Teeth questions

[Aaron56]

I would venture to say it's the bite. If the teeth hit teeth for 8 years, they will wear. If they have a scissors bite they miss just a fraction and don't wear down. The canines that are blunt on the end are almost always due to constant ball play or something they would grip and hold a lot.

You want the molars to line up like this:

They do line up correctly.. Just like in your picture.

They 'fit' exactly correctly and this is the young 2 1/2yr old 'new to me' girl. NOT my 8yr old girl with 'correct' teeth.

I thought things looked odd which is why I shared the pictures for comparison and asked questions about it.

This is Agatha (2.5yrs old) and this is NOT what I would call 'normal'.
(This picture is to show the edges on the teeth and not how her bite 'fits. In this picture my fingers are in there to get her to open up...)

This picture shows how they 'fit' (my fingers not in the way) -

Those front teeth (top and bottom) are ground down in a perfectly straight line across them damn near all the way down to the gum line. That is mostly what caught my attention here because it is not anything I would consider 'normal' for a 2 and 1/2yr old dog.

Like I said - I will send the lady (that I got her (Agatha) from) a text tomorrow and ask but I think I already know the answer.

Keep in mind that the lady got rid of Agatha because of fights between her and another female there...

If I had to venture a guess - She read or heard some garbage somewhere about teeth filing and may have got hoodwinked into thinking it might 'help' her with her problem (the dogs damaging each other when they were fighting).

Guessing again that after she had the filing crap done she figured out the garbage she was told / read did not do a darn bit of good because in the end she still got rid of Agatha.

Thankfully none of her molars were molested and are still as pointy as they should be. If she was to get a full mouthful of bite on something - It is going to be shredded pretty good.

The only way I can imagine this filing junk even possibly helping to 'slightly reduce' the likelyhood of any sort of bite damage would be if the dog was only lightly 'play nipping' at something with the front teeth only.

Dog Teeth Filing and Injury Prevention
While the term "filing" might suggest simply dulling a dog's teeth, it's crucial to understand the proper context in veterinary dentistry. In general, the practice of intentionally reducing the size of healthy teeth for non-medical reasons, such as to reduce the severity of bites, is strongly opposed by veterinary organizations due to its potential for pain, infection, and masking underlying behavioral issues. This is often referred to as "disarming" a dog and is considered a dangerous and ineffective solution.

I believe the lady was badly mislead about doggie teeth filing and made poor choices as a result. Am thinking she heard and fell for some 'disarming' garbage she heard or read somewhere and did not do any homework at all on it before going down that road.

I am not angry any more at the lady that did this shit to Agatha. I think she just did not know any better at the time and blindly believed some bad info she picked up somewhere. Won't know for sure until I ask her about it...

If I find out that a Vet helped her do this and can get their name or the clinic name - I will be reporting that garbage to as many places as I can.

I had never heard of such a thing until last week when I looked closely at Agathas chompers and noticed things did not look 'right' and compared with my older girl. That comparison got to me to doing more homework and asking questions HERE from a group of people that I consider Doberman experts.



This place is THE place to go if a guy is looking for Doberman Specific knowledge from owners with YEARS of experience under their belts and the wisdom that comes with it.



Darn glad I did ask here because I know a heck of a lot more now than I did last week about this sort of stuff. Especially with respect to normal wear one might expect with a chewer and tennis balls...

Agatha is not going to be happy without her tennis balls.

That one was slightly used but still in good shape before she got it. It kept her happy for a few hours before it had to be tossed.

(I is blessed that this girl does not even try to swallow stuff like that when she destroys it...)




Now that I HAVE run across a dog that I believe this crap was done to - I am 'strongly opposed' to the practice of intentionally messing with healthy teeth for the reasons described in the above quote and more...

 

[BGpa]

They do line up correctly.. Just like in your picture.

They 'fit' exactly correctly and this is the young 2 1/2yr old 'new to me' girl. NOT my 8yr old girl with 'correct' teeth.

