Whats Everyone's Opinion Of A Catch Dog With A Broken Canine?

[Bryant]

Title pretty much says it all.  My main dog somehow managed to loose a bottom right canine a couple weeks ago to a nasty boar.  It's broke right above the jawline and holding food.  As soon as the wounds heal up completely, I'm planning to visit the vet about pulling it the rest of the way.  I'm worried if it were to become infected, it could hurt his jaw when catching causing his grip to not be so tight!

With three good canines left, I think he should still be able to do the job.  I know for a fact it's not going to bother him, I'm just trying to make my mind up if it bothers me or not!

Having him knocked around twice in a row, has really got me re-thinking my tactic of usually carrying one catch dog.  I have just about made my mind up that it would be easier on the both of them if I were to start catching hogs with two.  99% of the time, he can get it done by himself but that other 1% some help would be nice.

Opinions?
 

[Silverton Boar Dogs]

You can get those crowned now. I have gone to 2 catch dogs for that reason.

Paul T

[matt_aggie04]

I think a dog can catch and hold like a visegrip with no canines personally.  I have seen dogs with little to no teeth up front get the job done.   I would go ahead and yank the tooth through because nerve damage can cause severe pain in the broken tooth and cause the dog to regrip when.  I am no expert on the matter but this is what i have seen.

Matt

[Mike]

Bryant, my Clifford dog has both his bottom canines missing and the top ones broken. A buddy of mine had one with all four missing and had no problems cathing.

[capt jack]

i had a bull dog with no teeth and he caught. i dont feel one tooth missing is a bad thing. just get medical attention to stop any further damage.
but my opinion only. two catch dogs are better than one. ever one needs a little help, even our four legged friends.

[pig snatcher]

My catch dog has a broken k9, the one I had before him had a missing k9. I know several more w/ broken or missing teeth and none have had problems catching.  If there is a peice left in the gum you may do good to go ahead and have it removed to avoid future complications.

I preffer to have 2 catch dogs myself, if you dont think you need two just hold one and use him on the next catch while your first dog cools off.

[Bryant]

Thanks for the comments.

I took him to the vet today and he agreed that the remainder needs to come out.  A little surgery is scheduled for Thursday morning where they will sedate him, remove the remainder of the tooth and fill the gum with some type of product that will prevent further bone loss.  It will be a fairly expensive procedure, but in my mind there is no option.  He's deserving of every nickel.

According to the vet with about a month to month and a half recovery/R&R he should be back ready to catch a hog.

[aladatrot]

I guess I had never looked in Clifford's mouth to notice the missing teeth. I'd still trust my life to that dog if he were holding a hog with his gum line!

Our friend in Centerville hunts alone, never sticks, always brings them out alive, and doesn't have a bulldog. His catch dog is an antique Catahoula with no teeth left. It's all in the jaw strength and the heart, in my opinion :O)

M

[bayhard]

i have a 6 year old white dog thats missing a k9 and i trust him 100% so i guess the? is how much u trust ur dog

[elliscountyhog]

My wife aint got no teeth and she can bite like a shark  , I think a little dental work and ur good to go.

[Bryant]

I pretty much have answered my own question on this.  Since Zeus' surgery, he has caught probably 20 hogs for me with no problems the most recent being last night.

[elliscountyhog]

Sorry bryant didnt see the date, didnt mean to bring back any memories!! but glad it working good

[jdt]

im gettin in late on this one but ill ad that my buddy had a bmc that we used on cattle. this dude would shut downd bad cattle  and worked right until everything settled down and we eased up there, then he was going to catch something and it was always by the throat. we cut his canines out and it didnt change a thing, he locked down just as good. he finally cought a big bull and he layed down on him and killed him. at the time i was glad i didnt have to work with him anymore but now i wish he still had him ,he wouldve been just right for hogs.

[Monteria]

I cant imagine that missing one is going to hurt any....... Diva only has one!

[shawn]

my dog broke a top left canine today, i took him to a pen, for 2 reasons, to see if he got any smarter from being cut up a couple weeks back and to help train another dog. his tooth is still in his mouth just turned sideways at a gross angle, we tried to pull it (yeah reaching in a bulldogs mouth is fun) but couldn't, guess if i can, and we're not under a huge storm tommorrow he's going to the vet... just sucks, this dog is probably one of our best dogs, cur or bulldog, finds pigs, catches hard, etc....he's just had a run of bad luck lately. Plus he's a family pet which makes it worse. I'm setting here thinking do I keep hunting this dog? or make him a family pet but deny him something he LOVES and is good at? I am sick of these injuries to my "truck" buddy though.

[shawn]

252 bucks to get a dogs tooth yanked....holy sh##!!!!

[Noah]

Not surprising.... small animal vets are crooks

[Bryant]

Not surprising.... small animal vets are crooks

Thats why I prefer the cow / horse "good 'ole boy" type vets.  Not only do they tend to be much more understanding of our sport, but also don't tend to set their fees based on peoples emotions and love of dear little Fifi.

Having said that, my vet (whom I have a very good friendship / relationship with) charged me right at $275 back in June to extract the remainder of Zeus' broken canine.  (The reason for the start of this thread).  Not only did it take him quite a while to get that sucker out, he also used a product called "Consil" to fill in the lost bone area which is quite expensive.  ($80 of the bill).  Ask if your vet is using this product.  Mine told me that if he did not fill the area with Consil, the bone would continue to deteriate around the lost tooth and eventually the dog would appear with a sunken jaw.  Quite a bit of change, but who ever said this was an inexpensive sport...

[shawn]

I seriously doubt she did, this is the first time I used this vet besides for a rabie shot a couple weeks back because my normal vet is always booked, out of town, etc. Plus this lady is close to my house.

Well they never gave me any post op instructions, on feeding, (should i feed him solid food and when?) on playing with him, fetching, etc. and HUNTING.

She made us pay more than what the actual bill was in ADVANCE and told us that if it was any cheaper (was 30 bucks less than original estimate) she wouldn't give us the money back, only "credit" it to our accout. My wife asked about post op today when she picked him up (the receptionist said she was at lunch) well 2 hrs later I called and asked the same questions and was told that they never talked to vet but I was assured when they did they would call me. (must have been a nice lunch) I was never called.

I'm calling them tomorrow and asking if they had a freakin problem with what kind of sport the dog was used for they should have let me know in advance and not taken my money to do what I think was a crappy job on my family pet and hunting partner.

I NEED to find a decent vet close to me.

[T-Bob Parker]

where are you located?