# New puppy has underbite: your experience?



## christinalaur (Mar 5, 2020)

Hi everyone! I am getting my 8 week old Bernedoodle next week. He had his final vet check before being cleared to come home and the vet said he has a 1mm underbite. I spoke with her and she said this won't cause any health issues, so my questions now is more of a cosmetic one...

For those of you that have dogs with underbites, how large are they and do they cause his lower teeth to show constantly? I basically just want to know how big that gap is when those teeth start to poke out haha.

Thank you xo


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## LeoRose (Aug 20, 2015)

The Poodle standard calls for a scissors bite, as does the BMD standard. Both consider an over or under bite a serious fault. That said, 1 mm is a really small malocclusion (it's .04"). While it may or may not get worse as you pup ages, even in breeds who's standards call for an under bite, the teeth showing is considered a fault.

My pittie has an under bite. Unless I pull her lips up, you don't see it. 

2017-12-25 Dogs, Mockingbird, &amp; yard DSC_0466 by Rosemary Elwell, on Flickr


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## christinalaur (Mar 5, 2020)

LeoRose said:


> The Poodle standard calls for a scissors bite, as does the BMD standard. Both consider an over or under bite a serious fault. That said, 1 mm is a really small malocclusion (it's .04"). While it may or may not get worse as you pup ages, even in breeds who's standards call for an under bite, the teeth showing is considered a fault.
> 
> My pittie has an under bite. Unless I pull her lips up, you don't see it.
> 
> 2017-12-25 Dogs, Mockingbird, &amp; yard DSC_0466 by Rosemary Elwell, on Flickr


Thank you! Do you happen to know how large your dog's underbite is?


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## LeoRose (Aug 20, 2015)

Probably about as much as your pup currently is. Lily is only 35 pounds, so much smaller than your mix will probably wind up being.


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## christinalaur (Mar 5, 2020)

LeoRose said:


> Probably about as much as your pup currently is. Lily is only 35 pounds, so much smaller than your mix will probably wind up being.
> 
> View attachment 262196


He's actually a mini, so will probably end up being between 25-30 pounds! That's the estimate anyway. Appreciate your help so much!


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## LeoRose (Aug 20, 2015)

christinalaur said:


> He's actually a mini, so will probably end up being between 25-30 pounds! That's the estimate anyway. Appreciate your help so much!


Crosses between breeds of such disparate sizes (80 - 110 pounds and 10 - 12-ish pounds) may or may not come out to be an average of the two. I'd be prepared for a larger dog than 30 pounds.


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## arcouillard (Mar 6, 2014)

We have an boxer/pointer (?) mix with a large underbite. When he was a puppy it wasn't noticeable unless you pulled back his lips, but now it's about an inch...his jaw also grew crooked and one lower canine tooth is farther forward than the other, causing one side to stick out. He's 7 now and it hasn't caused any issues, other than his teeth that stick out are a little harder to keep clean I think because they don't have the saliva to keep them protected. I think its endearing and certainly makes him unique! None of the vets we've seen over the years have had any concern...but I have heard of teeth growing out of place and poking/irritating other parts of the mouth...in that case they may need to be removed.


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