There is no doubt a pig-jaw is a much more serious malformation than one that is underhung, as it is absolutely impossible for a dog with a mouth like this to bite or seize his prey firmly and hold it. This is a very common deformity with collies and greyhounds, and very ugly it looks—the former are not required to bite, but at the same time the condition, when very marked, should disqualify a dog on the show bench, for there is no doubt that it is hereditary. Another condition of the teeth, and one which judges often put a terrier back for, is canker. It is a diseased condition of the enamel, which gives the teeth a speckled appearance. In my opinion, canker of the teeth is not hereditary; and it is in nine cases out of ten the result of a dog having distemper in early life—I mean before the eruption or cutting of the permanent teeth. The high fever which accompanies distemper seems to eat away the enamel. Teeth when badly affected in this way are soft, and wear away quicker than sound ones; besides, they look bad. There is nothing to be done in these cases, except brushing them occasionally; to scrape them does harm.
Toy dogs’ teeth go wrong much quicker than bigger ones, more especially Yorkshire terriers, spaniels, and pugs. I have seen many a Yorkshire terrier three years old with half the teeth gone, and the remaining ones covered thick with tartar. The condition, in a great measure, is due to feeding, but some bad teeth are no doubt also hereditary. All dogs should have something hard to gnaw every day, either a hard dog-biscuit or bone—not game or poultry bones, of course, or cutlet or chop-bones, for these are more dangerous than game bones, but a good big bone; for small dogs a leg-of-mutton bone, and for large ones a marrow or some other such bone. Puppies, from the time they are weaned, should be given bones, as this often prevents their eating stones and other indigestible articles. Tartar should never be allowed to remain and accumulate; it irritates the gums, and causes them to recede, and then the teeth soon get loose. Therefore, in all cases where there is a disposition for tartar to collect, it should be scraped off from time to time. As a rule, if it is done about three times a year, the teeth may be kept fairly clean. Once the teeth are cleaned, they may be kept white if people will take the trouble to brush them daily, using some powder. The best kind I know of is carbolated eucalyptus powder, as prepared by Messrs. Hucklebridge, of 116 Ebury Street, London, S.W. I mention the name and address, as I do not know of anyone else who makes it, and carbolic powder is not suitable for dogs. The scaling or scraping of the teeth may be done with the point of a penknife or an ordinary steel nail-cleaner, but one must be careful in using these instruments or the gums may be injured. To lessen the risk of doing so, it is much better to buy a proper instrument, which can be bought for half-a-crown at a place like Krohne & Sesemann’s, Duke Street, Manchester Square, London, W.
Loose teeth should be removed, as they only do harm when left, besides causing inconvenience to the dog whilst eating. Sometimes it becomes necessary in very old dogs to remove all the teeth; and when the food is given soft, and cut up small, they appear to do very well without them, and their breath is certainly a good deal sweeter.
Occasionally an abscess forms at the root of the large upper molar tooth; the face swells just under the eye. The abscess, after a few days, generally breaks. The swelling should be fomented with hot boracic lotion, but to effect a cure, the tooth must be removed. It is a difficult one to extract unless it is loose, and no amateur should attempt to do it. An anæsthetic ought always to be given.
Teeth, Cutting the Tusks:
It is sometimes necessary with sheep dogs, dogs used for catching deer, and dogs in the habit of biting and fighting, to cut the tusks level with the incisor teeth. This is best done with a pair of strong bone or wire nippers. The operation apparently causes very little inconvenience or pain, for the dog is always ready to eat immediately afterwards.
Teeth, Tartar on the:
Symptoms: Dogs always fed on soft food and never having anything hard to eat, get their teeth covered with brown-coloured tartar early in life, even sometimes before two years old. If this is not from time to time removed, it continues to increase, until at last the whole tooth becomes thickly encrusted, and to such an extent, in old pet dogs particularly, that the mouth is unable to be closed. As the result of the tartar, the gums become swollen, inflamed, and tender; they recede from the neck of the teeth, which become loose. A dog with teeth in this state is always dribbling, and eats with difficulty, and the breath is often most offensive.
Treatment: Dogs should always be encouraged to eat something hard daily—a piece of dog-biscuit does very well; if this is refused, a hard bone, one that cannot be eaten, should be given to gnaw. This, of course, is only a preventative, and when regularly attended to, the teeth and gums remain good and sound for years. When once tartar has accumulated, nothing will remove it but scraping; which should be done regularly two or three times a year, and if this is done, and the teeth daily cleaned with an ordinary tooth-brush, moistened with warm water and a little of the following powder sprinkled on it, they will keep clean and white, and the breath sweet so long as the dog lives:—
Recipe: Tooth Powder: