MistyMae Posted July 26, 2018 Report Share Posted July 26, 2018 Hi all, I am doing a trial period with a 1.5 year old BC from a breeder looking to place her in a sport home to see if she'd be a good fit for my household and goals. She's not my first BC. We are almost two weeks in and I adore her. She is a joy in the house and has a fabulous temperament. Because of how mild mannered she is, she is getting along superbly with my other girl (who can be a little bitchy to other females). I can see myself training her and forming a great relationship. The only thing holding me back is how awful her teeth are. They are yellowed and worn down. I have never seen such a young dog with teeth like this-- it is like she is a ten year old. None of this dog's siblings have teeth like this. I know her father, too, and his teeth are fine. The breeder is aware of them and they're seeing a vet for it. It makes me sad, but this very well could be a deal breaker for us. Her bottom front teeth are worn down to little nubs, her four back-most teeth are particularly worn, and her teeth overall seem like someone has been sanding them down. Plaque builds up pretty easily, too. Breeder has no clue as to why, as this dog does not chew anything she isn't supposed to (I also haven't seen her do anything unusual) and regularly has her teeth cleaned. My question is, has anyone ever seen this with BCs or any other dog? My five year old has pearly whites and full dentition comparatively and I have just never seen a very young dog with such teeth. Is it a type of disease (I am familiar with periodontal, but this seems different)? Something passed down? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooky Posted July 27, 2018 Report Share Posted July 27, 2018 I don’t know anything about this, but it does sound very odd. If I were you and this was the biggest factor in my decision process I would take her to my own vet and get an opinion. Interested to hear what you find out/decide either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted July 27, 2018 Report Share Posted July 27, 2018 http://www.animalabs.com/shop/dogs/canine-dental-hypomineralization-raine-syndrome/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MistyMae Posted July 27, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2018 2 hours ago, Ooky said: I don’t know anything about this, but it does sound very odd. If I were you and this was the biggest factor in my decision process I would take her to my own vet and get an opinion. Interested to hear what you find out/decide either way. Thank you for the response! I spoke with the breeder and she invited me to come along to a visit with a specialist. It definitely is a hard decision. On one hand, she's a brilliant little dog. But I feel like this is beyond my scope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MistyMae Posted July 27, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2018 2 hours ago, Liz P said: http://www.animalabs.com/shop/dogs/canine-dental-hypomineralization-raine-syndrome/ Oh my gosh. Thank you for finding this. I'm not an expert, but that article describes the exact wear and discoloration that I'm seeing. Results in extraction of the teeth... that's not good. ☹ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CptJack Posted July 27, 2018 Report Share Posted July 27, 2018 I have not experienced this exact thing, but I have certainly had young dogs (and old ones) with few or no teeth for various reasons from 'kicked in the face' to old age and never having a dental cleaning. Frankly, I've never noticed them caring. Their gums toughen up and they go merrily about life, chewing hard food and playing games effectively - and in the case of one particularly ill tempered but very loved small dog biting the ever loving crap out of people. Just, you know, with less damage. Basically, it really didn't seem to impact their lives at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Elle Posted July 27, 2018 Report Share Posted July 27, 2018 My Jester's teeth started wearing down at a young age, although at this point I don't remember when. They were fine when he came to me at age 2. At some point I noticed they were wearing down, maybe by the age of 4. We never played with tennis balls, and I never could figure out what was wearing them down, and chalked it up to a genetic thing or just having soft teeth. His teeth were nothing more than nubs well before he died at 15 but it never seemed to bother him one bit and he ate kibble and did everything normally. He didn't care. I think if I were in the position of trying to decide on a dog I would evaluate how much it was going to bother me, and make my decision on that, rather than worrying about how it will affect the dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted July 27, 2018 Report Share Posted July 27, 2018 And this is specific to border collies? At an 11% rate of inheritance? Wow. I'd never heard of it, or a couple of the other things they mention, like Gray Collie Syndrome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MistyMae Posted July 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2018 10 hours ago, D'Elle said: I think if I were in the position of trying to decide on a dog I would evaluate how much it was going to bother me, and make my decision on that, rather than worrying about how it will affect the dog. That's a good point. I'm afraid of potential dental costs if the teeth need to be extracted or worked on. Admittedly, I just don't like the look of her teeth... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journey Posted July 28, 2018 Report Share Posted July 28, 2018 11 minutes ago, MistyMae said: Admittedly, I just don't like the look of her teeth That's big. You'll have to feed her for a long time. I can understand the hesitating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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