Worth having baby tooth pulled? - Page 1

One of Max's baby teeth (lower right canine [large tooth that looks like a fang]) did not fall out before the adult tooth came in.  Is this something I should plan on having pulled?  If so why?  (If it means anything, he is 21 weeks).

I would expect that the vet would want to put him asleep for this, so this would not be a cheap procedure. 
It does not appear to bother him any.
I have no intention of showing him, so the looks are no big deal.

I am wanting to make an informed decision.  I would expect that the vet will say "yes," whether it is really needed or not.

If the tooth is loose playing tug with a rope toy can often remove them without the vet. If not, they can sedate for a few minutes to pull a tooth. If he's a pet and not show or working and the tooth hasn't falled out on it's own have it removed when he is neutered.
I asked my vet why so many dogs are having this issue and he says it related to the high calcium in todays dog food formulas and the puppy isn't pulling calcium from the root when they normally should, hence the retained tooth. Because normally the root dissolves and the tooth then can drop out. Most large breed dogs rarely have long term retained baby teeth. It's truely a problem for toy breeds.
If you worry it may cause a missalignment of the adult teeth, have it pulled. Or just wait and see.

Thanks.  It does not seem that the tooth is loose (he was not very willing to have my hand in there.  Imagine that?). Good thought on the neutering.   I planned on that when he is about 2; any reason why the tooth cannot wait until the?

I would

(a) play lots of tug games
(b) give him a bone to chew on each day

He is still young and unless the tooth is causing the new tooth to be displaced wait a couple of weeks.

Get one of those braided felt ropes and play tug.  They work really well at pulling teeth.  Give it some time.  I'm sure it will drop on it's own soon.

Is the adult canine seated properly?
I would have it pulled because the space between the two teeth is a great spot for food to build up and cause problems.
I had to have Cisco's baby canine pulled  for the same reason. My vet just gave him a sedative and pulled it......of course the tooth was not tight. 

I had my girl's retained puppy canine tooth pulled by a canine "dentist" if you will because the adult tooth was growing in such a way that it was digging into the roof of her mouth which can cause permanent damage. We tried tug and wiggling it out and chew toys but no luck. She was over 4 months  old and had full adult teeth everywhere else. I remember it was very expensive like $900-1000.

Thank you all.   The adult teeth looks ok.   It is coming in directly behind (towards the tongue side) the baby tooth.  I can see how in the long run this will cause the adult tooth to be in the wrong position.   I think I will wait a week or two and see if it comes out on its own.   Max has lots of bones and ropes to chew on.  As for tug game, he does not have much of a bite/prey drive.  As soon as I pick up one end of the rag or rope, he drops his end.  He is more likely to play actual tug with his sister.    ---  thanks everyone again.

Be sure to also check the roof of your dogs mouth to make sure it hasnt caused any misalignment and isnt poking a hole into the roof of the mouth.  I've seen this happen as well, as Championl mentioned.

I'd wait a few months and see if it doesn't work it's way out on it's own. But after a few months with no sucess, I'd have it pulled. If you leave baby teeth in when the adult teeth come in, and they don't fall out on their own, food and grass and whatever else your Shepherd eats gets stuck in between the teeth and can cause really nasty gingivitis and pain. The procedure's at our clinic aren't too expensive. Yes, they'll want to put Max under light sedation to pull the baby tooth, but it's a rather quick and painless procedure. I've never used a canine dentist, all of the vets that I have worked for have pulled numerous baby teeth. And it's fairly cheap. But if you see a specialist it'll go up in cost.