Just like human babies, puppies also must go through a painful teething process. This experience can be tough on puppies and their parents. Puppies want to bite everything in sight to relieve their pain and keeping their mouths occupied requires the right tools and a little bit of training. It can be overwhelming to know what to do and how best to take care of your new adorable pup.
WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT WITH PUPPY TEETHING?
Did you know that the teething process for puppies starts early on? At as young as 2 weeks, your puppy will begin to grow their baby teeth. By about 6 weeks old, all of your puppy’s teeth will have grown in (about 28). This usually means that by the time you take your puppy home from a shelter or breeder — usually after 8 weeks — they’ve already experienced some teething.
That leads us to the most difficult part of your puppy’s teething, which is between 3 to 6 months. This is when their baby teeth begin to fall out. Don’t be alarmed if, when you walk around the house, you find teeth on the ground — though you may not find any teeth at all, since puppies tend to swallow a lot of the teeth that they lose. This usually happens because teeth fall out easily as they’re eating food or chewing on a toy.
During this time, you’ll also see some other dog teething symptoms. One, is that your puppy may be drooling more than usual. Don’t worry about this, as it’s completely normal. You’ll also probably find spots of blood on toys or other items they’ve chewed, which is also a sign of teething. This can happen when their gums are sore or when teeth have recently fallen out.
Another symptom that’s hard to miss is that your puppy will bite a lot. Mouthing and nipping at your hands and other items is pretty normal, but also pretty painful for you, since puppies have really sharp, thin teeth. While it’s healthy for puppies (and dogs in general) to explore the world using their mouths, it’s important to teach your puppy while they’re young what is acceptable to chew and what isn’t. You can also teach them to be more gentle when they bite, which is called bite inhibition. When your puppy bites at your skin, you can yelp and quit playing with them. This is what their siblings do and will help them learn that skin is sensitive and to be gentle if they nibble on your hands. While this is an important lesson to teach your puppy, in the end, you want to teach them to avoid biting you or other people in general by giving them proper distractions.
HOW CAN I HELP?
While teething is an important part of your puppy’s growth, it can be hard to know what to do when your dog is teething. To help promote the growth of new teeth, puppies need to chew. Additionally, chewing helps ease the pain puppies experience in their jaw and gums. One of the best things for their sore gums and growing teeth is soft rubber. It feels good on their sensitive gums and is easy for their smaller, more fragile teeth to chew. If you’ve never used a KONG Classic before, they’re a customer favorite because they’re incredibly durable and versatile.
To alleviate pain, your puppy-sized KONG Classic can be thrown in the fridge or freezer. When your puppy chews on the toy, the cool temperature will soothe their gums. Additionally, our KONG Classic can be filled with treats or water and thrown in the freezer. After the treats or water have frozen, pull them out and give them to your puppy to keep their teeth occupied for a longer amount of time. They’ll love being able to enjoy this cool, tasty treat and the relief that comes from it.
Still not confident about how to handle teething? A great thing about KONG Club is that you’ll get helpful advice from dog experts. Your KONG Club trainer can help provide helpful tips to successfully work through growing pains together with your puppy.
Here at KONG Club, we believe the bond between dogs and owners is so important. And we know that every dog parent wants to give their furry friend only the best life. And when they’re happy, you’re happy.
