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Around the age of 12 weeks, puppies start to lose their baby teeth. During this point in time, their gums may likely become red, swollen, and irritated. You will notice these little pooches will find ways to relieve their teething discomfort by chewing on absolutely everything in sight. If you do not look for a remedy, your furniture, shoes, and even your walls might take the brunt!
The key to helping your pooch get through this chewing phase is to give proper soothing distractions for his teething problem.
Common Relief Options
1. Chew Toys. Giving your pet one or two chew toys at a time will help a lot in minimizing the teething discomfort he’s going through. However, do not give your pup too many toys at once as it can train him to chew on whatever is at hand. Look for toys in pet supply stores that are made of hard rubber material and can be filled with dog biscuit or peanut butter. This way, your pup can be encouraged to focus on the toy instead of the other items around the house.
2. Cold Chews. You may also opt for commercial toys for dogs that are designed to be frozen. The coldness can greatly help in soothing the aching gums and teeth of your pup. You can make your homemade frozen chew by simply twisting a wet rag into a stick-like shape and then freezing it.
3. Ice Cubes. Fortunately, some pooches have no problem chewing on ice cubes to relieve their teething discomfort. Now, if your pet does not appear to be interested in chewing on plain ice cubes, try freezing beef or chicken broth as a substitute. You may also try dropping a few ice cubes in his food bowl when he is experiencing intense chewing needs.
4. Herbs. Herbal plants such as chamomile and lavender have soothing properties that could significantly help calm your pup during tough teething periods. Make a tea out from these herbs. Let it cool and then pour some over your pet’s dry food. You may also try injecting the tea into his mouth using a syringe. Freezing the tea into ice cubes and then allowing your pooch to chew on them is also recommended.
Tips
When your furry little pet is teething, it is advisable that you do your part to lessen the tempting chewing opportunities at home. Keep your floor picked up and make sure that your shoes are set aside in the bedroom or closet. Move those things set in your pup’s eye level to higher ground. As much as possible, confine your pooch to a puppy-proofed room in the house when you need to leave the house for a long period of time. Don’t worry and be patient, your dog will eventually grow out of this crazy phase!
Do you have any lifesaving teething tips? How did you cope with a teething puppy? Share with our readers below!
Carrie Young
says:Do NOT give ice cubes to the puppy, as these can crack their fragile baby teeth. (Nearly all other sites advise this).
Rena
says:Do not ever give a puppy a frozen wash rag as in #2 unless you are sitting right there with them, a puppy will try to eat the rag and cause a blockage, a very expensive surgery or death
Victoria
says:This confirms my thought – thank you
Louise
says:Okay.I am a foster mommy and have just received a 4 week old pup… his milk teeth are coming in and he is really not a happy boy. Is there something that is safe to use on such small puppies to relieve the hurt of the teeth coming into the jaws?
anita
says:wow, first of all, in colorado at least, it is illegal to send a puppy away from its litter until it is 8 weeks old, as it still needs the nutrition of its mother’s milk!
ElB
says:She clearly said she is a foster mummy. 4 week old pup is super young but you do not know the circumstances around attaining the dog. So sick of chat rooms that read one finite detail and make all kinds of conclusions and judgements. My pup is now 14 weeks and I got her at 5 weeks old. This is obviously unethical if I were to have attained her through conventional processes but she was a rescue and her mother died so the pups had to be given to homes that could take care of them.
People come to the chat rooms for help, can we not just help one another instead of judging?
DOGGO_LOVER
says:Thank You,EIB, honestly we need more people willing to put people in line.
lorraine
says:I have recently just bought a king Charles spaniel she is only 8 weeks old I have been putting her chew toys in fridge and freezer and she has really enjoyed using them as she is going through teething pane if anyone has any advise please tell me .
Joy
says:Cook mini carrots and refrigerate overnight.
Njteddy
says:I found that freezing mini bagels works magic. For small dogs flatten the bagels slightly before freezing
Anita
says:Flour (and any other grain) is not good for dogs (or any living thing for that matter!)
ange
says:if you go to pets at home you will find some puppy teething treats called HEALTHYTREATS, they say teething on the front it says with real chicken ,but think they taste more minty they only tiny and there is a weight restricktion on the back so you now how many they can have they have clove oil in them to soothe irritated gums sugar free and help reduce unwanted and destructive chewing if you space them properly they do work you can tell when they start to work the pup calms down and when they start to where off they start gettting agitated again but they do actually work you may be able to find them on line to but they arn't dear at pets at home
Heather tetley
says:The chewing is not yet too bad, I have a 14 week old Lhasa Apso, it's that she is biting hands, ankles shoes etc.. very obviously teething trouble..ninwould welcome suggestions.
June
says:You can get it on Amazon
Julia
says:I have a 9 week old Lab. I have chew toys, frozen ice etc… Today I was about to throw out a French baguette which is stale and very hard (only 2 days old). He is chewing on it now, this is the longest attention chew yet. It’s not even messy. He gets crumbs from it.
Jacqueline Woolston
says:I have used bonjela teething gel in the past for my puppies as it works well. I now have a German Shepherd puppy and she is teething so I have bonjela teething gel for her.
Candice
says:Where can I get this gel?
S
says:This was taken off the market.