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Can a puppy's broken jaw heal with a muzzle, avoiding costly surgery?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | unneutered | 5 months and 11 days old | 27.5 lbs

My lab puppy of 5 months got into a fight with my 6 year old German shepherd and he has broken his lower jaw from the growth plate. Being so young and the surgery costing so much, how likely is his jaw to heal by using a muzzle type wrap?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on January 21st, 2017

That really depends on the type of break. Some breaks may be able to heal without surgery, but a complicated fracture where the bone is broken into multiple pieces does require surgery. Only the vet who has seen Toby can make the bed determination as to whether or not it can heal without surgery. Because bone has broken from the growth plate, I would be concerned that it won't heal correctly and will affect the growth of the bones on his face. Due to that, I think surgery would be the best option.

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    Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

    Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

    Published on

    Poor Toby! I'm so sorry that this happened - how awful. To answer your question, it really depends on the particular location of the fracture as well as how badly displaced it is - this would be a good question for the veterinarian who is treating him, since he/she has examined Toby and presumably taken x-rays to help evaluate the break. I can tell you that in my experience, tape muzzles are difficult to maintain during the healing process and produce very mixed results in terms of the long-term outcome - so if it were my dog personally, I would almost certainly opt for surgery unless it just wasn't financially possible. If you want to get a better idea of your options, I would recommend asking for a referral to an orthopedic surgeon who can evaluate Toby and review his x-rays in person. He/she can tell you whether the fracture is likely to heal well with conservative management (such as a tape muzzle), or whether surgery will be needed to fix the problem.

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