Dog teeth and an other dog question

[The Snark]

A small mutt adopted us two days ago. It appears to be a young adult, about 8 kilos, and sort of Basenji shaped.
Oddity 1. Today while watching him eat I did a double take. 4 fully formed canine teeth in the upper jaw where the outer pair of incisors are supposed to be. The one on his right is nearly as large as the fang behind it. These aren't residual/retained milk teeth.

Oddity 2. He's a smallish critter and slight of build. He is a wuss, obviously abused and cringing. But he claimed our driveway as territory. In the middle of the first night I was alarmed to hear a deep booming bark. I looked out and it's our new friend. His bark is in deepness and volume that of a large adult Alsatian. He is quite reserved about barking, only letting loose when something is threatening to invade his territory and only a few barks.

So, has anyone heard of a dog with these traits as more or less normal?

PS Take a picture? Err well... Somebody really stupid did something really stupid to someones camera. Please spare me a little dignity and don't ask for details.

 

[Terry D]

4 fully formed canine teeth in the upper jaw where the outer pair of incisors are supposed to be. The one on his right is nearly as large as the fang behind it. These aren't residual/retained milk teeth.

Do I smell line-breeding written all over this? Who knows, you might end up with critters with fangs ear-to-ear- kinda like the vampire dude in Creepshow 3.

 

[The Snark]

Do I smell line-breeding written all over this? Who knows, you might end up with critters with fangs ear-to-ear- kinda like the vampire dude in Creepshow 3.

That's right along the line of what I was thinking. Dog breeding here is the total oop: . They breed any dog without any regard for inbreeding or possible genetic effects. A while back I encountered a Scotty with epilepsy. His pup had it as well as was being used as a stud, being bred to, among other dogs, his mother and sister.

 

[pitbulllady]

A small mutt adopted us two days ago. It appears to be a young adult, about 8 kilos, and sort of Basenji shaped.
Oddity 1. Today while watching him eat I did a double take. 4 fully formed canine teeth in the upper jaw where the outer pair of incisors are supposed to be. The one on his right is nearly as large as the fang behind it. These aren't residual/retained milk teeth.

Oddity 2. He's a smallish critter and slight of build. He is a wuss, obviously abused and cringing. But he claimed our driveway as territory. In the middle of the first night I was alarmed to hear a deep booming bark. I looked out and it's our new friend. His bark is in deepness and volume that of a large adult Alsatian. He is quite reserved about barking, only letting loose when something is threatening to invade his territory and only a few barks.

So, has anyone heard of a dog with these traits as more or less normal?

PS Take a picture? Err well... Somebody really stupid did something really stupid to someones camera. Please spare me a little dignity and don't ask for details.

Actually, the extra canine tooth probably IS a left-over "milk tooth", which in primitive dogs are quite large to begin with. From your description of the dog, he's a typical Dingo-pariah type of dog that prevalent in Southeast Asia, possibly has some Thai Ridgeback(Google it; it's a legit breed) in him, too, and they have large teeth. Retained milk teeth are actually quite common in dogs. Primitive dogs also have large primary incisors which are long and pointed, like the canines, and can be nearly as large as the canines; too bad I'm at home, since I have an Akita skull on my desk at school, and I could post a pic to show you what I mean. While the generic Thai pariah dogs are smaller than Akitas and shorter-haired, they ARE actually the ancestral type to the Japanese native breeds, as fossil and DNA evidence shows, and they are also ancestral to the Dingo form still found in a feral state in the southern North America.

pitbulllady

 

[The Snark]

Thanks PBL. I was hoping you would weigh in. I checked very carefully. The extra canine teeth are in place of the outer incisors. He has the normal number of teeth so they wouldn't be retained milk teeth. They interlace perfectly with the lower canines so you get the effect of v^V.
I'm going to care for him and watch for any unusual other traits. He seems to be a pretty cool little guy with a very cheerful disposition. He uses his front paws more than nearly every dog I have ever seen, cleaning his nose and face like a cat, wanting to 'shake hands' often with both at once. And of course, his growl and bark is fantastic. He has so far acquired the names Zeedle the Thunderwoof. A zeedle of course being a certain breed of dog closely related to a Snark. ::

Perhaps you can help me here. He has a tendency now to over protect his new home, going out of the yard to object to passersby and other animals. The hair has been scuffed off his neck in a ring from a previous owners abusive collar so I am disinclined to ever put a collar on him again. Our fence won't restrict a determined dog. So, what training steps can I undertake to tell him protect is okay but stay in the yard? I would mention, the only training of animals I know is gentle breaking horses and wild horses can read your heart and desires where dogs seem too flighty and airhead to listen to those commands.

 

[pitbulllady]

Thanks PBL. I was hoping you would weigh in. I checked very carefully. The extra canine teeth are in place of the outer incisors. He has the normal number of teeth so they wouldn't be retained milk teeth. They interlace perfectly with the lower canines so you get the effect of v^V.
I'm going to care for him and watch for any unusual other traits. He seems to be a pretty cool little guy with a very cheerful disposition. He uses his front paws more than nearly every dog I have ever seen, cleaning his nose and face like a cat, wanting to 'shake hands' often with both at once. And of course, his growl and bark is fantastic. He has so far acquired the names Zeedle the Thunderwoof. A zeedle of course being a certain breed of dog closely related to a Snark. ::

Perhaps you can help me here. He has a tendency now to over protect his new home, going out of the yard to object to passersby and other animals. The hair has been scuffed off his neck in a ring from a previous owners abusive collar so I am disinclined to ever put a collar on him again. Our fence won't restrict a determined dog. So, what training steps can I undertake to tell him protect is okay but stay in the yard? I would mention, the only training of animals I know is gentle breaking horses and wild horses can read your heart and desires where dogs seem too flighty and airhead to listen to those commands.

The "extra canine teeth" probably ARE the outer, or primary, incisors. In most domestic dogs those are fairly small and reduced in size, but as I said earlier, in primitive and true wild canids that are fairly close in size and sharpness to the real canine teeth. The fact that he has the normal number of teeth pretty much confirms this. The lower canine is supposed to mesh neatly between the primary incisor and the upper canine tooth, exactly as your make-shift diagram illustrates. The use of the front paws and the cat-like grooming habits are typical for the primitive Asian dogs, which often are simply referred to by the ignominious title of "pariah" dogs, but they are a very important link between domesticated dogs and wild wolves, and understanding their behavior is a key to understanding how dogs became domesticated in the first place.

Don't be afraid to put another collar on the dog. Even if the dog had experienced an ingrown collar before, once its neck is healed, there should still be no problem with using a training collar. Also, some dyes used in collars can cause allergic reactions to dogs' skin, causing irritation and hair loss, so a ring of missing hair around a dog's neck does not necessarily mean that the dog was abused. With any of these types of dogs, which do tend to be territorial and defensive, training to accept limits is a must. Have you Googled the Thai Ridgeback dogs yet? Those dogs are very protective and territorial by nature, and if "Thunderwoof" has any Thai Ridgeback in him, he's going to naturally be a territorial dog, so that's something you have to be prepared for.

pitbulllady

pitbulllady