Hello,
I have a 17 month old male Sheltie who was purchased as a show prospect.  He is maturing very slowly, therefore hasn't been in the ring yet.  This is my first show prospect puppy, and I made the disheartening discovery the other day that he is missing teeth.  Looking at the skeleton of a dog's mouth, I see that there should be 3 teeth in between the upper canine and the big molar.  Well, he only has 2 on both sides on the top; the middle of the 3 is missing.  I am wondering if there is any hope of these coming in now, since he is almost a year and a half.  There doesn't even appear to be a bone in the gums where the teeth should be.  Also, how big of a deal is this in the show ring.  I know that there are certain breeds where all teeth are required, but Shelties isn't one of them.  I also know that missing teeth is not a desirable trait, but I am curious to know how this would affect his chances in the ring.  I don't want to have to neuter him and give up on showing him, so I'm just curious what this means and if it could get better.  His sire and grandsire are fairly heavily used stud dogs, and his lines are pretty amazing, so either dentition is not a huge factor when breeding, or this was a fluke and I ended up with the puppy without all his teeth!  Also, if they don't come in, is this something that breeders should be notified about to avoid doing the same breeding, or is it not that big a deal?  Just a side note, I don't plan on breeding him myself.  If he were used, it would be by his breeder who knows everything about the breed and about genetics, and if his teeth were a problem, he would be neutered and not used.  I'm just curious what experience other people have had with this and any advice about it before I mention it to his breeder.  Thanks!

I wouldn't give up on him as a show prospect yet, although I very much doubt that his teeth are going to appear now. Missing premolars are very common in many breeds. I don't know how seriously this fault is looked on in Shelties, it varies from breed to breed. have you asked his breeder about it? No dog is perfect and if this is his only fault I wouldn't worry too much about it - many judges only check the front teeth anyway! . Actually, according to the standard Shelties should have full dentition - so should most, if not all breeds - but if it's a common fault & not checked all that often you may not hit the heights with him but you can still have a lot of fun showing him if he is otherwise a good specimen.

hi i have a 16 month old lab, she only has 3 canine teeth, dont no why, but i love her to bits.

ravens01 ive pm'd you.

"If he were used, it would be by his breeder who knows everything about the breed and about genetics,"
Then I think that would be the first place I would ask for information.

If you are in the UK you may find that judges only look at the bite(front teeth)except in GSDs. I've seen Ch Rough Collies with loads of missing teeth. When I judge I do check all teeth but this is because I am from a GSD background & learnt my judging via GSDs

Missing premolars are a fault & get penalized heavily in GSDs & other german breeds as well as some other "foreign"breeds, under German/Continental  judges & those who judge to the correct breed standard, But I would say 90 % of judges would not even look at the side teeth

When judging I am amazed how awful some breeds teeth are crooked, missing etc

My dalmatian has no top or bottom premolars in his gums. He has two very tiny ones inside his top gum line - one on each side.  His breeder told me that a British judge would not bother about it but a continental one would class it as a fault. The dalmatian standard does not mention a full set of teeth

I had no intention of showing him so it didn't matter to me but he did have to learn to put food right to the back teeth to chew it.

The Dalmatian standard calls for a perfect and complete bite.

No, it calls for the teeth to be in a complete scissor bite. There is no mention of the number of teeth in the UK standard, though on the Continent they count them.

Of course you're right JG. I've just checked my own breed standard & the wording is identical except mine says at the end "Complete dentition". Just had a quick flip through other breeds & was amazed how many make no mention of complete dentition.  Well, you live & learn :D

Pekes only have a mention of the lips being level & no mention of teeth at all !

From what I have read it would seem that even wild canids often have missing premolars, and that this is of little significance, but other missing teeth arte a sign of degeneration and should be viewed more seriously.  I know that under FCI rules that in many breeds they are fanatical about missing teeth,a nd throw the baby out with the bathwater.

I have been told though that mouth faults are very hared to breed out, so care should be taken.