# Stubborn baby teeth



## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

Rexy is 7 months old and has lost most baby teeth and his adult teeth are in nicely except that one lower baby canine and both upper baby canines are still firmly in place. I remember Leo losing his upper canines soon after he turned 7 months. I know many people will have them removed when their puppy is neutered but that will be a while yet for Rexy. I thought I would wait until he turned 8 months and if these last stubborn baby teeth weren't out I would arrange to have them pulled. Rexy is just now at the 9 lb. mark. He has a lovely scissor bite. Is it likely that I can leave them alone and they will fall out on their own?


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

I would be careful about waiting too long for the teeth to come out on their own. Molly had her two upper canine baby teeth never loosen and fall out. I listened to the vet and left them in. We ended up having to have them pulled later. Because they were in so long her adult teeth did not erupt properly. She then had to have a second surgery and actually lost two adult teeth in the process. Molly is a tiny thing with a very small mouth and teeth so that may be part of the problem. I do feel very guilty that she had to go through all of that and I wish I had just had the baby teeth out sooner. In the mean time give Rexy a lot of different things to chew on and maybe play some tug of war with him. You might just get them to come out on their own!


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## M&J (Mar 1, 2016)

We noticed Sunday morning Tucker was missing two upper fronts and one lower. He stayed with my parents today while we made a trip to a winery (now we know it's pet friendly so next trip puppy goes) and came home with another lower missing when we looked and one more barely hanging on. We were able to get it and save it for his puppy book! :smile2: BTW...the website for the winery said no pets so I didn't bother to call, but that was for the cabin rentals they offer. He wasn't bored though. He was out all day in their yard. 72 and not a cloud today!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Pixel had two upper canines that stayed in a LOT longer than her other teeth. Her adult canines erupted, so she had two sets of upper canines. But with her, the vet wasn't worried, because, until the adult ones came in, they had been starting to loosen. She was right, and a few weeks later, both fell out.

Oanda has the same two-sets-of-upper-canines going on, but in HER case, they didn't soften before the adult ones came in. The vet is a little concerned that they may need to be pulled. (again, she won't be spayed any time in the near future, so it will have to be done separately) But she's not ready to give up yet. I'm giving her lots of meaty bones to chew on and hopefully loosen them up, and we'll wait one more month before deciding. Fortunately, she has room in her mouth, so we have the ability to wait a bit more without her bite going off.


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## TamaraCamera (Dec 27, 2015)

krandall said:


> Pixel had two upper canines that stayed in a LOT longer than her other teeth. Her adult canines erupted, so she had two sets of upper canines. But with her, the vet wasn't worried, because, until the adult ones came in, they had been starting to loosen. She was right, and a few weeks later, both fell out.
> 
> Oanda has the same two-sets-of-upper-canines going on, but in HER case, they didn't soften before the adult ones came in. The vet is a little concerned that they may need to be pulled. (again, she won't be spayed any time in the near future, so it will have to be done separately) But she's not ready to give up yet. I'm giving her lots of meaty bones to chew on and hopefully loosen them up, and we'll wait one more month before deciding. Fortunately, she has room in her mouth, so we have the ability to wait a bit more without her bite going off.


Is it typical for them to have 2 sets of canines (adult and baby) as the adult ones grow in, with the baby ones typically falling out after the adult ones are fully in? Lincoln has lost other teeth, but he still has his adult canines, yet you can see his adult ones growing in.

He is getting fixed on the 5th, but he's also having his hernia repaired and getting chipped, so I am hoping to not have to add teeth-pulling to that list. :crying:


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

The vet should remove the baby teeth at the same time as the neuter to avoid having to put the dog under again if they don't fall out on their own.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

TamaraCamera said:


> Is it typical for them to have 2 sets of canines (adult and baby) as the adult ones grow in, with the baby ones typically falling out after the adult ones are fully in? Lincoln has lost other teeth, but he still has his adult canines, yet you can see his adult ones growing in.
> 
> He is getting fixed on the 5th, but he's also having his hernia repaired and getting chipped, so I am hoping to not have to add teeth-pulling to that list. :crying:


I would say it's pretty common in both directions. small breed dogs often have small mouths which cause some crowding, and it can be hard for the baby teeth to have room to wiggle free. Kodi's and Pixel's breeder is really, REALLY careful about good mouths, and it shows. Kodi lost his baby canines before the adult ones appeared. Pixel had two sets of canines for a short time, but the baby ones fell out without incident.

Panda comes from good lines on both sides, and both parents were nice representatives of the breed, with good scissor bites. But this pairing had never been done before, and the dam was considerable larger than the sire, and the sire is a much more refined dog. This was her breeder's first litter (very likely, her only litter) So there is no track record to go on. Panda has a lot of room in her mouth, but she also has large teeth. We're just not sure which way it's going to go with her yet.