I thought things looked odd which is why I shared the pictures for comparison and asked questions about it.

This is Agatha (2.5yrs old) and this is NOT what I would call 'normal'.
(This picture is to show the edges on the teeth and not how her bite 'fits. In this picture my fingers are in there to get her to open up...)

This picture shows how they 'fit' (my fingers not in the way) -

Those front teeth (top and bottom) are ground down in a perfectly straight line across them damn near all the way down to the gum line. That is mostly what caught my attention here because it is not anything I would consider 'normal' for a 2 and 1/2yr old dog.

Like I said - I will send the lady (that I got her (Agatha) from) a text tomorrow and ask but I think I already know the answer.

Keep in mind that the lady got rid of Agatha because of fights between her and another female there...

If I had to venture a guess - She read or heard some garbage somewhere about teeth filing and may have got hoodwinked into thinking it might 'help' her with her problem (the dogs damaging each other when they were fighting).

Guessing again that after she had the filing crap done she figured out the garbage she was told / read did not do a darn bit of good because in the end she still got rid of Agatha.

Thankfully none of her molars were molested and are still as pointy as they should be. If she was to get a full mouthful of bite on something - It is going to be shredded pretty good.

The only way I can imagine this filing junk even possibly helping to 'slightly reduce' the likelyhood of any sort of bite damage would be if the dog was only lightly 'play nipping' at something with the front teeth only.




I believe the lady was badly mislead about doggie teeth filing and made poor choices as a result. Am thinking she heard and fell for some 'disarming' garbage she heard or read somewhere and did not do any homework at all on it before going down that road.

I am not angry any more at the lady that did this shit to Agatha. I think she just did not know any better at the time and blindly believed some bad info she picked up somewhere. Won't know for sure until I ask her about it...

If I find out that a Vet helped her do this and can get their name or the clinic name - I will be reporting that garbage to as many places as I can.

I had never heard of such a thing until last week when I looked closely at Agathas chompers and noticed things did not look 'right' and compared with my older girl. That comparison got to me to doing more homework and asking questions HERE from a group of people that I consider Doberman experts.



This place is THE place to go if a guy is looking for Doberman Specific knowledge from owners with YEARS of experience under their belts and the wisdom that comes with it.



Darn glad I did ask here because I know a heck of a lot more now than I did last week about this sort of stuff. Especially with respect to normal wear one might expect with a chewer and tennis balls...

Agatha is not going to be happy without her tennis balls.

That one was slightly used but still in good shape before she got it. It kept her happy for a few hours before it had to be tossed.

(I is blessed that this girl does not even try to swallow stuff like that when she destroys it...)




Now that I HAVE run across a dog that I believe this crap was done to - I am 'strongly opposed' to the practice of intentionally messing with healthy teeth for the reasons described in the above quote and more...

Excellent report @Aaron56
I read a story somewhere about a GSD in the habit of dissecting tennis balls that swallowied/inhaled one of those stiff inner halves and it getting stuck in windpipe;
choked to death because unable to Doggie Heimlich manuever out in time.

Just saying...good choice to replace with something else. Bonnie was in the habit of dissecting tennis balls at dogpark until I found fluorescent bits of green and orange in poop that had me freaked out inspecting garage...

So those are off the list for her...I use a floaty kong on rope as tugtoy and do a replacement if she finds a ball...(and toss the old :slimy devayed dried out tennis balls at dogpark over the fence when she is not looking)
And
she loves that floaty toy so much she swims out past the first wave in surf at the beach to get it...I call her " a lab in a dobe skin suit when people ask...what IS that dog?"

I read antlers are too hard for long time use. Benabones are often mentioned, altho Bonnie is not a fan. Frozen marrow bones or Big kong stuffed with moist food and frozen gives her something to do after breakfast before morning hikes and in between afternoon outing...collagen sticks with a holder to keep her from inhaling the last 3" is the nightime tv watching treat.
Darn dog eats better than me!

