Bite and Breeder

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Tam319

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Hello,

My show potential bitch is developing a bite problem. The one side is fine and lines up correctly. On the other side the upper canine (I hope that's the right name) is quite far back and points outwards at a nasty angle. It was semi-bad at her first show (the judge looked in her mouth three times then moved her down a placing). I think its getting worse.

I have contacted my breeder to ask her opinion and get an idea on what her line produces. The breeder lives 7 hours away so it is difficult to get any one-on-one input on a regular basis.

My questions are:
-Is this problem going to get progressively worse (the dog is 10 months old)?
-Is this problem going to cause it to be REALLY difficult for her to finish her championship?
-Is this trait likely to be passed on to her offspring?

If the answer to these questions are YES then I have to serious re-evaluate if I want to use this bitch for show and breeding purposes. I feel it would be irresponsible of me to breed her if I know she has a highly heritable SERIOUS fault (no dog is perfect).

I am concerned that the breeder may want to breed her anyway because she is the last daughter out of her old stud dog. The breeder is co-owner so technically she has 1/2 the "say" in what happens with Layla. How should I approach the subject if I think it would be irresponsible to breed her?

Thanks,

Tam

P.S. If you want to check her out 'overall' look in my gallery for show pics from August.
 
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Jeanne

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Sounds like you are asking if her mouth has gone *wry*. Check more than just tooth alignment; does the jaw fit together evenly? Does the tooth just stick out to the side, or is the root in misplacement from the other side. If the jaw is even on all counts (top to bottom, side to side, front to back- look inside not just outside), then it may just be one errant tooth. An accident when the tooth was still in the jaw or just errupting may have caused that. I will say that even in that case, her show career may be limited if a judge only looks at teeth.

You can open her mouth and try to have someone take photos of the teeth and jaw.

If there is a misalignment of the jaw, you should not breed her unless it is very minor.
 
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Jeanne

Guest
Just looked at your photos. She has an awful lot of white on her face. Some judges will count against that as it interferes with the *essential black mask*. Did her nose ever fully pigment? That would be a problem, too.
 
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Tam319

Guest
Hi,

Thanks for the info. I spoke with the breeder today and she said we should give her another 2 months (til she's atleast 1 year old) before we worry. Her line typically goes thru lots of bite changes. It doesn't look like the jaw is misaligned, just the tooth.

Yes, her face does have lots of white. But I've seen a Ch. bitch with an almost ALL white face (the blaze went up over one eye). I realize that I have to be very careful to breed her to a phenotypically AND genotypically very plain dog. I don't think overly-flashy alone (especially when its so borderline) is a good reason NOT to breed an otherwise great dog. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying a check or white dog should be bred.

Now if she has a major conformation fault, bite problem or temperment fault I would spay her ASAP.

Tamara
 
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