Opions wanted on bad mouths((undershot/overshot)are they hieradatory or one of thoese things and u cannot exibit them advice and opions greatly recived

Except in some Bull breeds the majority of breeds should have a scissor bite - when the mouth is closed the top teeth fit closely over the top/in front of the bottom teeth- like ours do. All teeth should grow straight up or down and be in an even row. In most breeds the gums should be full of teeth all the way along the jaw - missing pre molars is not desirable but may be forgiven if the rest of the mouth/dog is up to scratch, though some breeds/judges will be stricter than others. Undershot and overshot mouths are 100% hereditary and the fault will be passed on to puppies in the majority of cases. The good mouthed offspring ( if any) from faulty mouthed parents will almost certainly pass the trait on and it will show up in their children for generations. Its not really worth showing a dog with a poor mouth, and if you are keen to break into the showing world, I wouldn't start with an obviously unsound example, people always remember the worst points about your dogs - give a dog a bad name etc!!

There are mixed opinions. In my breeds, Wire Fox Terriers and Soft-Coated Wheaten Terriers plus my girlfriend's Standard Poodles we would both say bad mouths and bad bites are hereditary. You must break this topic down into a number of different areas.

Since the upper and lower jaw grow at different speeds it may look that a bad bite may be happening but things settle themselves later on. Sometimes they do not resulting in an overshot or undershot bite. Of course one must know what is acceptable in the breed standard - scissors bite only or scissors bite or even bite acceptable. In my breeds the later scenario is acceptable but in Std Poodles only the first scenario is acceptable.

Now what exactly are you calling a bad mouth? This can relate to missing teeth, cleft palate - hard or soft or both or misshapen. Many of these things are heredity but others can be caused by toxicity from steroids, vitamins especially fat-soluable ones and other drugs. This is only a thumbnail sketch but I would refer you to do some research on the internet. Search your own particular breed as this will narrow the selections. READ! READ! and READ some more.

Only with intensive study do you find out all the information. Talk to other breeders of your breed on this topic but you may need to be selective. As in all things some breeders never wish to indicate that they have any problems in their blood lines.

Good Luck
Margaret :)