 

[Aaron56]

I read antlers are too hard for long time use. Benabones are often mentioned, altho Bonnie is not a fan. Frozen marrow bones or Big kong stuffed with moist food and frozen gives her something to do after breakfast before morning hikes and in between afternoon outing...collagen sticks with a holder to keep her from inhaling the last 3" is the nightime tv watching treat.
Darn dog eats better than me!

I messaged the lady today and asked her if she had ever had any dental work done on Agatha and got a simple 'no' for a reply. I don't really 'know' the lady at all and more or less found out she was looking to find another home for Agatha by accident. She seemed somewhat knowledgeable during the brief interactions we did have and seemed like she took good care of her dogs but when you don't really know someone well how can you be sure of anything? I just don't know crap for sure either way. I tend to 'think' stuff might have been done but don't have any evidence or other reasons not to believe she is being honest.



I guess my next step is to have my Vet do a good inspection and see what she thinks. At least now (thanks to people here educating me) I can better consider what particular stuff I want to discuss with her about Agathas teeth. (really want to quiz her about teeth hardness and if anything can be done to make what she has stronger or more healthy)

Probably need to take the advice of several members here as well and do something about her chewing / at bare minimum try to give her less damaging stuff to chew on...


I am definitely planning to be keeping a close eye on her dental stuff going forward. If her stuff is ground down like it is currently at only 2.5ish yrs old - I probably need to figure it out sooner rather than later and not just wait for things to get worse.

Even considering the dental stuff I get to deal with now - I freakin scored finding this girl and bringing her into the home here. She checks so many of my personal 'awesome dog' boxes every day with her behavior and how well she has been falling into the routine here - I am considering her a blessing. It's not just me either... The other Dober girl here really likes her too!

On the Doberman Snugglebug Aptitude Test this girl scores in the top percentiles every time.

If you lift the corner of the covers and simply look in her direction she knows exactly what to do and will be under there and mashed up against your body in seconds! Instead of hand signals - She picks up on eyeball signals!

 

[Two Dobes]

I am just grateful that the two of you found one another, and it is a definate blessing. She is 'home' now, has a new family with you and Dystopia, and has a fruitful life.
A thought for replacement ball; I use rubber balls by "Chuck it". You have to get the one's with holes in them, they are able to almost chew like gum, and so far I have not had one who destroyed one. When we moved to TN from IL, we drove back and forth a few times (10 hours) and our dobes at the time would just lay in the back chewing their chuck it balls looking out the window I believe the ball is called "The Whistler". It's the holes in it that make it so flexible so they can crush it, and it bounces back...might be worth a try for your girls!

 

[JanS]

I guess my next step is to have my Vet do a good inspection and see what she thinks.

I would be interested in hearing what she has to say too.

 

[Aaron56]

I would be interested in hearing what she has to say too.

Will most definitely update with what she has to say.

Dr Share is the lady we use for pretty much all of our regular 'non-Doberman specific' stuff. She may not do ears and such but she has been a Vet for a very long time and has the experience that comes with that time.

Appreciate all of the other members here that shared their experience and also the pictures of different bites and their own dogs teeth for comparison purposes. This is an unbelievably helpful community!

 

[Oh Little Oji]

I am just grateful that the two of you found one another, and it is a definate blessing. She is 'home' now, has a new family with you and Dystopia, and has a fruitful life.
A thought for replacement ball; I use rubber balls by "Chuck it". You have to get the one's with holes in them, they are able to almost chew like gum, and so far I have not had one who destroyed one. When we moved to TN from IL, we drove back and forth a few times (10 hours) and our dobes at the time would just lay in the back chewing their chuck it balls looking out the window I believe the ball is called "The Whistler". It's the holes in it that make it so flexible so they can crush it, and it bounces back...might be worth a try for your girls!
View attachment 154586

Zephyr found one of those at the park the other day and I noticed when I stepped on it, it crushed flat and bounced right back into shape.