Puppy Teething: 5 Tips to Keep Your Pup’s Mouth Healthy

Puppy teething starts when your new puppy’s deciduous or “milk teeth” push through her gums and by the time your puppy is 8 weeks old she has 28 baby teeth and begins to chew on all kinds of objects to relieve her discomfort so you want to provide your puppy with chew toys and learn how to handle your puppy’s mouth before you find out that some of her teeth didn’t come in properly and you have expensive dog dental expenses that could have been prevented by checking your puppy’s teeth and gums.

This news brief gives you 5 tips on how to keep your puppy’s mouth healthy so you can take better care of your puppy at an affordable price.

Puppy Teething: Timeline from “Milk Teeth” to Permanent Teeth

Milk Teeth – Your puppy’s deciduous teeth are quite sharp so they can break through her gums and they begin to appear when your puppy is about 3 months old. There are 6 incisors on your puppy’s top and bottom jaw at the front of your puppy’s mouth. Then about a month later, your puppy will have 4 needle shaped canine teeth that appear on either side of your puppy’s incisors.

Premolars – Your puppy’s next set of teeth are her premolars and molars that grow behind your puppy’s canines when she’s 3 to 6 weeks old. There are 3 premolars on the top and bottom on both sides of your puppy’s canine teeth. Puppy teething during this timeframe can be uncomfortable for your puppy and she will look for anything she can find to sink her teeth into to quiet her aches and pains.

Permanent Teeth – When your puppy is about 8 weeks old her permanent teeth start to push out your puppy’s milk teeth so they either fall out or are absorbed by your puppy’s body. This means that your puppy’s permanent teeth replace each of her 28 milk teeth with an additional 4 premolars and 10 molars so your puppy will have 42 permanent teeth by the time she’s about 7 months old.

5 Tips to Keep Your Puppy’s Mouth and Teeth Healthy

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Tooth brushing – Your puppy will benefit greatly if you start to brush her teeth with dog toothpaste during her puppy teething period. Brushing your puppy’s teeth will also allow you to check your puppy’s gums and teeth for any problems like an infection or retained baby teeth that don’t fall out. Contact your vet immediately if you notice any teeth that are out of alignment because these situations can lead to periodontal disease for your puppy.

2. Chew toys – Your puppy may grab anything she can to chew to make her gums feel better so it’s important to keep sharp or hard objects out of your puppy’s reach. Anything that can puncture, scratch or harm your puppy should be removed from the area that your puppy plays in as a safeguard for your puppy’s health. You can also help prevent your puppy from getting bad breath during her puppy teething months by providing your puppy with safe toys to chew on.

3. Biting – Your puppy’s milk or baby teeth are extremely sharp and you don’t want to permit your puppy to get into a bad habit of chewing or biting any part of your body like your legs, arms, or fingers. If your puppy continues to snip or bite, you may want to look into a dog trainer or puppy school so you can teach your puppy not to chew or bite. Your puppy needs to know that your hands are not toys during her puppy teething months.

Mouth handling – Since your puppy may chew on things that could get stuck in her throat, you want to get your puppy used to having your hand in her mouth to prevent your puppy from any harm like swallowing toxic foods or substances.

Children and family – Your puppy will be in contact with all members of your family, young and old. It’s important to discuss the safety rules for your puppy’s health related to her mouth and teeth. Make sure that everyone in your family knows that your puppy’s teeth are sharp and not to be too aggressive about pulling toys out your your puppy’s mouth.

This news brief gives you 5 helpful puppy teething tips on how to keep your puppy’s mouth and teeth healthy so you can reduce any accidents in your household and also be aware of problems with your puppy’s dental health before you are faced with unplanned expenses and discomfort for your puppy.

Share this article with your friends and family so they can keep their puppy’s teeth and gums healthy and help avoid dog dental expenses.

Q & A: How do you stop playful chewing and biting?

Question: I have a boxer pit bull mix and she is wonderful and very loveable but I am having trouble getting her to listen and house train. She will be 6 months in December. She loves to chew and bite only in playing but when you just want to pet and love her she wants to bite and chew, any suggestions!!!!! We love her!!!
LeAnn B.

Answer: Try to view your dog this way…

Bully breeds like Boxers and Pit Bulls are very sensitive. The same part of them that makes them sensitive also makes them VERY affectionate. Affection is a good thing but if that’s what the entire relationship is based on it can lead to problems like chewing or going to the bathroom in the house. Dogs don’t think in terms of good and bad—in a dog’s mind 100% affection with few rules or boundaries makes them feel entitled. With entitlement comes the right to do whatever they want.

Strengthen your authority

It’s not that you’re doing something wrong when your dog chews that makes her continue doing it. It’s that when you tell her to stop chewing she simply doesn’t care enough about your authority to listen. Remember that doesn’t make either you or her bad!!! It just makes you both misguided. The key is basic training—teaching words like ‘sit’ and then finding ways to use it to give your dog some direction. This will strengthen your authority.

The behaviors like chewing, mouthing, etc. will begin to vanish with your strengthened authority and a clearer relationship—where your dog views you as a leader, rather than as another dog.

Give affection only when your dog is calm

Since Boxers and Pits thrive on affection, it can be a very strong motivator. For instance, petting her when she’s all hyped-up and mouthing you may cause her to view acting like that as a way to get the affection she wants. Instead, try to wait until she calms down to show her that affection and she’ll eventually catch on. Good luck!

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