overshot jaw??

[Harry & Heidi's mom]

Hi,

I have finally found a lovely chunky tri male pup, and he is healthy in every way but 1...

He has an overshot jaw, what problems can/does it cause??

any advice??

[Barbara]

hi
It really depends on how overshot his mouth is as to whether it will affect him eating properly.Sometimes an overshot jaw can be occompanied by a twisted jaw too. As long as he can eat it really won't affect him at all.
All the best
Barbara Reese
UK

[Harry & Heidi's mom]

Hi,

He is 9 weeks old and is eating regular meals without problems, and it doesn't look too bad, infact you can't tell unless you look in his mouth.

Whats the chance of it correcting itself??

[Cathy T]

Tell me what an overshot jaw is. Shelby's bottom jaw comes in front of her top jaw. Is that overshot?

[Harry & Heidi's mom]

i may be wrong but that may be an undershot jaw

[Mary]

Yes I believe undershot is when the lower jaw protudes beyond the upper jaw and overshot is when the upper jaw protrudes over the lower jaw. It is my understanding that the overshot can be more of a problem but of course depends on the severity or degree to which it occurs. Hopefully there are some breeders out there with more knowledge on this that can explain.

[Nicki]

Mary, you are right in your descriptions.

looking-for-a-friend - if you are not planning to show your pup, and he is obviously managing to eat and enjoy life, then I can't see that the jaw will be a problem. Sometimes they can correct, depending on the severity - right up to 3 years of age. I would expect some reduction in his price though.

If the pup is chunky, it doesn't sound like he's having problems eating - hopefully the breeder will let you watch him eat, so that you can check for yourself. You may need to try different bowls to see which he finds easiest - I would guess that a bowl with a flat base would be easier, maybe one with rubber around the bottom to hold it still.

You will need to keep a careful check on him that his adult teeth come through correctly - get him used to you looking in his mouth from an early age {this is good advice for everyone though!}

Good luck, and we look forward to seeing some photos!!

[Harry & Heidi's mom]

I would expect some reduction in his price though.


No she is still requesting the full asking price

[Cathy T]

This is definitely what Shelby has. Kind of looks like a little bulldog mouth when you open her mouth. Obviously has not affected her ability to eat!!!

[rory]

We had a newf who had a serious overshot jaw. The bottom teeth went up into the roof of his mouth and they had to be ground down so they didn't cause any more damage. He had a hard time picking things up off the ground because his nose got in the way before his bottom teeth...

If he's already overshot, there's always the chance it could get worse. or it could get better! You never know. But this is probably not the worst problem a puppy could have.