Wry Bite In 6.5 Week Old Puppy

[Kaffy Magee]

OF course it is my pick bitch that has a wry bite. I had noticed it, however wasnt sure if that was what it was as I had never seen one. Well today its confirmed she has a wry bite. I have been told it wont correct itself from a breeder I do respect, but of course Ive been madly googling, looking for that little ray of hope(as you would when its your pick bitch), that it might correct itself since she is still growing. And I have found some info to indicate it might correct itself but also info that says it wont, however in this instance I think they were talking about older puppies/dogs.

So this is something I found:

Wry Mouth:

When one side of the jaw (right or left, not upper or lower) grows at a more rapid pace than the other, this causes a twisting of the mouth known as wry mouth. Wry mouth can cause a severe handicap when it comes tograsping items or chewing food, and gives a very lopsided appearrance. This condition can be temporary, correcting itself as the othr side catches up in growth.

And this, despite her personal opinion, indicates that it can be corrected as a baby.

First, I want to say that if the bite is incorrect on an 8 week old puppy, I personally do not believe a bite can be corrected. If a bite goes off after 8 weeks – (1) undershot; (2) overshot; or wry mouth*, the appropriate teeth need to be removed – either upper and lower jaw or the teeth in the jaw that are binding (i.e., if the bite is undershot, then remove the upper jaw teeth; if the bite is overshot, remove the lower jaw teeth; if the bite is wry, the canines should be removed because they are locking in place the way the teeth are coming in. Removing those baby teeth allow the adults to come down into place like they should. Remember that not only do the upper and lower jaws grow at a different rate, each side of the jaw grows at a different rate thus making the bite look like it is a wry bite. Because toy breed dogs seem to have those baby teeth anchored in so tight, they often mess up a bite severely. Baby teeth can make adult teeth come out making the teeth more forward (almost horizontal**) rather than straight up and down (vertical) and can cause the permanent adult teeth to appear inside the parameters of the teeth line (almost roof of the mouth).

AND this(even though it is about Clumber spaniels).

A WRY bite is where the line of the upper incisors and the line of the lower incisors do not match, that is they are not parallel to each other. In Clumbers, sometimes, for a few months during growth, a bite may be wry and them straighten, but not always.

SO has anyone had a wry bite in a baby that HAS corrected itself. I dont want to just give up on her if there is a chance it could come good. TIA

ETA: she is only 6.5 weeks not 7, not that it probably makes much difference.

Edited July 10, 2010 by Kaffy Magee

[Ashanali]

Not a wry bite but I had a pup that was overshot by about 7mm at 10 weeks old. I had him listed to sell and there were no takers. I looked at him again at 14 or 15 weeks and he had a perfect scissor bite.

[supercharged]

Only overshot here too

pick female overshot by 2mm at six weeks - still overshot at five months by about 7mm

another male same litter overshot by 5mm at six weeks - still overshot at five months by about the same

another female same litter perfect scissor at six weeks - overshot at three months by about 2mm not sure about now.

I plan on keeping in touch with all the owners to see how they progress but it freaked me out a bit.

The grandmother of the litter had never thrown a bad mouth, the daughter had three litters - two with overbites, one litter normal..........decided it was best to desex mum and start again. Definately hereditary in that case.

The only info on wry bites I read was that wry was definately hereditary and a dog should never be used for breeding regardless of whether or not the mouth comes good. Its tempting though to "see how it goes", I almost kept that pick girl and ran her on to see what would happen but bites are just so important for my breed (cattle dogs) I felt it was not worth the trouble when I could try for another litter and hopefully get normals all round.....

Food for thought...

S

[Stolzseinrotts]

We have had overshot mouths correct and become deep scissors bite.

We have also had a wry bite correct. It was my pick bitch from my first litter (one of only two girls produced by the dam), she did have a good bite as a baby and born with a good mouth. I asked those more knowledgeable then me at the time on their opinions about "can the bite correct?" I was told it wouldn't and went and placed the bitch in a pet home at 8 months of age. When I checked this bitch after 12 months her bite had corrected to a scissors bite, to late though as the bitch had been already been desexed a few weeks prior to me seeing her (she was in a pet only home). Oh well live and learn as they say, but I have since taken chances on pups who were overshot and that have corrected. I have not had another wry mouth since, but if the under jaw was strong and the muzzle was strong and broad I would take my chances again if I felt that it was the pick puppy.

Hard call to make but only time will tell.

Edited July 4, 2010 by Stolzseinrotts

[Kaffy Magee]

Thanks guys! If it was overshot we were dealing with I wouldnt be too concerned as I know they do often correct themselves. But a wry bite is more serious. Stolzseinrotts you have given me hope. Her muzzle and underjaw is strong and broad. What Im hoping for is that it isnt a "wry" bite but each side is growing at a different rate and the other side will catch up. Im going to take her to DAvid Clarke the veterinary dental specialist and see what he has to say. I cant just pet home her without having it properly diagnosed.

[Dogsfevr]

I now a number of people who had wry mouths & not one corrected.

Out of 3 breeders who had issues they all had different bitch lines but used the same male .

[Bilbo Baggins]

Kaffy our Griffon had a wry mouth. You can see it it in this pic. Whole left side of her face is crooked.

http://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/profile.asp?dog=44774

Berry did not have it at 8 weeks. It was noticed at about 14 weeks.Carol Freeman told us some massages are to do and it was improving.

Unfortunatley she died so have no long term answers for you.

[Kaffy Magee]

Well we have excellent news!! We took her to the specialist today and she does NOT have a wry mouth! She has an incisor up the top which is not in the correct position and has pushed the canine next to it out a little, which gives the appearance that it is wry. He said its like an optical illusion, but her jaw is level, both sides are same length and all other teeth match up. She is having that incisor and her bottom canine pulled out to give her adult teeth the best chance to come through in the correct position, which he is confident will occur and said not to be too concerned and he wouldnt be putting her in a pet home.

[Bullbreedlover]

Hey Kaffy

Great news

Give that mouth time to develop.

[supercharged]

Excellent news!

Best of luck with the puppy in the future.

S

[Fordogs]

Good Luck with your puppy, I hope that it will be fine.

Wonderful show results.

[Stolzseinrotts]

Kaffy, that is great news.

I hope she turns out to be everything that you wish for!

[Kaffy Magee]

Thanks everyone! I was going to have her teeth pulled this week but he could only do it tues or wednesday and I just couldnt make it (I live 3 hours away) so it will be in the next couple of weeks when the specialist gets back from being away.

This little girl was going to go to a friend of mine in co ownership but after she came down and we compared her and one of the others, we decided on her taking the other girl. I'd still like to see this one in the ring though, whether she stays with me or in co ownership with someone else, as I didnt want another girl here right now, Im not yet sure, I think she is still too nice just to pet home.