QuestionI took my 1.5 year old Pomeranian into the vet for her annual checkup last week and was told that some of her baby teeth hadn't come out on their own. She went in for the extraction today and the vet called to say that she had 14 baby teeth removed! It shocked me to find out her adult teeth came in without pushing out the baby teeth in the process! Can you tell me if this is common and why it happens? (The Pom's name is Glitter and she weighs 4 pounds.) Thank you!
AnswerThat is a lot of teeth to retane but not unheard of. A lot of the really small ones have this happen since they have been bred down from large breed dogs and all the teeth don't always fit in the smaller mouth of the now small sized Poms.
If this had happened to a dog that was going to be shown, we would often have them pulled as soon as we saw the new ones coming in since they will just push their way right past the baby ones and could come in at a bad angle. If you have had several poms you know to start looking for the baby teeth to come out or get them an appt to have them removed. It was a lot to retain but a lot of times they retane some. It all depends on the breeding and how well the lines are at losing baby teeth.
It doesn't hurt anything to leave them but it will make the dog more comfortable and probably help to ward off tooth infections AND be more pleasing to see than the shark like rows of teeth! :-)
It is a good thing you knew to take your pup in and have that taken care of.
Have a great day! :-)
-Trish
Gemini Poms
www.geminipoms.com
