I have a question relating to the health of my 3yr old German Shepherd. He has broken off the tips of both canine teeth on his lower jaw. I'd estimate about 1/8th of each tooth is gone. I first noticed this about two months ago. One morning everything was fine, he spent the day in his kennel......then he was hesitant to eat that evening. I checked his teeth and that's when I realized the problem. I'm still at a loss as to what caused this injury.........but I haven't seen any other problems with him or with any other dog kept in that same kennel (no bite work done for several weeks prior to this). Since then any sensitivity/pain that he had in these teeth seems to have subsided (no weight loss, doesn't pull away if I touch them, etc). The teeth and gums otherwise look healthy to me. He's seen two different vets about this...........and you guessed it, I've got two very different opinions. The first says not to worry about it he should be fine, and the second says both teeth should be capped (specifically with metal because I do protection work with him and porcelain is likely to break away....so says vet number two). My assessment is that he's doing fine without the teeth being capped. He's been to two protection work outs this past month and I haven't observed anything to indicate that he's feeling any pain. I guess I'm just asking for confirmation that I'm not somehow screwing myself by not capping these teeth......and more importantly that there's not some potential impact to his health that I'm not aware of. I've just never seen this before and I'm wondering if somewhere along the line someone on this board has had experience with this. Thanks!!!

I've seen a lot of Military Working Dogs with either worn down or broken canine teeth. The general consensus from the Army vets I've worked with is that if it doesn't cause them any pain and doesn't show any negative impact on the dog's ability to grip and hold firmly then don't worry about it. But, if you do decided to cap them, the second vet was correct, go with the surgical metal caps.

There are many dogs out there including mine that have lower canines as you have described. Other than costing a lot of money, and looking interesting, caps will make no difference according to what you have said. I say save the money.

Check out some of the other treads concerning broken teeth for further information...
http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/73416/page/0/fpart/1/vc/1

If you are going to have something done with those teeth, find a specialist. Most vets advertise they can do teeth, but most do not have the equipment nor the expertise to do much beyond cleanings...
Visit this site for canine dental specialists:
http://www.avdonline.org/avdmembers.html

Bryan, Your dog may have broken the canine tips while chewing on the kennel fencing while you were away. Lots of working dogs do this. Fortunately it wasnt too bad.

Ref. the caps. My PSD has had all four canines capped with titanium. Porcelin will not hold up. The reason for the caps?(may apply to you)...Genetic defect resulting in soft tooth enamel. While the dog was at the vets to have 3 shattered upper incisors fixed the vet informed me that the dogs' canines were wearing prematurely. Caps were done to prevent root canals...and caps later.

6 months ago in training he snapped off the lower left canine. A root canal, post, crown and cap replaced it. The replaced canine ended up in a bite suit about 4 months after that.

Have a specialist check your dog to see if you have a problem that needs addressing before its too late (and much more costly). Good luck.

I had a dog that I took to one of those specialists, Dr. De Forge in Milford, Ct.. HE was excellent.

Howard, what were the bloodlines of the dog you had teeth problems with?

All,

Thanks for all the feedback........I feel better now about the situation. We were out this morning doing some "bad guy" work.....definitely, no hesitation to bite and/or hold. I will keep a close eye on this and have him checked by a specialist....thanks also for the Vet reference, I'm in the Boston area so he's actually not too far away. Thanks again!

Bryan

Jeanette, Wish I knew. He's a Czech import, unpapered. Fantastic police dog. I guess thats all that matters.