Natural Care for Farm Animals and Pets: A Veterinarian BlogNatural Care for Farm Animals and Pets: A Veterinarian Blog

There are many important stages of a young dog's development, but one of the most important stages is the process of teething. Much like human babies, puppies are born toothless, and will grow a set of baby teeth (more properly known as deciduous teeth) before their adult teeth. Unfortunately, puppies are also similar to babies in that the eruption of these baby teeth can cause considerable pain and discomfort. There are, however, a number of ways you can make the teething process a little more pleasant, both for your puppy and for yourself.

Caring for a teething puppy at home

For the vast majority of healthy puppies, teething is an unpleasant but ultimately successful process, and stressful trips to a vet or dog dentist are unnecessary. Despite this, it's still important to closely monitor your puppy to check the teeth are erupting normally and alleviate its discomfort. Some simple steps you can take include:

• Providing your puppy with teething toys - puppies will often compulsively bite objects, including you, in an effort to reduce teeth pain, so it's important to provide suitable chew toys, made of hard rubber or rawhide, for them to bite. If your puppy bites you repeatedly, it is important to discipline it gently but firmly, to prevent it carrying bad habits into adulthood. This is generally done by making a loud noise when bitten, then immediately leaving the puppy alone for a little while. Puppies do not enjoy solitude and will quickly learn that nipping is not tolerated.
• Rubbing the puppy's gums with your finger or a damp wash cloth to quickly alleviate pain. Puppies do not generally enjoy having their mouths probed in such a way, but can be taught to tolerate it with verbal commands. Positive reinforcement with treats is often a great help.This will also make inspecting your dog's mouth easier in later life.
• Monitoring your puppy's eating habits. The pain of teething can often discourage feeding, and it is important to make sure that your puppy doesn't become underweight.
• If nothing else seems to help your puppy's pain, you can try giving it ice cubes to chew on. The cold provides temporary, effective pain relief, but be aware that chewing ice cubes is considered unpleasant by some dogs.

Visits to the vet

If you suspect your puppy is suffering from complications during teething, a trip to the vet may be necessary. The most common problem with puppy teeth is malocclusion, which occurs when the teeth erupt too closely together or at crooked angles. If left untreated, this can cause deformation in the dog's adult teeth, as well as retention of baby teeth long after the adult teeth come in.

In rare cases, your puppy may catch an infection through one of the voids in the gum line left by a recently-shed baby tooth. This can cause swollen gums, excessive drooling and blood in your puppy's saliva and can be potentially very dangerous if the infection is allowed to thrive - schedule a pet dentistry appointment as soon as possible.