Jaw locking

[subaruthie]

So I searched on the threads for "tmj" and "jaw" with no results.

Cooper woke up at 4 am with his jaw locked open, chattering to try to close it. It made him whimper a bit.

No recent trauma or injuries that we can think of.

We took him into the vet this morning. She said she could feel a grinding noise, and prescribed Cosequin for joint health. She said he could continue eating solid food and that we could massage the muscles to get it back into place when he has an incident.

The locking has continued through the day. I know how to deal with jaw pain in myself (I have arthritis in my tmjs and am missing enough bone in one to cause major problems), but you can just tell a dog to not hyperextend his jaw when he yawns!

Any experience with this?

Ruth

P.S. It's 50 degrees warmer in Minnesota than it's been in a week!!!! Some little basenji has been very upset at the weather!!!

[tanza]

I have not really ever heard of that problem…. sorry... hope that he heals quickly

[bellabasenji]

Is he missing any teeth or is his bite "off." Sometimes these two things can aggravate the temporamandibular joint. TMJ is not something I have heard a lot of in dogs, but I'm sure it can happen much like with humans. You might want to consider softer foods for him at least some of the time… It may give the joint a bit of a rest. In humans it is suggested not to chew a lot of gum or hard foods because it makes the condition worse, so I am assuming the same may help with dogs. Good luck, I hope he feels better.