On a normal day, while you are busy working on your laptop, watching TV, reading a book, or speaking to a guest, suddenly you hear random noise of someone beneath your couch, munching your shoelaces, nibbling on your furniture, or tearing the threads of your favorite jeans apart.
Most likely you will not get surprised since you know it is your little four-legged friend who is trying to get rid of the discomfort that has been irritating him or her. The pup has no idea that his adult teeth are trying to push their way through the gum line and that he is all set to get a permanent set of teeth soon. A natural process just like humans go through, it is a great sign the furry bundle of joy is growing up!
The teething process for any dog starts at a very early age. By the time they are five to eight weeks old, they will get a set of 28 milk teeth. This fulfills their requirement for the next few months until their next teething stage begins which is when they turn about five months of age. At this stage, their milk teeth start falling out. Interestingly, all dogs can swallow most of their baby teeth and it does not cause any harm to them. In the second teething time, the dog chewing increases and discomfort becomes high as compared to when they got milk teeth. Not very painful to pets, most dogs can handle teething with ease but some of them experience lot of discomfort in terms of itching, hence they tend to chew upon anything and everything around them. When a puppy turns six to ten months old, forty-two adult teeth will start coming in one by one.
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Symptoms Of Permanent Teething
Here are the most common symptoms which will indicate your pup's adult teeth are about to develop:
- Excessive nipping and continuous chewing
- Drooling
- Swollen gums
- Low-grade fever
- Change in eating habits or slower eating
- Unnecessarily prolonged whining
- Spots of blood around the chewed area
How To Manage Puppy Teething?
A pet cannot ask what he wants. Easy to identify that they are experiencing teething, here are some tips that can help your pup breeze through the physical discomfort of teething easily.
Get Them Chew Toys
An instinct and an essential part of teething, chewing non-harmful stuff will give them relief besides helping them ease gum pain. There are ample chew toys for teething puppies made of soft materials for the milk teeth. For the second stage of teething get them the hard-to-munch and tougher chew toys. The best part is it will let them stay busy and not ruin your stuff.
Supervise When Teething
It is important to supervise your dog while they are chewing. Be mindful of electric wires and cables. It is also very important to keep toxic items inaccessible. Some flowers and ornamental plants such as daffodils, lilies, buttercups, and tulips are extremely toxic to dogs. Aloe vera, onion, and garlic are also considered harmful to puppies. Make sure they are not kept in their vicinity specifically while teething. Chewing deterrent sprays that exude bitter flavor are available and can be applied to potentially poisonous objects.
Give Them Home Rules
Starting obedience training at a young age will help your dog become familiar with some house rules. If you see your dog biting your shoes, a piece of furniture, clothes, threads, or some household object, make a sudden ‘No’ sound indicating apprehension that this is not an acceptable behavior. It will take no time for them to understand what items are off their biting limits, and they will avoid them.
Visit A Veterinarian
The adult teeth of your pet will arrive before you even come to know of it. However, certain teeth may refuse to emerge with ease. In such cases take your pet to a veterinarian. The vet will have ample ways to help your puppy overcome the discomfort and pain.
