# Bite formation



## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

when does a dog's bite come into form?

A friend has a Rottie pup with a Y bite. The breeder swears it was a scissors bite he he sent the pup and contends that my friend must have played too much tug to cause the bite and dental issues so he won't refund money or replace the pup. He said he checked the bite 50 times! I call BS.

I saw the pup when it was 10wks old and didn't notice anything but I wasn't looking for anything other than a full grip and drive.

I saw the pup last night for the first time since it was a little ball of fur. It's 7mo old and has the most ****ed up bite I've ever seen. It's also missing teeth. My friend she's not played tug with the pup at all and only tossed a ball in the yard for the puppy.

Aren't dogs pretty much born with their bite? It's pretty hard to screw that up right? My rott is missing a tooth but only because it got yanked out of him during training but he jaw alignment is still a perfect scissors bite.


----------



## Anna Kasho (Jan 16, 2008)

What is a Y bite? Underbite? That is the first time I hear of "tugging" as the cause... I have a hard time believing it! I would get a professional evaluation, and ask for a written statement or simply a copy of the vet exam notes. A report by a veterinary dentist carries more weight than your or your friend's opinion...

I thought I remembered reading something about how this could develop later as a result of growth plates in the jaw developing unevenly, but I can't find it. Anyone know?


----------



## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

the jaws overlap each other sideways. Not underbite or overbite.

The top right side of the jaw tracks on the inside of the bottom teeth and the the top left track on the outside of the bottom teeth. Does the make sense? I wish I had pics but it's not my dog.


----------



## Julie Ann Alvarez (Aug 4, 2007)

Chris that sounds like a wry (sp) jaw. 

Bulldog puppies change there bite when they are little. A small under bite or scissor bite will change as the head grows. 

A wry jaw will change as well and is genetic fault in any bully breed. 

http://www.americanboxerclub.org/wry-mouths.html

Julie


----------



## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

yep it's wry mouth. I was just talked to my friend who just returned from the Vet. 

Good call Julie!

Thanks


----------



## mike suttle (Feb 19, 2008)

The breeder swears it was a scissors bite he he sent the pup and contends that my friend must have played too much tug to cause the bite and dental issues so he won't refund money or replace the pup. He said he checked the bite 50 times!

This kind of shit really cracks me up with breeders. I love how they always try to blame the client for virtually any obvious genetic problem the puppy develops. Like when they say that bad hips are caused by keeping the dog on the wrong type of surface, or like in this case terrible dentetion is a result of playing tug with a puppy. HA HA........if that were the case I would never have a puppy with correct dentetion here.

I sold a puppy to a guy last year that developed a bad under bite at about 5-6 months old. I offered immediately to have the puppy returned and offered to replace him with no questions asked. But I also told him that it would likely correct its self as the puppy continued to grow. the puppy worked so well that he decided to keep it anyway, and now it has a normal scissors bite. 

The breeder of this puppy should absolutley stand behind this and replace the puppy if the owner wants that to happen!!

I can promise you that no amount of tugging will cause that type of a problem with a dog.


----------



## Guest (Jun 19, 2009)

mike suttle said:


> The breeder swears it was a scissors bite he he sent the pup and contends that my friend must have played too much tug to cause the bite and dental issues so he won't refund money or replace the pup. He said he checked the bite 50 times!
> 
> This kind of shit really cracks me up with breeders. I love how they always try to blame the client for virtually any obvious genetic problem the puppy develops. Like when they say that bad hips are caused by keeping the dog on the wrong type of surface, or like in this case terrible dentetion is a result of playing tug with a puppy. HA HA........if that were the case I would never have a puppy with correct dentetion here.
> 
> ...



I 100% support Mike's view on this. Furthermore, anytime someone throws out nice round arbitrary numbers like this should be a red flag. "I've done this blah blah blah times"... yeah whatever pal.


----------



## Kadi Thingvall (Jan 22, 2007)

I haven't seen a wry bite occur during puppyhood, so I'm not sure I'd buy that it's a growth stage that will correct itself. Have to research it. I have seen a pup with a scissors bite go level, or even undershot (minimally we aren't talking 1/2 an inch) and then back to scissors as they mature. Or level that goes scissors then level again, etc. I look at the bite at 8 weeks, and that's what I expect it to be as an adult. Any deviation inbetween I chalk up to things growing at a different rate. 

What did the vet say about the bite?


----------



## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

Kadi Thingvall said:


> What did the vet say about the bite?



It's not my dog Kadi. When I talked to my friend this morning she said the vet said it was Wry mouth and a pretty severe case of it. Severe enough that if it doesn't stop malforming the pup could have issues with eating hard foods. The vet wrote a statement of findings that is going to be faxed to the breeder. 

It's a shame because this pup is very drivey for a Rottweiler and is from some of the greatest working bloodlines available. 

I won't say publically what kennel it's from so please don't ask.

That's all I know.


----------



## Kadi Thingvall (Jan 22, 2007)

I knew it wasn't your dog, I was just curious what the vet said in terms of severity, what they think the chances are of it getting better/worse, etc.


----------



## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

I had pups that developed a wry mouth, and it doesn't go away. I have seen as others have said the slight over under go away, but only if the pup had a good bite to begin with.

Time to get the money back.


----------

