Teeth] 2 95 [Teeth 



wear the incisor teeth right down to the gums, 

 and the tusks become worn in the course of a few 

 years. 



As a rule, if a dog is fed on a mixed diet, as 

 bread and vegetables, soaked biscuits, etc., and 

 not given many bones, and is not allowed to 

 carry stones, then the teeth (incisors and tusks) 

 preserve their shape and position until the fourth 

 year. But by this time the teeth have lost their 

 very white colour, and have become of a palish 

 yellow colour. As the dog advances in years the 

 teeth become still more yellow, besides becoming 

 coated with tartar just above the neck of the 

 tooth, if they have not been occasionally scaled. 

 The tusks, too, now become blunted, and to some 

 degree are altered in position, being inclined to 

 take a more outward direction. It is, therefore, 

 an easy matter to distinguish between an old and 

 a young dog. 



The teeth of dogs that are pig-jawed, and 

 those that are undershot like bull-dogs, do not, 

 of course, wear to the same extent as when the 

 incisors meet, forming an even mouth. 



When the permanent teeth come up crooked, 

 it is a most difficult thing to redirect them, 

 especially when the tusks are at fault, and they 

 are generally the offenders ; for these teeth 

 are so firmly and deeply fixed in the jaw-bone 

 that it is impossible, without employing great 

 force, to move them, and from their conical 

 shape it is almost impossible to fix a rubber 

 band or wire to them unless a small niche is 

 made in the enamel, and this damages the teeth 



