Hi!

The latest fun issue with my beautifully puppy Ghost is that she seems to have broken the canine tooth on the top left part of her mouth. While it doesn't appear to be bothering her, I took her to the vet and she said that it can be hard to tell how much pain the broken tooth is causing her, and that while she may not look like she is in pain, that isn't an indication that the tooth doesn't need to be removed. I know when I've chipped my tooth in the past, it always hurts, so suggesting the puppy may not be in pain seems a bit foolish to me, but I am not a vet, nor a puppy!

She suggested that if I wanted, we could Spay her and remove the tooth at the same time to avoid doing two different procedures. This option sounded OK to me, but my girl is just over three months old and that seemed a bit early to me for spaying. The vet suggested that while 5 or 6 months is the general rule, anytime after 8 weeks is OK, and that having it done in my time range is not completely uncommon. I have since googled this and it does seem like SOME reputable sources say that after 8 weeks is OK. It's just tough to tell with so much conflicting information out there.

So what I'm trying to decide here is:

1) Should I do nothing about the tooth, wait for it to fall out in a few months, and get her spayed as you normally would.

2) Remove the tooth now, and then do another procedure when it is time to spay her. I really don't want to put either of us through this twice, but it is an option I guess.

3) Do them both at the same time relatively soon.

Any input would be great. Thanks!

I would get a second opinion on the tooth. If the the root or nerve hasn't been exposed and it isn't causing her to eat differently then I wouldn't worry about it. I would just monitor to make sure she doesn't wear it down to where something is exposed or that it doesn't start to turn funny colors like it might have an infection starting deeper down.

As for the spay no way would I spay her early. 6 months even is too early in some cases. Dogs really need all their parts to come in and develop before you get rid of them. If they miss pieces or the pieces haven't come in yet and develop later after the spay you and your pup will be in for a world of hurt. A botched spay or incomplete spay is a nightmare to deal with. My girl has a botched spay and it's like living with an unfixed female and she has insane hormonal fluctuations and to have it fixed is an enormous cost and headache.

I agree with Jenn, get a second opinion on the tooth. I also highly recommend waiting at the very earliest after first heat or 12 months of age for a spay for huskies. My girl had her spay at 5 months and was not fully developed and like Jenn's female, my girl has false heats and false pregnancies. I do not wish that experience on anyone. So yay she can't have puppies but she goes through the agony as if she could. Not worth it at all. Get a second opinion, most of the front teeth will come out between 4-6 months, it is only the back molars that come in at 6-8 months, so perhaps it is not bugging her and it will fall out sooner rather than later.