The mouth
Diagram
This is a very simple look at a dog’s skeletal dentition.
The front small teeth are incisors, they have one root each.
Next are the very large canine teeth. These are typically the last puppy teeth to fall out.
The small tooth after the canine tooth is a premolar that has one root like the incisors.
After the first premolar which has one root are the cutting teeth (also premolars) with two roots each.
Followed by the first molars which has a surface for crushing. The bottom first Molar has two roots, the top first molar is the only tooth with three roots.
Ours Dog’s Mouth
Our dog’s mouth is also very different than ours. Their teeth are made for ripping and tearing food and the power of their bite is immense. Different breeds and mix of breeds have very individual mouths. There are long muzzle dogs all the way to just about no muzzle dogs. This makes each very individual as far as what their mouth is going to look like inside.
Teeth
Most puppies have around 28 puppy teeth but will have approximately 42 teeth once their adult teeth all come in. Puppies start to lose their teeth at around 3-4 months (usually 4) of age. Often you will not see them when they fall out; or you may see a few stuck in toys, your clothes or on the floor. This is a wonderful time because your little piranha will be transforming shortly and losing those needles.
Side note: Often brachycephalic breeds may have less than the average number of teeth.
Puppy teeth are sharp, they are like little needles. It doesn’t take much to receive cuts and torn clothes from puppy teeth so when they start to lose them, it is something to celebrate. Having a puppy can be wonderful and if you are lucky enough to have another dog to help with the puppy bite inhibition, bonus. Enjoy puppyhood but do celebrate those little needles coming out.
Drinking
Let’s start here because most people have no idea how their dog drinks. I have to admit that when I found out, I was blown away. It still amazes me every time I watch a dog drink in slow motion.
Our dog’s tongues curl backwards when they drink; they dip into the water and deposit it into their mouth. It is fascinating, especially if you thought that they just lap up water with their top of their tongue.
When you offer your dog water, make sure that it is on the ground. There is a big trend right now on raised feeder and water bowls. What happens when your dog drinks or eats from a raised bowl is that a lot of air goes down with the water or food. If they drink from a raised bowl you can often hear the air going down as they swallow the water.
Extra air in the stomach is not a good thing. If they don’t burp it up, a bloat situation can arise.
Cleaning Teeth
A very important part of our job with our dogs is to keep their teeth clean. This is hugely controversial because of the whole idea around kibble. Many kibble enthusiasts and creators consider kibble to be a good teeth cleaning material. When in fact it is one of the largest causes of tartar build up in our dogs. When your dog chews up kibble; much of it is stored on top of their back teeth or molars. There it sits for a long time while causing big dental issues.
An easy way to clean your dog’s teeth is to give them items that they actually help to break down tartar; that doesn’t linger on their molars. Raw non weight bearing bones are a great way to clean your dogs teeth. Also low temperature dehydrated chicken or duck feet are also a great way to keep your dog’s teeth clean.
I also clean my dog’s teeth with dental tools. It takes some time to get yourself and your dog use to the procedure but with practice you can become quite confident and experienced at regular teeth cleaning.
Panting
There are several reasons why a dog pants.
Dogs pant to cool themselves. They breathe in cool air and breathe out hot. The warm air is exhaled out and is evaporated as a gas from the moisture on their tongue. This is a very important part of dogs cooling themselves. It is valuable to watch the rate at which your dog is panting. Panting can go from light to tongue hanging out frantic panting quickly which can mean that your dog is overheating. Be aware of the rate of panting.
Excitement can cause a panting behavioral response. Often when dogs are happy they will open their mouth and pant excitedly. There can be a wide variation of how wide the dog opens their mouth and how hard they pant in this situation.
Stress is often accompanied by rapid panting. Panting can most definitely be a sign of stress. When you consider the situation and how your dog is dealing with it, stress may be the cause of panting.
Pain can also induce panting. It is important to get to know when, how and in what situations your dog pants.
Lips
Yes, our dog’s have lips. They are not like our lips but they are there. Canine lips can be pink, black, brown or a combination. Along the side of your dog’s mouth, their lips look serrated. These little bumps are called RUGA and help in gripping and protect their lips from their teeth when chewing things like bones.
Most dogs have a fold about midway along the side of their lower lip which can get gross when too much hair accumulates and attracts bits of food. This can be cleaned by pulling the lip back, washing and/or trimming excess hair. Some breeds that have loose lips or more lip can have an abundance of folds in the lip region needing attention. They need to be kept clean and dry so that they do not get dermatitis. Some breeds like English Bulldog, Mastiffs, French Bulldogs need daily fold cleaning.