Whether you’ve had a puppy before or you are a first-time owner, having comprehensive knowledge about puppy teething is highly important as it is quite a distressing milestone in every dog’s life.
According to AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association), 36.5% of US households own at least one dog. However, a handful of dog owners do not have enough knowledge about the different teething symptoms or how long does puppy teething last.
This article will breakdown all the important facts you need to know about puppy teething. You will also be given a handful of tips on how to help your pup throughout his teething journey.
Puppy Teething Symptoms
The symptoms of teething for puppies are evident, but many people regard these behaviors as normal for every dog. Puppy teething age usually start around its second to the fourth week of age. Unlike human babies, puppies don’t cry or get a fever when teething; instead, they show behavioral changes, which most people misinterpret as annoying.
If your puppy is showing some of these behavioral problems, he is probably teething and might need your love and care.
- Swelling or Bleeding Gums. If you notice some spots of blood on your pup’s toys, don’t panic; it’s generally one of the usual signs your pup is teething. Bleeding is typically minimal and oftentimes unnoticeable. Moreover, when a pup is teething, his gums will swell, which is also extremely uncomfortable.
- Drooling. When your puppy starts to drool more than usual, it is another clear sign new teeth are starting to come in. Even if you don’t see actual saliva, if your pup’s face is often wet or its bed or wherever your pup sleeps is covered in drool, it’s a strong sign his teething stage has begun.
- Chewing. Chewing is definitely the strongest behavioral sign your puppy is teething. Teething puppies will find anything to chew on – chewing toys or your stuff. Therefore, it is always practical to have a handful of chew toys readily available if you don’t want your belongings to be your pup’s target.
- Poor Appetite. Due to discomfort, some puppies lose appetite or turn down their foods. Do not confuse this behavior with another health issue, your pup is probably just going through teething pain and eating makes it worse. If your pup is showing a rapid decline in appetite, it’s best to go to your vet and seek a practical solution.
Puppy Teething Timeline
If you’ve had a puppy before, you know that teething is one of the crucial stages puppies have to go through. Puppies start to teeth around the second and third week after birth. However, when does a puppy stop teething?
This detailed timeline will serve as your guide about the stages of puppy teething.
2 to 4 Weeks Old:
At this stage, a puppy’s baby teeth start to come in. The puppy will still be nursing from his mother and his eyes would have already developed at this stage.
5 to 6 Weeks Old:
At this stage, a puppy’s baby teeth should have fully come in. By this time, you should already start the weaning process where your pup is trained to eat soft puppy foods. Additionally, you can also already start training your pup to urinate and poop in the litter at this point.
12 to 16 Weeks Old:
By this time, you can notice little crumbs of your puppy’s baby teeth start to shed while his adult teeth start to emerge. This is the most painful part out of all the puppy’s teething stages.
Aside from investing in good-quality chew toys for puppies, you should also go to the vet and have your puppy’s mouth checked to ensure the teething process is moving along perfectly.
6 Months and Older
By the time your pup is 6 months or older, all of his puppy teeth should have completely fallen out and his adult teeth should have fully emerged. Dogs generally have about 28 puppy teeth and 42 teeth in total at the time of adulthood.
If your dog is already 6 months of age or so but still have a few puppy teeth remaining, let your veterinarian know as a removal process might be necessary.
How to Help a Teething Puppy?
Although all dogs go through the painful process of teething, you as the owner can help your furry pal go through it in a lot less agonizing way.
Here are a handful of puppy teething tips to help relieve your pup’s distress:
Stock-Up Puppy Chewing Toys
As you don’t want your shoes and furniture to be your puppy’s munching toy, then you must definitely stock-up the toy box. You can select a variety of rope toys, plastic toys, Kongs, teething bone toys, and other sorts, which are available on the market these days.
Do not have your puppy play all the toys you’ve purchased all at once; have them in rotation instead. Doing this encourages your puppy to play more often and not get bored with the same toys.
Frozen Chews
Aside from giving your puppy chew toys, it’s also ideal to create some frozen chews to help with the gum swelling. To do that, all you need to do is dunk in a plastic puppy toy in some peanut butter and put it in the freezer. You can also dip another toy into a meat broth or a thin gravy and then put it in a plastic bag before placing inside the freezer.
By the time you let your puppy munch on the frozen chews you have made, make sure to seclude your pup in an area as it can get really messy.
Massage Your Puppy’s Gums
If you have started to brush your puppy’s teeth, switching it to gum massage can help a lot with the swelling. Gum massage can also help your dog feel less uncomfortable as this can ease the throbbing pain.
Conclusion
Now that you got an idea on what to expect during your puppy’s teething stages, dealing with his behavioral changes due to puppy teething pain will be a lot more manageable.
Furthermore, by choosing the right chew toys and seeking the assistance of your trusted veterinarian, your little tail-wagger’s teething journey can become a lot less burdensome.