wry bite

[dglavin96]

Our 5 month old puppy has developed a wry bite. We're disappointed because we'd planned to show him and he looks good in other respects. We'd like to hear from anyone who has experience with this. Is there any hope that it might correct itself as he grows?

 

[sarnewfie]

if the bottom teeth or jaw is slightly under shot it is possible that as the head grows that will straighten out, we are not sure what you mean by wry, are the teeth crooked, jaw undershot?
i would get an opinion from an experienced newf person who can actually look at your newf and evaluate it.
good luck

 

[dglavin96]

Our understanding is that a wry bite occurs when one side of the jaw grows longer than the other. We had never heard the term before yesterday, when a very well known breeder was admiring him at the show in Springfield, MA. She took one look at his teeth and said the bite problem was very serious and she was not hopeful it would correct itself. After some research on the web, we came accross a clumber spaniel breeder's site that said the problem occurs in that breed and sometimes will correct itself as a puppy grows. We're hoping someone out there has seen this happen with a newf puppy.

 

[janices]

My Linsey has a wry bite. It does not correct itself. Wry bite ends up being an open bite on one side. Hasn't affected her ability to get working titles but it does look yukko. She was a litter pick originally intended for show.

 

[sarnewfie]

Ouch ihave never heard nor seen this before, just to be sure i understand this correctly, is it the left or right side, that may grow longer than the opposing side?
lengthwise?
how odd!

 

[dglavin96]

In our case it is the left side but I imagine that it can occur on either side. The teeth on the affected side appear to stick out a bit futher than those on the nonaffected side.

 

[Henrys Mom]

I did a little research on this and everything I read said a wry bite is hereditary. You may want to talk to your breeder and see if they have had this problem before. I'm sorry for your dog since you wanted to show him.

Sallie and Henry

 

[dglavin96]

Yes, we've read that too. We talked with the breeder last evening - she's never had the problem, so who knows? His bite seemed great at 10 weeks.
If it turns out to definitely be wry, then we'll still pursue working titles together. He is such a happy, curious puppy - if my husband and I can get our act together, I'm sure we'll have a blast.

 

[janices]

Yes, it's hereditary. Linsey's open on left side, right side meets and left doesn't. Yes, the uneven growth skews the bite and it's not correctable cause it causes a drop in jaw on the one side. Wouldn't have been seen before 10 weeks. The bite is normal when puppy first goes to home sometime around 10 weeks and it starts developing sometime after that. I posted a pic of Linsey awhile back http://www.newf.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=17;t=000710#000000 and if really look you'll notice the jaw drops down on the one side and that causes her tongue to hang out on the one side.

You do have to more conscientious about cleaning teeth cause it can cause them to have to have teeth cleaned more often. And few more problems with eating. Linsey's done fine. When I water trained her I used canvas dummies, stuff that was easier to hold, and she compensated without a problem.

It's highly possible the breeder didn't know it was back there in the pedigree. I know of a litter down here where a puppy got thrown with the bite and didn't know it was in the pedigree.