I have recently bought a Lhasa apso that I am really happy with, but when I took it to the vet he said its mouth was overshot and he may require dental treatment in the future. Can anyone let me know any further information as the breeder said that she had them vet checked and everything was fine and there were no problems with his mouth. Am I right to worry.

if its only a baby-the bottom jaw grows last--------so the gap might correct, or at least lessen-------even if it ends up overshot, i doubt youd need any treatment, as it should manage everything just fine.

If you have a puppy then it may well sort itself out as it grows, their mouths can do strange things, so it would depend on how overshot the pup is. I wouldn't rush into anything until the dog is fully grown and you know for sure that the jaws aren't going to get any better on their own.

Regards
Dill

I have a dog that has an overshot jaw, he has no trouble and he has never needed treatment :) Mind you he does have a little trouble picking really flat thing off of the floor :D but thats about it

Are you sure the vet said overshot? The correct bite for a lhasa is undershot (i.e. the bottom teeth are in front of the top teeth, completely opposite to most other breeds).

I have heard that some of the younger vets do not know this fact and have frightened new owners by telling them that their puppy has problems.

I was wondering the very same thing.
Dawn R.

I once had a westie with this problem. I spent a fortune on dentistry. The bitch lost one of the teeth when the surgery was being carried out supposed to be due to exsessive bleeding the other tooth was filed down. I was due to go back in six month because the vet said she would need more done. I was unhappy about this situation & spoke to a breeder on the matter. I was advised to change vets.so i did guess what no further denist treatment needed The breeder I spoke to said the teeth would have made there own bed.

Jean

Thank you for your replys. I was concerned because I know lhasa apso's normally have level or undershot mouths, but the vet definatley said it was overshot and when the puppy is lying on its back you can actually see the top of his mouth overlapping the bottom. He is 8 weeks old so maybe it will get better as he gets older, but if its not going to cause him any problems I shall leave well alone.

IMO, barring a life threatening situation, do not even think about surgery until the dog is about 18 months, the only exception would be if the knees or hips are so bad that the dog can't walk.

my vet did all this under at about six months is it any wonder i changed vets never looked back since changing

Jean

After watching a TV programme on the results of orthodontic treatment on children and young adults (Horizon or similar) I would be very sceptical about any dental treatment to correct any bite in my dog or my children. Nature has a wonderful way of getting there on her own without interference from us. All I would do for a pup is give plenty of lovely chewy things, bones (gristly, meaty ones :) ) cardboard boxes (to work those front teeth) and more meaty bones :D I would certainly wait until the pup was fully grown before considering any treatment and would have to be totally convinced that the vet was capable. Sadly many vets don't know what the different breeds mouths should look like and they're often too quick to want to correct something that doesn't need it.

Dill ~ the sceptic

hi,
one of my dogs has an over bite. he did not have any problems until he was almost 2 years old when he had a skin infection on his lower lips and chin. this was being caused by excessive drooling, caused by his overbite. i decided to have him reffered to a special canine dentist, specialising in oral surgery. anyway upon examination it was discovered that the lower canine that was digging into his upper palate, was causing a deep ulcer and hole in the roof of his mouth. the vet recommended surgical shortening of this canine to stop any more trauma to the upper palate. the canine as it was, was also preventing him from closing his mouth properly, hence the excess drooling causing the infections. he had the surgery which was like a half root canal, half of the tooths pulp and nerves were removed and then filled. he was just been back for his 3 monthly x rays and all is well with the filling, he should not need any further treatment unless there is a problem.
if your dog has a noticeable overbite i dont think it will sort it self out, the dentist told me that the bottom jaw may catch up and it may develop a siccor bite if the gap is only very small, a few mm, like size of match head. anything more than that is unlikely to improve significantly. the gap in my boys bite is about the size of the tip of my little finger and this was enough to cause problems.
have a look at your dogs bite and see where the canines are as these are the biggest and sharpest teeth, especially puppy ones! a freind of mine whose pup had a rather large overbite had to have the baby canines removed as they were so sharp and causing damage.
hope this helps,
kelly

Freya, please don't worry so much about the bite on an 8 week old puppy. So much will change on the pup in the next few months, bite included, he has to change his whole mouthful of teeth. So it's the adult teeth that will determine his bite. Your vet has alot to answer for worrying you like this.
Dawn R.