Teething is one of those necessary evils, and although you can’t dodge the teething process completely, you can make it significantly more tolerable for both your puppy and yourself! This article answers all of your teething-related questions.
Teething starts at around 3 weeks of age when your puppy’s baby teeth start coming through. The teething process continues for several months until your puppy loses their baby teeth and gains 42 adult teeth.
Table of Contents
Puppy Teething Timeline: Start Age & Duration
Let’s get right into it, so when can you expect your puppy to start teething, and how long will it last?
| Age | Teething Event |
|---|---|
| 3 Weeks: | Your puppy’s set of 28 deciduous teeth begin coming through at around 3 weeks of age. (still with breeder) |
| 6 Weeks: | By 6 weeks, the full set of deciduous teeth (baby teeth) will be present. (still with breeder) |
| 3 Months: | At around 3 months, the deciduous incisors are the first teeth to come out. Adult teeth will begin pushing through. |
| 4 Months: | Adult Premolars and canines start coming through at around 4 months of age. |
| 6 Months: | Adult molars start coming through at around 6 months of age |
| 8 Months: | By 8 months your puppy should have their full set of 42 adult teeth. If teeth are still in, contact your veterinarian for a check-up. |
So, as you can see, teething already begins way before you even get your puppy, and lasts usually until around 6-8 months of age.
Most puppies will have their full set of adult teeth between 6-8 months. If any teeth are still not through by 8 months, you should visit your veterinarian for a dental check-up. Your veterinarian may need to assist the remaining teeth.
It’s also important to know that teething comes in waves of activity and it’s never a steady ride. Some weeks will cause extra pain and sensitivity whereas other weeks nothing will happen.
How Do Puppies Deal With Teething
When new teeth are pushing through it can cause a lot of pain, itchiness, inflammation, and sensations that your puppy has never experienced before.
The biggest issue with teething: When your puppy undergoes a wave of teething activity he’ll be instinctively inclined to chew and bite whatever he can, whenever he can. Puppy Only Choosing To Bite ME!.
Why? Chewing acts like a massage to the gums and provides excellent relief to that unique itchy sensation that occurs. It also promotes blood flow to the gums which has overall soothing benefits.
What happens with puppies when teething
● Increased biting and chewing habits
● Increased tendency to nip you or others
● Drooling and extra saliva
● Bleeding (only small amounts)
● Lack of attention and focus when training
● Irritable or bad behavior
This is original content produced and published by The Puppy Mag: www.thepuppymag.com
How To Help Your Teething Puppy
Fortunately, there are multiple ways to help reduce the pain and discomfort that your puppy experience. Let’s get into it!
1. Frozen Carrots (or bananas)
You may have seen this tip elsewhere, and that’s for a good reason, it’s awesome!
A frozen carrot popped in the freezer will act as a tasty chew treat that helps to massage the gum and relieve inflammation with the cold temperature. This will reduce teething pains and save your chair legs!
One large whole carrot a day can be given when you think he’s undergoing a wave of teething activity. Although very beneficial, this treat shouldn’t be given every day due to the high fiber content. Save it for when teething gets bad.
Never give baby carrots as this is a choking hazard. Leave the carrot whole and big so he can’t accidentally swallow it.
2. Ice Cube Treats
Ice cube treats act as little fun and also provide great relief for teething puppies. Just be aware that it can get a little messy (wet) so give ice cubes on a floor that can be dried or cleaned easily.
Fill up a simple ice cube tray with water and to make it extra appealing, place 1 or 2 pieces of his normal kibble inside each cube. This basically now makes it a treat instead of just water.
Once frozen, your pup will have a short, but tasty and beneficial treat that will reduce inflammation and pain.
As you can imagine, these don’t last very long, but they do provide significant relief for a short while.
3. Frozen Hand Towel
Resuming the frozen theme… Frozen hand towels work great as a chew toy, and thankfully, these last longer than ice cubes!
The trick with the frozen hand towel is to drench it in water first (or very weak chicken stock!) and then freeze it for 1-2 hours, just so it’s not completely rock-solid.
The satisfying chewy texture of the towel along with the ice-cold temperatures acts as the ultimate relief for a teething puppy. This is one of the best DIY tricks known to help teething puppies.
Please Note: Always supervise your puppy when you give them a frozen hand towel! Once the towel has melted your puppy may start ripping the towel to pieces. A swallowed towel (or pieces) can result in an emergency situation involving surgery.
4. Rope Toys
Rope toys should also be in your arsenal. It helps to have a variety of different styles so you can rotate the toys on a weekly basis. This will prevent boredom and keeps his toys new and exciting for him.
Rope toys provide similar relief to the hand towel but are usually more durable and longer-lasting. If you haven’t got any old hand towels to sacrifice you can also freeze rope toys.
When choosing a rope toy, be sure to opt for a good brand with positive reviews. Not all rope toys are made equal, one may last a few days, and another a few months! We recommend this option (Amazon).
5. Chew Treats
The last item to add to your arsenal are chew treats. Chew treats have more appeal than most of the other options here so you will want some to hand.
Chew treats, depending on which ones you go for, can last for many hours and the appeal of them doesn’t fade. This keeps your puppy chewing on something he’s allowed to, rather than your hand or expensive trainers.
Just be sure to take note of the calories, nutrition, and ingredients used in the treats. Try opting for chew treats that are low in calories and avoid artificial preservatives, additives chemicals.
Recommended option: N-Bone Puppy Teething Rings – Chicken (Amazon)
The Importance Of Redirection and Positive Reinforcement
As your puppy makes his way through the 6-8 month teething period, you may find yourself on edge with his constant chewing and increased disobedience. But It’s crucial to remain focused on redirection, training, and positive reinforcement.
Whenever your puppy tries nipping or chewing anything he isn’t allowed to you can use that as a training opportunity.
With a slightly raised voice give your puppy a firm “No!”, redirect his chewing to one of his toys, and then praise him once his attention is entirely on the new toy.
“easier said than done?” well, yes, but it’s crucial you stick with it. Not only will you prolong the life of your furniture, shoes, and limbs, but you are teaching him valuable manners for the rest of his life.
If chewing isn’t controlled and taught against during puppyhood (regardless of teething) this could be that last many years.
When To Start Brushing Your Puppy’s Teeth
Once your puppy has his full set of 42 adult nashers, it’s your job as a responsible owner to keep them healthy and sparkling white.
For the first 2 to 3 weeks, don’t worry about actually doing any brushing, just use this time to get your puppy familiar and comfortable with his mouth being touched with a doggy toothbrush. This will make brushing significantly easier and stress-free.
Start off with brushing once a week and after he’s more comfortable, increase the frequency to 3 or 4 times per week. Some veterinarians even recommend daily brushing, but this may irritate your pup, so for now, stick to 3 to 4 times per week.
Arm & Hammer offer a very cheap, but quality bundle set that comes with an appropriate dog toothbrush and dog toothpaste. Link open Amazon.
Taking responsibility for your puppy’s dental health could be the difference between him developing gum disease, or not. Gum disease is one of the top causes of death for our canine companions.
Final Thoughts
Surviving your puppy’s teething period doesn’t have to be as difficult as you first thought.
Understanding that your puppy will want to chew everything and anything is the first hurdle for us to overcome. Once we know this, we can provide our pups with everything they need including, frozen carrots, bananas, hand towels, rope toys, ice cubes, chew toys, and chew treats!
Every time your pup chews something he shouldn’t remember to use it as an opportunity to teach him otherwise.