Importance of Good Bite??

[BCBeagles]

I own a couple hounds that don't have the perfect scissor bite. They suit me real well and are not hampered by it, one underbite and one over and slightly uneven. How should this rank in from a breeding stand point, as I said they are real nice hounds and other than this physical deformity very sound in all areas?? Opinions appreciated! Thanks much!!

[Shotgun John]

Just my opinion, I would rather have crooked front legs than bad bite.

[Newt]

I have read that a bitch with a bad bite has trouble severing the umbilical cord when she gives birth. I haven't found that to be true. I bought a pup last year that had a bad bite. I didn't notice it until I got her home. Since she wasn't worth feeding, I gave her away without papers to a guy who always spays his females, so problem solved. I've seen a lot of beagles recently that have physical deformities that affect a hound much worse than a bad bite.

[SilverZuk]

Depends on how bad the bite is.
I wouldn't worry too much about it, if it is slight.
Just make sure that they other dog you are breeding has a long line of good bites in its pedigree.

I've bred one with a slight under bite. All of the pups had a perfect scissor bite. The next generation out of those pups have all had perfect scissor bites so far. I am sure an under bite will pop up, sooner or later but hasn't yet.

If you breed two dogs that have a history of bad bites, you will likely end up with a bad bite.
If the dog was what I wanted, I would breed it and see. Worse case scenario is that you have to cull a litter of pups.

[Pike Ridge Beagles]

What is most important to me is how the dog is built and how well it runs a rabbit (brains/desire), not how perfect its teeth.
I am fortunate that Belle has a perfect bite, but if she didn't she'd still be in my kennel. btw, I hate crooked legs.

[Mapel Valley Kennels LLC.]

Just my opinion, I would rather have crooked front legs than bad bite.

Uhhhh, I totally disagree.Overbites seem to accompany Tight crosses .Would that be right Jim?

[Bobby Vest]

Jimmy I don't agree with the tight. We have had em as tight as they get and never had any problems at all. The only bad bites I have ever had was from a total outcross.

[James E. Whisman]

I would think that bad bites in a dog such as a beagle would be considered a recessive gene, if not we would be seeing it a lot more than we do. Although it is possible for a bad bite to show up in genetically strong dogs as well too. I would think that by breeding two dogs that have bad bites strongly increase the chance but if just one of the two had a bad bite the offspring should be fine. So if i had a barn burner that could smoke a rabbit and hunt the hills down and he had a bad bite, it wouldn't phase me a bit to breed it to something that didn't have a bad bite. I don't think it has as much to do with inbreeding as it does selective breeding.JMHO

[Salzer mtn]

I would think that bad bites in a dog such as a beagle would be considered a recessive gene, if not we would be seeing it a lot more than we do. Although it is possible for a bad bite to show up in genetically strong dogs as well too. I would think that by breeding two dogs that have bad bites strongly increase the chance but if just one of the two had a bad bite the offspring should be fine. So if i had a barn burner that could smoke a rabbit and hunt the hills down and he had a bad bite, it wouldn't phase me a bit to breed it to something that didn't have a bad bite. I don't think it has as much to do with inbreeding as it does selective breeding.JMHO

I disagree by experiance. Their will be some, not all that will have a bad bite just from one parent having a bad bite.

[rabbitsmoker]

A perfect bite is not 100% my concern its how they can run a bunny a slightly bad bite would be ok to breed imo but doesnt hurt thier running ability a bit but different strokes for different folks some just way to picky the way one runs a rabbit comes 1st i rather have a parrot mouth dog out burning a rabbit as a beautiful strait mouth dog following me around you cant see them alot when they are running anyhow

[BCBeagles]

The dogs would really be an outcross for the most part. Too distant on the same dogs to say "linebred". Thanks for all the opinions!

[Newt]

Years ago I bought a young Little Ireland male that had no deformities. I bred him to a brace trial type female that had no deformities. I selected and kept the best looking female. When she was about four months old I noticed her mouth looked strange and was surprised to find that her bottom jaw was longer than her top. She was the only pup in the litter that had a bad bite. A few years later I bred her to Gay Baker and every pup in the litter had a bite just like their mother.

[BCBeagles]

Both the males I have and may use have a less than average bite. One is under by about an 1/8 of an inch. You cannot tell it by looking at him at all, at least to my eyes. The other has an even bite and it is a little over, near scissor, but uneven if you know what I mean. I am about abilities first and they have them, I just don't want to have issues that would cause concern later on. Thanks again for the opinions and feedback.

[Salzer mtn]

Years ago I bought a young Little Ireland male that had no deformities. I bred him to a brace trial type female that had no deformities. I selected and kept the best looking female. When she was about four months old I noticed her mouth looked strange and was surprised to find that her bottom jaw was longer than her top. She was the only pup in the litter that had a bad bite. A few years later I bred her to Gay Baker and every pup in the litter had a bite just like their mother.

The pups sire probably had a recessive gene for a bad bite.