Can you tell if a Shih Tzu or Lhasa has an underbite by 3 months?

Question

We're considering purchasing a Shih Tzu Lhasa mix. Actually, they're saying he's a Lhasa Apso, but his nose is flat and I've never seen a flat nose in a Lhasa.

My current Lhasa has a regular nose.

The pup's nose is real cute (I hope it doesn't develop into bad eye staining). He looks more like a Shih Tzu to me, and that's what we were looking for.

The breeds were inter-breeded for years so that's not of concern.

Anyway, my concern is an underbite. He does NOT currently have an underbite at 3 months old, but I'm worried that one will develop since I've seen many Shih Tzu's with an underbite.

Does anyone know? Have experience with their Shih Tzu or Lhasa?

Answer 1

Another thing to look for is the shape of their eyes. Lhasa's have oval eyes with a "soft" look, while Shih Tzu's have round eyes that are very dominant.



Why are you concerned with an underbite? Unless the teeth meet incorrectly, it's ok. A slight underbite is acceptible for Lhasa standards as long as they can close their mouth without their teeth showing all the time and their teeth overlap correctly. My Lhasa has a slight undershot bite and has since I got him as a 4 month old puppy, so I assume that you would be able to tell and it probably will not change (nothing is ever for sure, my Lhasa's nose was black when I got him and has faded to brown over the last 3 months- which is common for brown or liver parti-colors).



If you aren't sure about the dog being one or the other, you wouldn't be showing them or breeding them, so an underbite shouldn't be an issue unless it's so severe it's inhibiting the dog in some way and I'm sure there would be signs of it now.

Answer 2

I am sure the reputable, dedicated breeders of Lhasa Apsos & Shih Tzus would be highly insulted to hear you say their 2 breeds were 'inter-breeded' (I assume you mean interbred) for years. Please, educate yourself more in this matter!



Since you are purchasing a dog sold as a mix, why are you even concerned about the bite? Obviously, this will not be a show dog.



Anyway, a dog's lower jaw continues to grow & change longer than the upper jaw, therefore an overbite in a pup can become a scissors bite, but a pup with an underbite will always have an underbite. I learned this from a licensed Veterinary Dentist when I adpoted a Rottweiler pup with a severe overbite - that corrected just fine by the time she was 9 - 10 months old.

Answer 3

You can usually get an idea when they are 3 months, but you will not no for sure until the have their adult teeth. Usually if they look okay when they are a puppy, they may still develop an underbite when they get older but it will not be too bad. If it is okay now, than they probably will not get bad enough that you can see the teeth sticking out. I grew up with a Shih Tzu and she had a severe underbite, but she had it when she was 10 weeks old so the breeder just gave her to us. I would think that since the teeth are okay now then they wouldn't stick out of the mouth when the dog gets older.



My male French Bulldog did not have an underbite when he was 7 weeks old, but he has one now (he is almost 18 months old). Frenchies are supposed to have an underbite, so it is not a big deal as long as his teeth are even and they do not show. His don't show and the only way that you know that he even has an underbite is to open his mouth and look at his teeth.

Answer 4

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RE:

Can you tell if a Shih Tzu or Lhasa has an underbite by 3 months?

We're considering purchasing a Shih Tzu Lhasa mix. Actually, they're saying he's a Lhasa Apso, but his nose is flat and I've never seen a flat nose in a Lhasa.



My current Lhasa has a regular nose.



The pup's nose is real cute (I hope it doesn't develop into bad eye...

Answer 5

When I first got my Shih Tzu female from rescue I tried to find out everything I could. The main thing that stuck out from on-line searches and AKC dog shows was that this breed often loses their teeth at an early age and that an under bite is not bad. The bridge of a Lhasa is longer than a Shih Tzu- therefore the flat nose on the Shih Tzu.



Since you have 15 books on Lhasas you might think about a book on Shih Tzus or go to the American Hybrid Kennel Club's web site and see what mixes look like. Their web site was very helpful when we received a female spaniel who had been bred with a male Lhasa/Shih Tzu mix. Seeing pictures of the puppies helped us a lot in determining things like whether or not to dock their tails.



It may be difficult to find a dog that fits your exact standards, since you don't seem too happy with the breed standards.

Answer 6

I have 4 Shih Tzus and love them. However they do not like children. This could be because they weren't raised around them but even when they were puppies they weren't crazy about them. I'd take your children with you when you go to meet/greet your potential new dog to see how they react. Also, both the Tzus and Lapso's require a lot of grooming. I mean A LOT. Something to keep in mind.

Answer 7

I once had an elderly lady for a friend. She had a wonderful little dog. A mix of some sort. She had the dog trained well and it behaved very well. Learn here https://tr.im/eNoWU



She kept an uncovered candy dish on her coffee table with candy in it. The dog was forbidden to eat the candy. When she was in the room observing the dog he did not even appear to notice the candy. One day while she was in her dinning room she happened to look in a mirror and could see her dog in the living room. He did not know he was being watched. For several minutes he was sitting in front of the candy bowl staring at the candy. Finally he reached in and took one. He placed it on the table and stared at it, he woofed at it. He stared some more, licked his chops and PUT IT BACK in the bowl and walked away. Did he want the candy, oh yeah. Did he eat it? Nope. They can be trained that well but most, I'll admit, are not trained that well. When I was a young boy, maybe 5 years old. We had a german shepherd. He was very well trained also. My mom could leave food unattended on the table, no problem. She would open the oven door and set a pan roast beef or roast chicken on the door to cool. No problem. He would not touch it, watched or not. But butter? Whole other story. You leave a stick of butter anywhere he could reach and it was gone. He was a large shepherd so there were not many places he could not reach. Really, I think the number of dogs trained to the point they will leave food alone when not being supervised is very small indeed.

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Now if we are talking obedience training, not food grubbing, that is a different story. Way back when I was first learning obedience training one of the final exercises was to put our dogs in a down/stay and not only leave the room but leave the building for 15 minutes. The only person that stayed was our trainer, not the owners. Most of the dogs in my class did not break their stay, which would be an automatic fail. I'm happy to report my dog was one of the ones that passed.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

A shih tzu should be undershot, being overshot is a fault but not a health concern so if your not showing or breeding it shouldn't worry you. I would like to see it undershot at 12 weeks but that does not mean it will not happen. It also does not mean it will. Is the bite level at the moment or does it have a scissor bite?

Answer 10

see vet and u can tell but sometimes it will straighten on it's own