My Dog's Teeth Have Been Clipped

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There are several reasons a dog's teeth may have been clipped. When should you worry?

Dog teeth

My Dog's Teeth Have Been Clipped

Are there any concerns I should have about a dog that has had his teeth cut?

~~ DS

Expert Reply

Hi DS,

When you say that the teeth were cut, I'm assuming you mean the tips of the canines have been clipped off. Write back to correct me if I'm wrong about that, but I'll base my answer on that assumption for now.

Whether or not you have anything to worry about depends on how old your dog is, what you intend to use your dog for and if the tips were clipped due to a behavioral issue.

First, puppy canines are sometimes clipped if they are not ready to come out, but they are interferring with jaw alignment or new teeth coming in. Clipping off just the tips can remove interference and allow the jaw to move freely. This is actually quite harmless to the pup because these teeth have very little root or nerves to speak of. Once the puppy teeth fall out, that's the end of it.

I would only be concerned about clipped puppy teeth if you bought this dog as a show and/or breeding prospect. Tooth and bite alignment problems are hereditary.

Clipped teeth on an adult dog could be evidence of a biting problem. In cases like this, people clip off the tips of the canines so the dog can't dig them in when he bites.

As you can see, there are some variables here, so you'll have to adapt my thoughts to your own situation to decide if there is a problem. If you're dealing with an adult dog, and you haven't had any behavior problems so far, then maybe there's nothing to worry about.

Thanks for your question~~ Kelly.

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Comments

Hi Debbie,

This is definitely an issue to discuss with your vet. Removing the adult canines isn't something you can reverse. My advice would be to enroll your Boxer in obedience class first and see if you can modify his behavior through training.

Thanks for your question, and best wishes for a happy outcome to your situation.

-- Contributed by: Kelly

we have a boxer which is a good dog in the house, but when we wal him, or go to the park or beach, he jumps on tope of other dogs very bold and agresssivly and we have to seperate the dogs, not pretty , I want to pull his lower front teeth, because he is agresssive with my calm roitweiler grand dog. ang sugesstions? debra torres

-- Contributed by: debbie

Hi Ester,

That will depend on whether this was a puppy tooth or an adult tooth. Your dog is at an age where many puppies are still shedding their first teeth. These teeth are typically tiny with almost no roots. If this is what your puppy lost, an adult tooth should replace it shortly.

Thanks for your question. :)

-- Contributed by: Kelly
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