Dog Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook.pdf - Mr. Walnuts

232 •DOG OWNER’S HOME VETERINARY HANDBOOK
Another method is to gently squeeze in from the top of the dog’s muzzle,
right behind the whiskers, with your thumb and forefinger. As the mouth
opens, separate the top and bottom jaws with your fingers.
To examine the dog’s bite (also known as occlusion), close the mouth and
raise the upper lip while drawing down on the lower lip with your thumb. The
bite is determined by seeing how the upper and lower incisor teeth come
together (see Malocclusion, page 242).
Raising the lips also exposes the mucous membranes of the gums. The
appearance of the gums gives an indication of anemia and the state of circulation.
This is easiest to evaluate in dogs with pink gums (as opposed to pigmented
gums).
Signs of Mouth and Throat Disease
Place your thumbs in the
spaces behind the canine
teeth and open the dog’s
mouth to examine it.
An important sign of mouth pain is a change in eating behavior. A dog with a
tender mouth eats slowly and selectively, dropping food that is particularly
coarse and large. A dog with pain on one side of the mouth often tilts her
head and chews on the opposite side. With an extremely painful mouth, the
dog stops eating altogether.
Excessive drooling is common in all painful mouth diseases. It is often
accompanied by bad breath. Any form of halitosis is abnormal. Periodontal
disease and gingivitis are the most common causes of halitosis in dogs.