I own an aggressive dog, and we had all his front teeth removed several years ago. It saved his life and is the best thing we ever did for him. Please, before you judge, read our WHOLE story.
When we adopted Scout has a rescue at about a year old, we were advised that he had been given up because he snapped at a toddler. We thought, "No problem! A lot of dogs are annoyed by toddlers, and anyway, we don't have kids." We found Scout to be a great little dog, affectionate and intelligent. When he reached adolescence, however, Scout began growling and baring his teeth at my husband. The growling gave way to snapping and eventually to biting. We tried to avoid situations which "triggered" the aggression and deal with the aggression appropriately when it occurred, but eventually the aggression became unpredictable, and Scout would bite Rich for no apparent reason. At these times, it was though "a switch" was turned on in Scout. One minute he was a mild-manned, happy little guy, and the next he was in an absolute frenzy, lunging and snarling at Rich and doing his best to bite him deeply multiple times (and sometimes succeeding). There was often NO warning before Scout tried to bite--no warning growl or baring of the teeth. Scout is also dog-aggressive and has snapped at children.
We tried doing all the recommended things to solve the problem over a period of several years. We did the research and read the books. We had him thoroughly checked out by vets and specialists many times. We hired a well-known California behaviorist. We hired a private trainer. We tried medicating him. It finally came to the point that we just could not trust him anymore, and we had to make a decision about euthanasia. As a last resort, we decided to talk to our vet about and look into reduction and disarming surgeries.
Some people choose to do something called "crown disarming" or "crown reduction" instead of tooth removal. Basically, the canine teeth are filed down and capped so they are not as sharp. We opted against this for several reasons. First of all, the dog can still do damage even with filed down teeth. (Some of the bite marks Scout used to leave on my husband were not even from his canine teeth!) This surgery works better for dog-aggressive dogs than for people-aggressive dogs, because dogs have thicker skin and making the teeth less sharp can help dogs not do so much damage to each other. Also, complications can arise after the capping (infection, pain, etc.). We decided that if we were going to spend the money and put Scout through the surgery, we were going to take care of the problem completely all in one shot. Our dentist strongly agreed with us.
Some vets are hesitant about the surgery for several reasons:
1. The surgery is a radical and uncommon step (but not, I would say, as radical as euthanizing the dog!) Most vets just don't have enough experience with the surgery to recommend it.
2. If it is not performed by a qualified veterinary dentist, the surgery can be tricky and may cause problems. The roots of dog's teeth are quite long, and extraction can cause problems with their sinuses or even broken bones if not done properly.
3. The surgery is fairly expensive. The total cost of Scout’s 2004 surgery (including anesthesia, pain meds to take home, etc.) was $983.00. Scout weighs 15 lbs., and I imagine the cost would go up somewhat depending on the size of the dog.
4. Some behaviorist and trainers and probably some vets consider the surgery to be "inhumane," and I suppose it might be IF it's not done by a qualified veterinary dentist, IF it's done by an owner who hasn't already tried other alternatives, IF the dog isn't given appropriate pain relief medication, and IF the dog isn't faithfully protected from aggressive animals after the surgery. I would say in Scout's case, it was the most humane thing we could do, because it saved his life!
All of Scout's teeth except the back three molars on each side, top and bottom, were removed. The dentist told us that this was the only way to ensure that he could never hurt anyone again. The surgery took several hours and Scout had a pain relief "patch" stapled to his skin after the surgery, so that we didn't have to worry about giving him any oral pain meds. The patch stayed on for several days, during which time he was basically pretty "doped up." He still wanted to eat immediately when he came home that day after surgery, though!
Scout had no serious complications after his surgery. He was in a fog for a few days from his pain medication, and a couple weeks later he had to have his stitches taken out under anesthesia because they didn't dissolve properly, but that was it. (My regular vet removed the stitches--I didn't have to take him back to the dentist.)
Scout honestly does not seem to miss his teeth. He just immediately started chewing everything with his molars (grass, his toys, etc.) He is just as happy and playful now than before the surgery. We do have to watch him when he plays with his soft toys, because he still rips them apart and he has a little more trouble spitting out the pieces now! He can eat both moist and dry food just fine.
The tip of his tongue hangs out sometimes, especially when he is sleepy or relaxed (for example, when he is in his bed or when he is being cuddled). It doesn't seem to bother him at all and it definitely doesn't bother us. I thought Scout's face might look different without his teeth, but it doesn't. People don't know he's missing his teeth unless I tell them or he yawns.
Scout's aggression hasn't gone away since his surgery, but it doesn't matter as much because he is no longer capable of hurting anyone. Scout has tried to bite my husband numerous times since the surgery, but is incapable of breaking skin or doing any damage. I would not leave Scout alone with children, of course, because he could still potentially knock them over and or frighten them. My husband is now much more able to deal with Scout's aggression, because he doesn't have to worry about getting injured. Scout backs off more quickly now, since he knows we are going to chastise him rather than just trying to get away from him. In the past, episodes of aggression sometimes resulted in me crying while my husband washed off bleeding bite wounds! Now, the episodes are just a reminder that our dog is not quite right in the head, and that's okay. Scout's relationship with my husband as improved greatly. The surgery of course didn't change his temperament, but it has made it much easier for us all to live together.
Anyone who decides to have the surgery done should be sure to go to a qualified specialist in vet dentistry. Our regular vet is highly skilled in general and has a state-of-the-art pet hospital, but she admitted she was glad she wasn't doing the surgery! Our surgery was done by Dr. Ben Colmery at the Dixboro Vet Dental and Medical Center, 5300 Plymouth Rd., Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48105, 734-975-1623, vetdentistry.com. Dr. Colmery is an expert in this type of surgery and does it often. He also does work on zoo animals (root canals for tigers, etc.) and has written chapters in textbooks on veterinary dentistry. He was very nonjudgmental about the surgery. He told us that behaviorists and trainers often refer dogs to him as a "last resort" when they can't do anything further with them. He gives free email consultations.
There are also lists of veterinary dentists on these sites:
www.avdonline.org/avdmembers.html www.avdc.org/dipl-list-table.htm
To those who say that what we chose to do was "sick" or "inhumane," please tell me: would you rather my dog be dead, or continually crated or muzzled? He has a wonderful, happy, free life, and that would not have been possible without the surgery. I am passionate about animal welfare, I love my dog very much, and I recommend the surgery as a last resort. We have never for a minute regretted our decision to have our dog's teeth removed. I am happy to answer questions via email.