If your breeder is an experienced breeder, who has produced a lot of puppies from her own lines, she may know whether it's common for her lines to retain baby teeth.

Honestly, if he's already going to be asleep to be neutered and have a hernia repaired, unless BOTH the vet and the breeder said the teeth were no issue, I'd want them out of there to avoid either having to anesthetizing him again to pull the teeth or risking a bad bite from those teeth pushing the adult teeth out of place.

The ONLY reason I will have to do Panda's separately is that she will not be spayed in the near future, and is already chipped. But she's also got enough room in her mouth that I can afford to wait a bit before making a decision and without worrying about letting her mouth go off.


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

Rexy's breeder suggested giving them a wiggle each day with a terry cloth bath cloth for grip. Been doing this all week but those baby are holding firm do I will call tomorrow and see if I can schedule an appointment to have the teeth removed.


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## michelleho (Oct 7, 2015)

Meeko still has one upper canine baby tooth also-it in there firmly too. I check it often and try to move it-no luck. I will have it pulled when he is neutered.


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

Update - intentional "wiggling" of the baby canine teeth did nothing to loosen them so about 1.5 weeks ago Rexy had his 3 remaining baby teeth pulled. His tummy was some upset from the anesthesia when he came home that evening but by the next day he was back to his usual self. The gums healed quickly and there were no problems of any kind. I am glad all his baby teeth are out and that he has a lovely scissor bite.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Pucks104 said:


> Update - intentional "wiggling" of the baby canine teeth did nothing to loosen them so about 1.5 weeks ago Rexy had his 3 remaining baby teeth pulled. His tummy was some upset from the anesthesia when he came home that evening but by the next day he was back to his usual self. The gums healed quickly and there were no problems of any kind. I am glad all his baby teeth are out and that he has a lovely scissor bite.


Panda is scheduled to have her two top canines removed June 3 unless they fall out before then. Her bite, fortunately, has not been adversely affected, but those teeth (at least so far) show no signs of moving... at all. Glad to hear that Rexy got over it quickly. I hope Panda will too!!!


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## Raffi'sMom (Jan 25, 2016)

Raffi's upper baby canines are also still in place. He is 6 1/2 months so I guess he could still lose then on his own. When should I be concerned? Sounds like this is a common issue.


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

Wishing Panda an easy time with her teeth extraction. I did feed Rexy softer food for two days then it was back to normal. 

I think the baby teeth would likely come out by 8 months if they were going to on their own. Rexy's were not loose at all so I felt it best to go ahead with the surgery.


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

Nino hadn't been eating at all, and we weren't sure why until we noticed his upper central incisors looking jacked up. We freaked before realizing they were both just hanging on. Poor guy has 2 incredibly loose teeth on top and 4 on the bottom. We have been softening his food and really encouraging chewing on toys to wiggle them out. He's not having a fun time of it. Hoping we can avoid extractions of the bigger teeth.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Raffi'sMom said:


> Raffi's upper baby canines are also still in place. He is 6 1/2 months so I guess he could still lose then on his own. When should I be concerned? Sounds like this is a common issue.


Are they wiggling at all? If so, I'd wait. If they feel really solid, I'd have the vet look at them. Depending on when you plan to neuter him, both things are often done at once. In Panda's case, though, she won't be spayed for quite a while yet, so we can't wait for that.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

KarMar said:


> Nino hadn't been eating at all, and we weren't sure why until we noticed his upper central incisors looking jacked up. We freaked before realizing they were both just hanging on. Poor guy has 2 incredibly loose teeth on top and 4 on the bottom. We have been softening his food and really encouraging chewing on toys to wiggle them out. He's not having a fun time of it. Hoping we can avoid extractions of the bigger teeth.


Poor boy. Kodi seemed to really feel his teeth too. (maybe just like with people, boys are wusses about health things  ) The girls didn't even seem to notice. Panda lost ALL her incisors... upper and lower, in a 24 hour period. She was totally toofless for a few days! 

My breeder suggested knotting strops of an old wash cloth, wetting them and freezing them for Kodi to chew on when he was uncomfortale. It really seemed to help.


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## Raffi'sMom (Jan 25, 2016)

krandall said:


> Are they wiggling at all? If so, I'd wait. If they feel really solid, I'd have the vet look at them. Depending on when you plan to neuter him, both things are often done at once. In Panda's case, though, she won't be spayed for quite a while yet, so we can't wait for that.


Well, I guess my making a comment wasn't needed. Sometime between when I posted and just now he lost one of them. I have no idea when. I have only found one of his teeth and that was because it happened when we were playing tug of war. Hopefully the other one will come out too. It seems pretty solid right now.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Raffi'sMom said:


> Well, I guess my making a comment wasn't needed. Sometime between when I posted and just now he lost one of them. I have no idea when. I have only found one of his teeth and that was because it happened when we were playing tug of war. Hopefully the other one will come out too. It seems pretty solid right now.


If one of them went, the other one probably will!


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