Hello...

Quick background...
I have a female Boxer named Lexi that's just under a year old that we "rescued" from a puppy store (I know, bad idea but we couldn't say no.) She was the runt of the littler and has been underweight until just recently. We've had to deal with a few extra vet bills (weak digestive system, pancreatitis, demodetic mange, etc.) but overall, she's turning out to be a great dog. She's got prey and hunt drive coming out the wazoo and has never once backed down from her older, more aggressive, dominant natured fighting partner Deuce (3 year old lab/beagle mix). She's very submissive by nature, but seems to "submit" to larger individuals quickly, only to get it over with so that she can get them to play/fight with her. She's at the point now that she's starting to win her battles with Deuce but strictly because she is tenacious and never runs out of energy. Her "bite work" is fairly pathetic.

I was starting to wonder the other day if she had dental problems, or pain in her teeth because she almost never really clamps down on Deuce the way he does on her. By the way, they're the best of friends. The fighting I'm talking about is always supervised and playful in nature. Deuce bites like a pitbull (seriously, I can swing him around off the ground by his tug-rope). Lexi, on the other hand, has a very mouthy, weak bite. I've been watching carefully, and I realized that she bites and rips up soft (stuffed) chew toys like crazy. But when it comes to something that's a little harder like a rope, a tug, or Deuce, she barely closes her mouth.

She's my first boxer so I'm wondering, is this normal for an 11 month old boxer? Is this a sign of another one of her genetic weaknesses? What age do most dogs get their adult teeth in? Thanks in advance.

Ryan

PS. I should probably mention that all of our animals right now are pets. I'm working my way towards a working line dog, but that'll come later.