We currently have 2 dogs. One dog had an immune system disease and as a result lost all their teeth. He is the happiest dog and loves to eat. The modification we made to food prep was easy.
We have a second dog we rescued and because he was on the street with no dental care the rescue group had dental work done and he only has one tooth. He is a biter but he is tiny -5 pounds and the one tooth is flat so he really does no damage and is getting better.
This leads me to my question. I was on another board where someone posted they had a dog that bit a neighbors kid (first time) and they could not place the dog anywhere so they were going to put the dog down.
I asked if they considered having the dogs teeth removed. Seems to me that is a better situation than death. I might never have considered that as an alternative but seeing our 2 dogs having 1 tooth between them really has no negative impact on their life.
I was wondering if that seems outrageous or do you think considering the alternatives removing the dogs teeth makes sense?
I would take the dog to a specialized trainer/canine behaviorist. Especially in a first-bite situation, and especially with a kid. Dogs and little kids can be a problematic mix. I would have to know a lot more about the interaction between the dog and the kid before the bite, the circumstances, the age of both, the dog’s behavior with other humans and other kids, etc.
Frankly, it would never have occurred to me to pull a dog’s teeth to solve a biting problem, and recoil against the idea instinctively. Given your experience with toothless dogs, I suppose it might be better than putting it down. It depends. I still think that toothless or not the behavior needs to be corrected.
My little dog only has 8 teeth left (she was a puppy mill breeder and had no dental care.) She is also fine with very few teeth, but I wouldn’t pull teeth if not necessary. We had another rescue (part peke) who came to us from a kill shelter who was a biter. She had all her teeth and two really sharp ones, that did most of the damage. We made sure she was never around kids and our yard is fenced so she couldn’t get out. She never bit anyone but immediate family. Vet had to put her under to even examine her. She could be very sweet but had resource guarding issues, so, for example, if H came near me while she was sitting on my lap, she would try to bite him. The groomer also had to wear thick gloves up to her elbows to trim her nails, because she bite if you tried to put muzzle on. But she loved being bathed and groomed so no trouble doing that.
We had trainer come to our home for months, and while it helped, it didn’t resolve issue completely.
emily our rescue is similar. His initial reaction is fight not flight. He is leery of me and loves my wife but will bite her if he does not get his way. He is a work in progress.
He loves to go for walks ( he gets carried) and one of the only times he comes to me willingly is when i ask him if he wants to go for a walk.
I think teeth removal clearly would be a last resort but I am not sure currently it is even a consideration
@tom1944, how large is the dog? It seems that people tolerate LOTS of small dogs that are biters. I’ve known a number of them. One belongs to a close friend, and she likes me, and sometimes stays with me, but I am very cautious in my dealings with her. Her behavior is fear-based, and started when abused at an early age. 10+ years of loving security has not eradicated it, although she is MUCH better than she used to be. Her name is Dolma. We call her The Dolminator.
We had an older very large lab that we had to put down because of a biting issue. We consulted the vet, a trainer, and the answer was always the same: we can’t guarantee that we can prevent/stop the biting. We could not understand what caused him to become aggressive, but that aggression was not just related to strangers: he bit my D twice and drew blood both times, the second requiring a doctor visit. There was no medical issue that the vet could find. Because the dog was so large (over 100 pounds), he thought the risk was too high to chance it. It was awful for all of us. I had never considered having his teeth removed. I’d have to think about that, but I wonder if a vet would even do it.
Yep. My dog bit me too if I did something she didn’t like. She was also very friendly to strangers - would wag her tail and want to go up to them, but we never let her get close enough to do that just in case they made some sudden move that scared her. We kept a leash on her when we had company or crated her if kids were over.
suzy your situation is what my question is based on. Our dogs are small so like consolation said they said they get more leeway.
We love our animals and to be honest I think if I had a large dog that was a biter I would consider it. I believe our vet would do it for us but she (the entire office) knows the love and excellent treatment our pets get so they trust our judgment.
emily our rescue is the same. Seems to love strangers but we watch him.
The other day the painter came over to give us an estimate. He is very tall and was wearing work boots. He and my wife were talking and they look down and the little dog is banging into his boots. He hardly noticed. Our painter had rescued a mastiff but had to return it because of aggression issues. He got a kick out of our guy
There are a couple of dogs in my neighborhood that wear muzzles on their walks. As long as they are open enough for the dog to pant, I think that is a great solution. I am always glad when I see a responsible dog owner.
I would think muzzles would be the first alternative but there are times dogs are ordered put down and a muzzle in not an option.
In that case why not teeth removal instead?
My dog bit if you tried to put a muzzle on her. It only worked the very first time. After that, for get about it. You couldn’t even get near her with it in your hand.
My small dog can be aggressive when I trim his nails, and I have learned to approach him from behind to put on the muzzle. Takes some practice, and I would not be successful with a large dog.
My guess is that the Humane Society and vets figure removing a dog’s teeth is cruel, like removing a cat’s claws. The rationale there is that if the cat escapes it cannot defend itself.
Tough call. H and I always had big dogs but know plenty of little dogs that nip and bite. We always agreed that we would euthanize any dog of ours that would bite after attempting training. The risk is too great unless your dog never comes in contact with other people and you as the owner don’t care about a bite…but how often does that happen in the real world? We did ask the vet to muzzle one dog we had who did not like his toe nails clipped because we did not trust him to not bite the vet tech but after a few years the vet’s office said they didn’t need to muzzle to clip, although we still used a muzzle when we clipped.
I am not one that would pull teeth as a cure but I don’t declaw our cats either. Different strokes for different folks. I would be totally peeved though if I got bit by a dog that was a known biter. I just ask that people train their dogs and be responsible owners.
My 12 year old dog is developing some doggy dementia which manifested one day when I went to brush her teeth, something I have done for years, and she growled and snapped at me. She growled and snapped at me whenever I approached her for the rest of the day. My vet had me start giving her a small dose of valium everyday and outlined a retraining plan that is working very well. I was a little worried when my brother and sister stayed at my house over Thanksgiving and we were not there but they said she was perfect. He said the change in behavior was due to anxiety on her part and trying to take control of the situation so we had to reestablish control. I am still cautious about having her around other people. I would definitely investigate working with a trainer before I would consider having her teeth removed.
Even without teeth a bite could still cause a lot of damage depending on the strength of the dog’s jaw. It’s like putting your body part into a vice. I could envision broken bones, particularly in the hand.
