Daisy has got an undershot jaw

[MollieMoo]

Daisy has been to the vets today for her first vaccinations and a check over.  The vet noticed that Daisy has got a slight undershot jaw.  So now I am little worried about the consequences of this, does anybody have any experience of this in cocker spaniels?  Will she have problems as she gets older?  will it correct itself?

I have rung the lady I bought her from, and told her.  She said her vet had not noticed it.

[janey]

hia kate 
was wondering how you were getting on with the lovely daisy
cant really advise you about an undershot jaw,but i am sure it won't pose a problem
was the vet concerned or was he just passing comment

[Penel]

Upper and lower jaws do grow at different rates in puppies - it may even out, it may not.
Were you intending to show her -if not then it doesn't make any difference does it ?

[Cob-Web]

Were you intending to show her -if not then it doesn't make any difference does it ?

I'm not sure that all vets explain very well that most cases are purely cosmetic - they seem to forget that we panic if someone suggests our pups are less than perfect 

I imagine your vet will want to keep an eye on it, and of course, breeding from Daisy won't be advisable if it persists into adulthood - but if it gives her no problems, then it is really just part of her uniqueness 

[MollieMoo]

Your responses have made me feel loads better   thank you. 

Were you intending to show her -if not then it doesn't make any difference does it ?

I'm not sure that all vets explain very well that most cases are purely cosmetic - they seem to forget that we panic if someone suggests our pups are less than perfect 

I imagine your vet will want to keep an eye on it, and of course, breeding from Daisy won't be advisable if it persists into adulthood - but if it gives her no problems, then it is really just part of her uniqueness 

I have not come across a dog with an undershot jaw (apart from breeds where this is acceptable), so when the vet told me, I was quite taken aback.  Although she did just point it out to me in a matter of fact way, and then moved onto checking Daisy over.  She said that they would have to keep an eye on it, and she may not have any problems with it, or she may need some teeth extractions?  So as soon as I got home, I have been surfing the 'net and COL to see if I could find any more information on undershot jaw's in dogs.

She is just going to be a pet, so there was no intention of showing and I was not going to breed from her either.

Yes, I did panic when the vet seemed to suggest that my pup was less than perfect!

My main concern is if she will require any surgery as she gets older?

[Deb H]

George has an undrshot jaw and causes him no problems at all. His teeth are quite crooked too. Don't worry about it.

[Mollycuddles]

Provided your not intending to show or breed from Daisy she'll be fine and what's been said before it can sometimes even out  .

Georgies jaw is undershot and I'm not in the least bit worried it hasn't ruined his good looks  and he can still nibble me gently when he does his special kisses

[redmal]

My friend has a mongrel (lovely boy) with a badly undershot jaw. He is about 8 or 9 now and he has never had any problems whatsoever with it. If youre not breeding or showing, dont worry. Its just another little bit of Daisys uniqueness!!

[silkstocking]

I have my little Nancy pants because she has a very very slightly undershot jaw.........well her top two middle teeth to be precise! The untrained eye wouldn't even notice! 

She was supposed to be being kept for show by my breeder, but she had to move her on to me because of it, because it would penalise her in the show ring..........my gain!!!!!!!!

My FIL has trained gun dogs all his life and worked with them, he says that often the problem corrects itself and that sometimes with dogs he is worked they gave them "bones" to gnaw on and this helped realign the teeth.

To be honest my vet didnt even mention Nancys to me, when I mentioned to him, he said well its hardly worth noteing!

Also I know my breeder kept Nance on for some time ( til 5 months hoping that it would correct itself as this can happen...........does your pup still have baby teeth to loose, I think this can have an effect too!?!?)

[clairep4]

I wouldn't worry unless you were intending to show your pup. Bella has a wonky jaw, she's slightly overshot but the main thing is her bottom lefthand jaw rolls inwards, which meant her lower left canine was growing into the roof of her mouth. She had various "procedures" to correct it including:
- removing the baby canine to see if the new one grew correctly
- us making her hold a rubber ball in her mouth several times a day for two weeks when the new tooth was growing to try and push it outwards
- a doggie brace (called a bite plane) which didn't work as she kept hooking her jaw around the wrong side of it
- a second doggie brace which still didn't work
- they then wanted to try another method which would involve her being muzzled for a few weeks with a brace where you had to turn screws on it. We refused this and asked them to just take the tooth out as Bella had been through enough - 4 general anaesthetics before she was even 6 months, poor baby.

She's absolutely fine without her 4th canine and it doesn't seem to have weakened her jaw at all. She has a lovely wonky little grin and it hasn't impeded her bone-gnawing, kissing, or carrying-fluffy-toys abilities whatsoever.  

[happydog]

My rescue Springer  had an undershot jaw. It caused her no problems whatsoever. It just gave her a rather appealing grin.

[Coco]

Wherry has an undershot jaw, she is six months and has had no problems, the vet says it should never cause a problem.
I just wanted to add the the vet also said it is genetic so it may be worth everyone with this situation informing their breeder.

[silkstocking]

Wherry has an undershot jaw, she is six months and has had no problems, the vet says it should never cause a problem.
I just wanted to add the the vet also said it is genetic so it may be worth everyone with this situation informing their breeder.

This is true it is genetic..............my breeder was very annoyed about it ( like I said she had been planning to show Nance who would have done well apparently) as she couldn't see where it came from in any of her lines at all.

I am lucky to have experioence of a very open and honest breeder, I'm sure many others are the same.

[Helen]

Wherry has an undershot jaw, she is six months and has had no problems, the vet says it should never cause a problem.
I just wanted to add the the vet also said it is genetic so it may be worth everyone with this situation informing their breeder.

This is true it is genetic..............my breeder was very annoyed about it ( like I said she had been planning to show Nance who would have done well apparently) as she couldn't see where it came from in any of her lines at all.

I am lucky to have experioence of a very open and honest breeder, I'm sure many others are the same.

she must be doubly annoyed as any litters she may have with those dogs in the future are likely to throw pups with this problem

[Deb H]

A working cocker guy i met told me it was quite common in workers don't know how true that is but George is a 1/4 working.