We PROMOTE SPAYING & NEUTERING
The North Carolina Veterinary Medicine Association (NCVMA) announced that many of its members would participate in a statewide program to offer discounted spay/neuter surgery for your pet. Danny T. Allen, DVM president of the association said, "This voluntary program is one way for the NCVMA members to be proactive about helping clients improve their pets' health, and to participate in a statewide effort to reduce cat and dog overpopulation. Dr. Allen pointed out that the spay/neuter pet health benefits are many. First, it significantly lowers the risk of uturine and mammary cancer in both dogs and cats. It also lowers the risk of certain tumors, hernias, and prostate problems that male cat and dogs have. Spaying/neutering quite often improves your pets' behaviour as well.
The most important thing of all is that spaying/neutering will reduce the vass amount of dogs and cats that are put to death each year because of improper ownership or because they no longer have homes. Pet owners who wish to involve their pet in this spay/neuter program can contact their local veterinarian's office to find out the dates and times that this program is offered. We require all of our canine to be spayed or neutered if you are not an established breeder.
An incorrect bite in a Goldendoodle causes breeders more concern than any other mouth problem. Bad bites interfere with the ability to grasp, hold and chew food. Teeth out of alignment may injure the soft parts of the mouth.
A dog's bite is determined by how the upper and lower incisor teeth meet when the mouth is closed. The ideal occlusion is one in which the upper incisors just overlap and touch the lower incisors. This is called the scissors bite. In the even or level bite, the incisors meet edge to edge. This is a common occlusion, but is not considered ideal because the edge to edge contact wears the teeth. The correct bite for a given breed is described in the standard for that breed.
Most malocclusions are hereditary, resulting from genetic factors that control the rate of growth of the upper and lower jaws. Some incorrect bites are caused by retained baby teeth which push the erupting adult teeth out of line.
OVER SHOT BITE
In the overshot bite, the upper jaw protrudes beyond the lower jaw, causing the upper teeth to overlap the lower teeth without touching. This condition is also called a parrot mouth, or prognathism. The overshot bite may correct itself spontaneously in young puppies if the gap is no greater than the head of a wooden match.
Improvement can continue until the puppy is 10 months old, at which time the jaws stop growing.
Puppies with severe overshot bites may have problems, because as the adult teeth come in they can injure the soft parts of the mouth. This requires treatment.
UNDERSHOT BITE
This is the reverse of the overshot bite, with the lower jaw protruding beyond the upper jaw. It is considered normal for brachycephalic breeds such as the Bulldog and the Pug. Undershot bite is also called brachygnathism.
WRY MOUTH
This is the worst of the malocclusion problems. In a wry mouth, one side of the jaw grows faster
than the other, twisting the mouth. This can be a severe handicap in grasping and chewing food.
Your new puppy should be examined by your veterinarian at two to three months of age to
identify any bite problems. In most cases treatment will not be necessary. If there is over-
crowding or displacement of permanent teeth, however, the problem should be corrected by
tooth extractions or orthodontic procedures such as
crown-height reductions or the use of spacers.
