# Undershot bottom jaw



## woganvonderweidenstrasse (Nov 22, 2012)

Hi all

I recently discovered that my pup's bottom jaw is slightly undershot to the top. This is heartbreaking as I was going to show him. What I'm hoping for is that as he grows up and matures the bottom jaw will catch up? Any of you have any experience regarding this? 









He is now almost 5 months old...still teething.


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

Jackson has the same thing. I've heard they can grow out of it. Jackson never did... 

It did cause a slight issue, because his bottom canine tooth was poking him in his upper roof of his mouth. At 3 years old, it was definitely bothering him. He started smacking his lips and opening/closing his mouth all the time. So we went to the veterinary dentist and they basically shaved the tooth down, then filled it, so it's no longer poking him. They offered him braces, LOL, but that was way too pricey. The thing they did was called a vital pulpotomy, and it cost me around $1500...

Otherwise, it hasn't caused any issues though, other than discomfort after 3yrs of poking him. It's a good thing I brought it when I did, too, because it was causing a hole in the roof of his mouth and about to go through to the nasal cavity.


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## NewYorkDogue (Sep 27, 2011)

I had a DDB breeder tell me once that as mastiffs mature, sometimes the lower jar grows at a faster rate that the rest of the skull, s there may be a period when the lower jaw seems more undershot than before. Sometimes the bones catch up to each other...sometimes they don't. That's all I know.

But your pup is still very young; I would not be too concerned at this point. He has a lot of growing to do.


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

How was his bite at 8 weeks and 3 months? He might outgrow but it is quite overshot. Is his breeder local or maybe you can contact them regarding his particular lines. They may habitually do that. With my collies what I have at 8 weeks is what they will end up with at maturity but every line is different.


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## woganvonderweidenstrasse (Nov 22, 2012)

Liz said:


> How was his bite at 8 weeks and 3 months? He might outgrow but it is quite overshot. Is his breeder local or maybe you can contact them regarding his particular lines. They may habitually do that. With my collies what I have at 8 weeks is what they will end up with at maturity but every line is different.


I can't remember to be honest. Don't remember ever checking...I think it was fine - didn't notice it until recently. I contacted the breeder and sent her the pic as well and she said that apparently the bottom jaw usually grows slower than the top. I did not ask about the parents, but I know the lines are very good and both parents have above excellent ratings and recommended for breeding purposes. Can't imagine they'd recommend a dog for breeding if the jaws aren't near perfect. I do hope it comes right. I did a bit of searching on the internet also and found a few sites stating that sometimes the upper or lower jaw grows slower, depending on the breed...but in most cases it corrects itself. (holding thumbs)


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## Felix (Oct 9, 2012)

My first dog was a pure bred golden retriever. She was the last one because of a bite like this and we were told that she would out grow it. She never did. Unfortunately you may have an unshowable dog on your hands.


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

I was hoping the breeder would be a help knowing her own lines. Some lines can go over or undershot for a time and balance out fine and for some lines it is not correctable. For my lines that is too huge a gap to correct. I can tell my people what to expect. I wish I knew shepherd lines and could give you peace of mind.


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## xchairity_casex (Oct 8, 2011)

Chimera was overshot about like that when she was younger, her bite set into a perfect bite when her adult teeth came in- BUT, shes a Bull Terrier, and the top of the head curves down, so breeders perfer a bit over-shot so when the head begins curving the teeth set perfectly.

like liz says its too bad the breeder didnt give you a better understanding about it :/


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## woganvonderweidenstrasse (Nov 22, 2012)

Liz said:


> I was hoping the breeder would be a help knowing her own lines. Some lines can go over or undershot for a time and balance out fine and for some lines it is not correctable. For my lines that is too huge a gap to correct. I can tell my people what to expect. I wish I knew shepherd lines and could give you peace of mind.


I emailed her and she said that she's never had this problem with puppies from the bitch. But she can't say about the male cause he's not her dog (but the male is a German champion so ....?). She also said she's had it before with a few other pups, but it always came right. So I'm hoping for the best. I read that most German Shepherd pups go through a stage of overshot bite...and as long as the gap is not bigger than the top of a matchstick it will almost always correct itself. Logan's is slightly bigger, maybe one and a half matchstick...he is a big puppy and I would think that a matchstick gap in for instance a great dane is nothing....compared to a yorkie it is very big....so again, hoping it will come right...can you see I'm being very optimistic? 

PS. I named it incorrectly in the thread subject. Overshot bite is when the upper jaw goes over the lower one, and Undershot bite is when the lower jaw goes over the upper jaw. Logan has overshot..apologies for my mistake.


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