Author Topic: The Mouth and Teeth  (Read 1942 times)

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Offline Lola

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The Mouth and Teeth
« on: March 29, 2012, 09:47:22 PM »
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The Mouth and Teeth
All dogs have a wide mouth opening in relation to the size of their head – an obvious advantage for catching prey. The jaw consists of a simple hinge joint that lies in the same plane as the teeth and a large primary muscle on the side of the head for operating the jaw. The lower jaw cannot move forward, and has very restricted side-to-side motion which limits thorough mastication of foods. Consequently the dog tends to “wolf” its food rather than chew it.

The incisor and canine teeth are the primary tools canids use to subdue prey. The canines are sharp and pointed enabling them to puncture and cling. The incisors are short, and play an important role in grasping and holding on to prey. The arrangement of the incisors allows them to be used independently from the canines; to pull at meat, to remove delicate tissues from a carcass, or to nip at small food items such as berries or blades of grass.

Read the rest here: http://www.carnivora.ca/html/dogs/canine_design/index.cfm
Everything you NEED to know about caring for your feline. www.catinfo.org

Offline CarnivorousCritter

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Re: The Mouth and Teeth
« Reply #1 on: March 30, 2012, 11:27:35 AM »
For people, especially the veterinarians out there who do so, to advocate kibble diets for this species is animal abuse. Wish things could be reversed -- those 'humans' being forced to eat nothing but a canid's appropriate diet, raw meat, every single day would probably make things sink in.   >:D

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