My daughter has a 9 month old toy poodle who has retained 4 baby canine teeth that are not loose at all. Does she need to have these removed, will they cause problems if left in. An anaesthetic is not something she wants to have  unless absolutely necessary

Yes, the retained teeth need to be removed as soon as you can now, because otherwise the adult teeth will be misaligned and that can result in a very painful mouth (lower canines making a hole in the roof of the mouth, for example) - and an uncomfortable, unhappy, snappy dog.

Thank you. Will pass info on.

Does she eat raw chicken wings?  I've always found that they move stubborn puppy canines. :)

Never tried that but the teeth do seem pretty firmly embedded.
Just looked at insurance and they will not cover 'routine dental' probs. I called them and they were quite non commital saying each case on its merits and would depend if its a pre existing condition????
Any thoughts? Never had this problem with our own Gundogs

Personally I would not regard this as a routine dental problem such as plaque or decay but who know with insurance companies ;-).  However, it is a small dog, short anaesthetic so the job should not cost the earth anyway.

Do try giving bones - raw and larger than the dog's jaw/head ;) and playing tuggy games with a rope too.  I've found the firmest baby teeth are usually out within a day or two if the dog is using their teeth as they were born to ;) 

> Do try giving bones - raw and larger than the dog's jaw/head ;-) and playing tuggy games with a rope too.  I've found the firmest baby teeth are usually out within a day or two if the dog is using their teeth as they were born to ;-) 

and keep checking as you will probably not see the tooth when it comes out.

of a lifetimes dogs i think i've found about 4 puppy teeth

My pup still has 1 eye tooth to come out she will be 6 motnhs on the 3rd Jan so hoping it will come out on its own.  Knowing my luck recently it will be a trip to the vets, more money LOL

She is in season now so vet has advised leaving it till mid march when she can be spayed and teeth sorted at the same time.

I'm with Dill. A large, fresh knuckle bone from the butcher might work wonders. I've had pups as young as 7 weeks happily gnawing away on one so don't worry about the size.

The larger the better - as long as the dog can get to grips with it :-D 

That way the dog can only gnaw it - not crunch it ;)  and a raw bone is a great incentive to gnaw :-D

Just read my reply and it came out all wrong. I meant don't worry about it being too big for a toy poodle. Nice catch Dill.

:-D

I love to see little dogs chewing large bones :-D the enjoyment they get is plain to see, not to mention the full body workout ;)

My youngest toy poodle who is now 2 and a half retained about 6 milk teeth which were removed at about 7 months old and it cost me about £140.00 but his teeth are all perfectly aligned now. As I have had previous experience of toy poodles with my current 2 I have got into a routine of cleaning their teeth each night with a baby tooth brush and dog tooth paste and i have to say it seems to be paying off as the older one at 4 years old has got lovely clean teeth,even my vet has remarked how good they are as toy poodles are very prone to bad teeth from a young age. Hope this helps.