advised us to have her bite down on a small bouncy type ball to encourage ehr teeth to move apart. Righ now they poke her in the top palate if she bites down. The alernative could be thousands of $$$ in doggy orthodontics - which we absolutely can not afford!
We are working on this but I wondered if any of you have had any luck with this approach or another?

[Nicole915]

Ball therapy is to tip lingually displaced mandibular canine teeth outward and will only work when the jaw length relationship is good. The short answer is that ball therapy can't hurt. Your vet might also place 'sling sutures' around the upper canine teeth as an absorbable orthodontic device.

Did they give you tips on finding the right size ball? Size matters, big or small enough so that the dog wouln't be able to hold it too far back in the mouth. Aim for around an hour per day.

Please inform your breeder, as this is a problem we have created through breeding.

Good luck!

(I'm not your vet, and this isn't medical advice)

[robugmum]

I'm not sure how to go about dealing with the breeder. So far she is saying that it will likely correct itself. Very different story from the vet though!

[Nicole915]

Yuck, I'm sorry it sounds like the breeder is a bit dodgy. To be honest, dentistry is not my strong suit, but I distinctly remember that this issue is solidly hereditary. You might ask her how confident she is that the teeth will end up properly placed, and if she is willing to foot the dentistry bills in case that doesn't come to fruition.

I had a boxer pup with the same issues about a year ago. I went in and did sling sutures, but the teeth were never ideal. The bite is good enough to avoid pain and get the job of eating done, but will never be quite right, and the owners couldn't afford planes.

If the breeder continues to give you the excuses without being willing to back it up, contact the state and national breed clubs, and report her. If you need help finding the contact info, let me know and I can look it up for you.

Hope things turn out all right, keep us posted! Keep working with that ball!

(I'm not your vet, and this isn't medical advice)

[Girl In The Fire]

Originally Posted by Nicole915

If the breeder continues to give you the excuses without being willing to back it up, contact the state and national breed clubs, and report her. If you need help finding the contact info, let me know and I can look it up for you.

This would be a total waste of time if the breeder is not a member of the breed club. Even if they were, breed clubs typically do not get involved unless the breeder has a long history of issues with puppy buyers.

[robugmum]

She is a member. She's really well respected and qualified. That's my problem. I don't want to think badly of the breeder. She has been wonderful to us so far and she believes absolutely that the teeth will correct themselves. I am just really nervous!

[Nicole915]

What breed is the pup? It is NOT normal or of any breed standard that I know of to have this dental condition. If you were to start showing now, you'd be disqualified in any puppy show for the bite.