# retained puppy canines



## Jennifer Coulter (Sep 18, 2007)

Upper puppy canines are still in, and the adult ones are broken through the skin now.

The puppy ones are behind the adult ones. All other baby teeth seem to be out. She is 5.5 months.

Is this a problem, or not? Is it the kind of thing that can mess up the proper articulation of the canines, or...they will just come out on their own and the teeth will find their place eventually?

Don't recall this with my other dogs, but maybe I was just not paying attention.


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## Anna Kasho (Jan 16, 2008)

If they don't come out by the time the adult ones are 1/2 way grown, I would check with a vet about having them pulled. Never had it with my dogs, but seen some nasty dental issues when puppy teeth didn't come out in other dogs. Toy breeds get it most often, but I've seen a labX and a chowX with retained teeth too...

Not so much the proper articulation as food getting trapped, tartar/plaque, and teeth putting pressure on each other.


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## mike suttle (Feb 19, 2008)

you can easily pull them out yourself if they dont fall out on their own. But they will likely come out when they are ready on their own.


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## Jennifer Coulter (Sep 18, 2007)

Thanks guys...

This is what they look like now:


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## Adam Rawlings (Feb 27, 2009)

Doing bite work during teething usually takes care of it.:razz:


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## Kadi Thingvall (Jan 22, 2007)

That's not uncommon. Usually a game of tug or bitework will help take those out  Are they loose at all? If they are, they should come out on their own. If not, you might help loose them up by giving her bones and hard things to chew on.

I agree, if the adult canines are 1/2 way in and those baby ones are still there, I'd grab some pliars and start wiggling them to loose them up and get them out. They can mess with alignment, plus the other issues already mentioned.


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## Jennifer Coulter (Sep 18, 2007)

Okay, she has bloodied plenty a toy in the last month loosing the rest of her teeth, but I have only been tugging half heartedly during teething. 

Since I am pretty confident that she is not the kind of dog that will make a bad association with tugging and the pain of loosing a tooth, and I don't have to worry about perfect grips because I compete in nothing, I guess I will amp up the tug stuff and see if that gets 'em outta there.

I don't think that they are loose, but have yet to try to wiggle them.

I can see that pinning her down to get pliars in her mouth could be "interesting" :mrgreen:


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## Tammy St. Louis (Feb 17, 2010)

I wouldnt worry at all at this point, the adult teeth are big enough they will push them right out


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## Gerry Grimwood (Apr 2, 2007)

Jennifer Coulter said:


> Since I am pretty confident that she is not the kind of dog that will make a bad association with tugging and the pain of loosing a tooth, and I don't have to worry about perfect grips because I compete in nothing, I guess I will amp up the tug stuff and see if that gets 'em outta there.


I'm a big fan of just letting this type of thing solve itself, 99.9% of the time it does. If the first teeth were a really dark green and smelt like manure I might pull them..maybe :lol:


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## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

FWIU, pressure on a deciduous tooth from a neighboring or descending tooth is what causes the root to dissolve and the tooth to fall out.

Because this tooth is pressed up against another, I wouldn't worry about it. Never hurts to send an email with the photo off to your vet. I've never been billed for an email


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## Melissa Blazak (Apr 14, 2008)

My young dog's mouth looked like your dogs. I kept waiting, did lots of tugging, then actually wiggled the teeth for a few days and they were really stuck in there. When his adult canines were half way in and there was still no give with the baby teeth I took him to a canine dentist.

$400 later and 2 extractions, but they were out. I was worried about them affecting his bite so I spent the $$$. They vet said they came out fairly easy, but that it was unlikely they would have fallen out naturally before the adult canines fully emerged.

I am still happy I did it.


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## Mike Scheiber (Feb 17, 2008)

A "Jolly Ball" took care of Jetts they were both out in15 minutes


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## Guest (Jul 12, 2010)

Don't worry bout it. I give mine knuckle bones to gnaw on. That usually pops em out quick fast.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

About a year ago, I asked this of our community practice doctor who does all the dental work at our vet school (though he's not a board certified veterinary dentist as a caveat) and he is of the opinion that if the deciduous canine are not gone by 6 months, particularly in a dog who is doing some sort of bite work (tug would probably count too) that they should be extracted or you may have problems with crowding of the adult teeth.


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## Adam Rawlings (Feb 27, 2009)

Jennifer,

I hope you don't mind me asking a related question on your thread.:-\"

Maren,

My wife has a 8 month old Min Pin that is going through the same thing as Jen's dog, would you recommend pulling the teeth at home?


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Adam, is your wife's min pin pup going to be spayed/neutered any time soon? Most vets like to do it then (and most do it cheap or for free if they easy enough to pull by an owner since they'll be under anesthesia anyways). I'd ask your vet for their recommendation as lots of little breeds have this issue, so they likely see it a lot.


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## Adam Rawlings (Feb 27, 2009)

Maren Bell Jones said:


> Adam, is your wife's min pin pup going to be spayed/neutered any time soon? Most vets like to do it then (and most do it cheap or for free if they easy enough to pull by an owner since they'll be under anesthesia anyways). I'd ask your vet for their recommendation as lots of little breeds have this issue, so they likely see it a lot.


Duh, good call I didn't even think about him being under. Yes, we will be de-nutting the little bastard, he pisses on everything around the yard.

Thanks

Adam


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

LOL, no problem.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Never had a problem with puppy teeth. They've always came out chewing on something.


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## nathan cram (Jun 9, 2008)

giving whole chicken frames to my pup did the trick


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## Kat LaPlante (May 17, 2009)

My male had the same issue. His finally fell out about 7 months old, had to sets of canines on the top for a while, it looked strange.


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## Jennifer Coulter (Sep 18, 2007)

Stopped babying the tug games (she was STOKED), both came out by today.

Thanks for the hand holding.


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## Melissa Blazak (Apr 14, 2008)

Wow! You were lucky! 
My Rudy is a crazy tugger......never stopped through teething....and they still wouldn't come out!


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