Do Puppies Lose Teeth? Everything You Need to Know about Teething
If you have ever owned a puppy, there are probably many questions that you have about the care of your puppy and the things that you should expect to attend to as they grow and mature. One question puppy parents often have is if their pups lose teeth. The short answer is yes; puppies lose teeth and go through a teething phase just like humans do.
Puppy Teething: Everything You Need to Know
Many people are not aware that puppies have baby teeth that they lose as they get older. Puppy teeth can be really sharp and feel like needles, and puppies love to chew on things just to try and knock these pesky baby teeth loose so their adult teeth can come in.
Puppy teething is not any different from human teething, and your puppy might fuss or feel less than ideal sometimes as they are losing their teeth. Puppies get their full set of adult teeth at an earlier age and much more rapidly than human children, but that is the only real difference between the two processes. If you have a young puppy, prepare to go through the teething process with them as they lose their baby teeth!
How Many Baby Teeth Does a Puppy Have?
Puppies have 28 deciduous or baby teeth. They will ultimately end up with 42 permanent adult teeth, however. Most puppies swallow the teeth that they lose as they are chewing, but you might find puppy teeth here and there in the house while your puppy is in the teething phase. There will be a large number of teeth that are lost over the course of about seven months. Puppies technically will start teething at two weeks of age and should be done with the teething process when they are 8 months old.
Considering that it takes human children years to lose their baby teeth, this is quite a feat! This explains the aggressive chewing that puppies will engage in during this part of their development. You might feel like the teething stage will never end or the chewing that comes along with it!
Dogs do not have any baby molars, so the molars account for the additional teeth to get to 42 permanent teeth. These are often the teeth that can cause pain or discomfort as your puppy is teething since they are large teeth that have to come in while other baby teeth are falling out at the same time.
How do I Manage Teething Behavior?
It can feel overwhelming to manage teething behavior in puppies. Some dogs will chew all day long on anything that they can get into their mouth. This might be your shoes, the rugs, or anything that will provide a firm surface to try and work their teeth loose on. This can lead to a lot of frustration related to this behavior, but your puppy does need to chew to get its adult teeth to come in.
You can manage teething behavior by providing your puppy with lots of toys to chew on and keeping them away from anything that you do not want to be chewed up. This might mean that you need to supervise them as they are roaming your home or yard, but as long as you are vigilant and the puppy has toys to chew one, there shouldn’t be any major issues.
Can Puppies Have Dental Issues Related to Teething?
Dental problems related to teething are not common. Some breeds are more prone to dental issues than others, but most puppies will lose their puppy teeth readily without complications. In some cases, the deciduous teeth will be retained, and this can lead to the need for surgery to remove them. If your puppy is not losing their puppy teeth and their permanent teeth are coming in behind them, there is usually nothing to be done but surgery to correct the issue.
This is the primary problem that can occur related to teething processes. Other than jaw or gum abnormalities that might be genetically influenced, there are no other common issues related to puppy teething. The process of losing baby teeth and getting permanent teeth is very natural for puppies, and you do not usually have anything to worry about while your dog is going through this experience.
If you see some blood now and again on the rug or on your puppy’s chew toys, this is nothing to worry about so long as it is just small amounts. Bleeding a little is not atypical for dogs that are teething, and you will probably see this side effect of the teething process from time to time. If your dog has been bleeding more than this from the mouth as they are teething, you might need to take them to see the vet just to ensure that there is nothing wrong with the teething process.
Puppies Do Lose Teeth When They are Young
Puppies do go through a quick and furious teething period during the first year of their life. While this can be a trying time for everyone involved and might lead to a few items being chewed up that you would have preferred to be left alone, it is a normal process. Don’t be worried if you do not see your puppy’s baby teeth lying around very often, as they usually swallow them as they are chewing. You should also not be concerned with small spots of blood here and there as teeth are pulled out during the teething process.
Most dogs will have all 42 of their permanent teeth by the time they are about 8 months old, so the teething phase is often quite short-lived. Make sure that your puppy has lots of chew toys to use to remove their baby teeth, and pay attention to what they are getting into when they are wandering around the house.
Once they have gotten all of their permanent teeth, most dogs no longer look around for things to chew on all day long. Puppy teething is just part of the normal growing process for your dog, and you should not be worried if your dog is losing teeth when they are under one year of age.
Do you have any questions about puppy teething? Whitney Veterinary Hospital, located in Peoria, IL, can be reached at (309) 685-4707 with any questions or concerns.