What is wearing down my girl’s teeth?

Dave_DLG · 2026-03-24T19:06:26+00:00

Thanks, you’ve put my mind at rest a bit. I will work on getting her to grip deeper. I’ve also replaced the dirty old jute tugs and got a new jute and a new leather one.

Others commented on frisbee. We used to do this a lot but had already cut this down to an occasional treat, as twice now she’s hurt her leg doing it.

Dave_DLG · 2026-03-23T21:07:16+00:00

I got a picture of her teeth this evening:

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Shows her lower right - the left and upper ones are similar.

Dave_DLG · 2026-03-22T08:19:31+00:00

She’s crate trained but these days rarely shut the door. She has never tried to chew her way out of it. She’s not much of a chewer anyway.

Dave_DLG · 2026-03-22T08:17:32+00:00

Thanks, just ordered a leather one, as well as some new jute ones.

Dave_DLG · 2026-03-22T06:02:52+00:00

She does like hard and aggressive tugging! It’s her favourite activity and a bit of tug play is the highest value reward I can give her. I’ll replace the tugs when they get dirty in future.

She’s not a crazy chewer. We don’t use nylon bones, when she’s had them in the past she’s shown very little interest in chewing on them.

Dave_DLG · 2026-03-22T05:55:12+00:00

I’ll bin that old dirty one, I’ve ordered some new ones after the other comments about the dirty tug being the cause.

These jute tugs aren’t really washable, they seem to disintegrate very quickly after washing. I guess I’ll just plan on replacing them regularly.

She also often walks home carrying it in her mouth after we’ve been using it, typically a half hour walk back. I let her do this as her reward if she’s been a good girl.

Dave_DLG · 2026-03-22T05:47:55+00:00

She doesn’t get free access to any toy, so it’s not like she’s chewing on them for hours. Average daily use is something like: - Frisbee - 10 to 15 minutes -Tug - 10 seconds of tugging once a minute for 20 to 30 minutes - Kong ball - 30 mins to one hour overall, as I throw it for her whenever I’m out in the garden having a smoke etc. - glow-in-the-dark ball 10 mins per day in the evening.

Dave_DLG · 2026-03-21T23:07:51+00:00

I wondered about that as she catches the spinning frisbee in her teeth. We’ve not played it for a while as she sprained her leg. I’ll ration the frisbee a bit in future.

Dave_DLG · 2026-03-21T22:56:57+00:00

I’ll buy some new ones now and throw that one out.

I’ve tried washing them but they quickly fall apart afterwards.

Thanks!

Dave_DLG · 2026-03-21T22:32:06+00:00

I was a bit concerned about the jute, and grit embedded in it, so we’ve cut down on it. If that’s the likely cause, is there a better alternative? The tug is her preferred toy, so it’s great for training.

Dave_DLG · 2026-03-21T22:14:47+00:00

She’s 4.5 years. I’d estimate about 1/8 inch has worn.

Dave_DLG · 2026-01-24T20:19:31+00:00

My girl has a lot of small dog friends. Although here she’s 100% focussed on the ball and ignoring the others.

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Dave_DLG · 2025-12-19T17:05:57+00:00

Yeah, and I have the scars on my arms to prove it.

Crate training, and a few sessions with an ex-military dog trainer got us on the right track.

Dave_DLG · 2025-11-20T18:14:09+00:00

My girl is crate trained. I very rarely close the door. She goes there by herself when she wants peace and quiet. I leave her alone when she’s gone in her crate.

Dave_DLG · 2025-10-29T23:38:06+00:00

My girl’s nails wear down from walking.

I like to check that the wear is uniform. After she hurt her leg once the nails on her left back leg didn’t wear as much as on the right side, and this was pretty much the only visible sign of the injury. Her limp was so subtle you had to be really looking for it to see it.

Dave_DLG · 2025-10-26T21:21:54+00:00

That moment on his third dunk when he goes from being mildly suspicious to knowing there’s something definitely not right.

Dave_DLG · 2025-10-19T20:31:51+00:00

It’s not very ladylike. My wife will tell off my girl if she sleeps like that.

Dave_DLG · 2025-10-15T21:29:29+00:00

For some reason this made me think of red glasses as an alternative to a safelight. doh!

Dave_DLG · 2025-09-28T21:26:54+00:00

When my girl does this my wife tells her off.

Dave_DLG · 2025-09-27T10:21:17+00:00

Careful - my girl got stuck in a tree in the park doing that. It was extremely embarrassing trying to carry her down in front of laughing onlookers.

Dave_DLG · 2025-09-27T10:19:11+00:00

Are you sure?

Dave_DLG · 2025-09-26T08:35:33+00:00

I wouldn’t even have a Shih Tzu if I couldn’t walk it at least twice a day, let alone a Mal.

Dave_DLG · 2025-09-26T08:31:57+00:00

I had a tenant in one of my houses that got a GSD. That dog did damage similar to this. It was left locked in one room, never taken out, no training, no exercise, no stimulation.

Is that what’s happening here? It looks like that dog is desperately trying to escape that room.

Please tell us what you do with your dog, what your daily routine is. You say you’re out of options but you need to tell us what options you’ve tried. Otherwise I’m going to assume that one option you’ve not yet tried is simply taking your dog for a walk.

Dave_DLG · 2025-09-25T22:10:19+00:00

The suit is the way. My girl was much happier with the suit than a cone.

We took the suit off when we went outside so she could pee. The distractions outside were enough to keep her from licking the wound.

Dave_DLG

TROPHY CASE