How am I supposed to force my dog to open his mouth?

Question

I was at the vet and she said to show her my dogs teeth, which I did, then said to open his mouth, so I put one hand on top jaw, one on lower and tried to open but he held them lock tight, and when I stopped he let out a little whimper like "why are you doing that to me?" he is a shelter dog that i've had 8 months so I don't know his history, maybe if a puppy is used to someone manually opening hteir mouth they are fine with it in adulthood but my dog doesn't want to let me. what do you think of this? the vet kind of made me feel like a bad owner that i couldn't get my dog's mouth open. I think it might just be too intrusive to my dog, but I do know if he grabs something dangerous I want to be able to pry it out of his mouth if necessary. He does know drop and is ok with it but in serious case I may need to open his mouth so how do I get him comfortable with it?

Answer 1

Uh I would change vets.  Really.  She should be the one to open the dog's mouth in order to examine it, not you.  What are you paying her for?

However it is important that you do learn to do this, in case you ever have to remove something from his mouth.  I would make it like a game, using a favorite toy/treat, play with your dog.  Playfully open his mouth and then reward him with the toy or a treat when he doesn't fight you on opening the mouth.  If he whimpers or fights you on it, do not pet him etc...  Many people accidently reinforce unwanted behaviors by giving their dog positive feedback by trying to comfort the dog.  

Seriously dump the vet.

Answer 2

The vet should've done it. Why did they have you do it??

Answer 3

Work on this at home in a non-threatening situation.  Start simply by pulling your fingers into your dog's mouth.  Run your fingers around the gums & the lips.  Gently rub the teeth.  Don't even try to open his mouth.  Keep your training sessions short.  Be sure to give him a treat one or twice as you work with his mouth.  He needs to understand that opening his mouth is a good thing.  

Then just do more and more.  There should be a natural gap between a tooth - push a finger in there.  He will probably open his mouth to gag as opposed to crushing your finger.  You might even try to clicker -train he opening his mouth on command.  

Once he is comfortable with you fooling around in his mouth -- get a good friend (who would suffer slimy hands for you) to work with him.  

Slow and steady will get his mouth open!!  Also - you can use the same time to brush his teeth.  He'll love that -- chicken flavored toothpaste!!!  

Answer 4

I would find a different vet, first of all! It's the vets responsibility to open the dogs mouth, when he's examining the dog, not yours. Your vet is the one who should have opened the dogs mouth. It doesn't make sense that he made you do it!

Answer 5

i ussaully just force them. BUT you can teach him to drop it. like uhh they would have something in there mouths and i would grab it and say drop it until they finally let go then like say good boy and stuff, and just keep doing it.

good luck!

Answer 6

I agree with Betty, why didn't the vet do it?  Dog's are sometimes very scared when going to the vet's especially if your dog is a rescue.  When this happens to me though I ususally use one hand to open the mouth while the other hand is squeezing each side of his jaw, by the corner of the mouth.  Eventually they will open it.

Answer 7

If you put your thumb and fingers either side of the dogs mouth near the "hinge" of the jaw, with the palm of your hand under the jaw and squeeze, you can get your dog to open its mouth. Be careful if the dog has an unknown history, you never know what they have been through. This method can be used for cats aswel.

Another way is to stick your fingers in to the side and into the dogs mouth and he will open up.

Your not a bad owner, your very caring.

Cheers, Jane.