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Dogs have unique personalities for sure, but none has crossed my path like Ms. Holly Higgins, a long-haired black and tan female dachshund. Today she is six years old, and the boss of the house and its owners. She runs it like a well-run ship as a captain'ess at arms with her head up and feet in motion at all times. I have never liked dachshunds before and would no more have brought one home than an elephant in my small kitchen. But I had a friend whose red female dog was having trouble whelping, and required assistance.

Being around dogs for over eleven years, I brought the dog to my home to spend the night "on guard" in case she would have trouble. Which she definitely did. Sandy's Red doxie had six puppies, with two of them very tiny at 2 ounces each. None needed pulled or anything, but she struggled as she would not break the bag or clean the puppies like most mothers. It was her first litter and took most of the night into the next morning, so it was an expected behavior in some of the new mothers to reject a puppy or two. The pups all were healthy and energetic except for the two tiny females who would not suck, with the mother pushing them away continuously.

The smaller silver dapple ended up sucking with an occasional supplement twice a day, but the little black and tan could not seem to master the act. I got my tube out and began tube-feeding her instead of allowing her to be so dependent on the mother alone. As a charge at a home for disabled individuals, tube feeding was something I knew about doing. I measured the distance from the mouth to the end of the rib cage, cut the feeder tube and hooked a syringe with 3 cc to it with a puppy formula according to the directions for new born. And this was how Ms. Holly Higgins stayed alive.

I ended up returning Red to its owner, but kept the little black and tan female, tube feeding her until she could eat on her own. She developed problems down the line – left and right until she ran out of them. She developed pus covered pimples all over her abdomen, watery diahrea on and off, until one day she just took off – and has not quit running to this day. She was about eight months old when she took a turn for the better; with us finding out prior to this she also had parrot mouth.

Unlike humans, animals have a sixth-sense that something is the matter with the young ones and act accordingly by pushing them away. Over the years, I have found the ones I would step in and save would have something the matter with them down the road which would require medical care, something the mother actually realized on some level at the very beginning. Holly's parrot mouth was that situation, which explained why she could not suck right away and could not eat right after that.

Parrot mouth is a mouth disorder, with the top of the mouth sticking out over the buttom part so the teeth won't work together. Called a severe overshot, I was new at the business, it was something I knew nothing about and had never run into it before. On a smaller scale I had learned to look at some of the rat terriers who had arrived, seeing their undershot mouth with the lower part protruding. I figure her problems were because she was so tiny and simply could not suck. She was fighting against all the odds, and seemed to be a little fighter from the moment she was born – with a bit of help from me.

The parrot mouth was a foreign situation once I discovered it, so I did a little researching at All Pets Dental. Considered an orthodontic abnormality, her teeth were not arranged "shoulder to shoulder" as they were supposed to be which provides a self-cleaning mechanism in the arch, pushing food away from the teeth and gums. The article discusses the three different basic head shapes of dogs: long and narrow muzzles, short and wide muzzles, and the medium length and width muzzles – with the third type referring to the hounds – which is what a Dachshund is.

If you doubt that, watch them get the scent of something and away they go, hopefully in an enclosed yard or you will be chasing awhile. Holly Higgins got the scent of a wild cat one day and she was NOT in an enclosed yard. I was still chasing her at 2 am. Still haven't seen that cat around here since. And that is another story. Funny now but not then.

Anyway, teeth occlusion is controlled by genetics, nutrition, environment and mechanical forces of the upper and lower interlocking teeth. Severe over and under bites, such as Parrot mouths, are genetically influenced and should never have this line bred for puppies. Red, the mother, did not have a bad mouth nor did the father, but obviously in the background somewhere somebody did. This is why single dog owners with no knowledge of the background should not breed, as situations such as this go back and can erupt just about anywhere anytime– such as the Parrot mouth in Holly Higgins. To determine if your dog has a genetic teeth origin and is a long or medium muzzled breed, the normal teeth should meet in a saw-toothed fashion. The tip of the lower third premolar should be situated equally "between" the crowns of the upper third and fourth premolars.

If it goes tip to tip, you will have a genetically induced malocclusion – or a problem for the dog to eat. Remember that this is only true in breeds that DO NOT have shortened muzzles. Holly and I have worked out her teeth issues. We have to brush steadily, and she has to have a certain percentage of softened food.

She also has to have a lower sided bowl or eat out of plate to be able to "scoop out" the food or she has to eat with her tongue scooping out the food instead. Sometimes if it seems as if she is having more problems than normal –tired, ill, etc. – we spoon feed it to her to keep nourishment coming. But it has not slowed her down, the love of our life for sure. She has taught me to appreciate the pros of a doxie, and respect her cons. My word of advice on any dog is to check out the breed for who and what it is before buying or getting one, or you will be punishing a dog for what it was naturally trained in its heart to become.