“Teething” is perhaps the most misunderstood concept in puppy raising. In today’s blog post, I’ll explain what it is, what it isn’t, and how to work through your puppy’s nipping behavior effectively and with kindness.
Teething refers to the period of time where a puppy’s teeth are erupting. The discomfort associated with the teething process is the cause of some undesirable behaviors that puppies demonstrate.
When is my puppy teething?
Most puppy owners don’t actually know when teething starts – or more importantly, when it ends. There are two distinct phases in the teething process. By the time you bring your new puppy home, one of these phases is already over. When puppies are born, they have no visible teeth at all! Baby teeth erupt between 2 to 4 weeks of age, and are all present by 6 weeks old.
Those baby teeth begin falling out between 12 and 16 weeks (3 to 4 months) of age. This means the 9 week old puppy you just brought home is not teething right now. Puppies naturally explore the environment with their mouths and interact with each other using their teeth. When your puppy nibbles on your fingers or nips your feet, she’s not trying to alleviate discomfort in her mouth. She’s figuring out how to interact with you.
At this age, we redirect a lot of this “play biting” on to soft toys. We want to teach puppies that when they feel the urge to use their teeth, they should do it on an inanimate dog toy rather than your bare hands. We also encourage gentle contact with people, like praising puppies for licking and teaching hand targeting so they learn to touch us without using their teeth.
As puppies near the end of the second teething period, which starts between 3 and 4 months of age and ends between 6 and 8 months of age, there is often a distinct change in their mouthiness. This is when puppies often become interested in chewing on very hard items – like your wooden furniture.
What will satisfy my mouthy puppy?
Young puppies who still have their baby teeth are generally satisfied by chewing on softer items, like plush toys and loosely braided ropes. As their baby teeth begin to fall out, they also tend to enjoy things that are cold. Enrichment toys like Kongs, lick mats, and Toppls filled with broth or canned dog food, then frozen, will provide relief. You can also dab plush dog toys with water and freeze them.
Older puppies who are finishing the teething process are generally interested in hard items. We recommend bully sticks, yak chews, BetterBones, and Benebones.
Puppies of all ages need to chew. Provide a variety of toys in different textures, and let your puppy show you what toys they prefer to chew on at each stage in their development. At any given time, I like to have toys of several different materials available to my puppy: plush fabric, leather, nylon, and rubber. If I see them preferring one of these toys to the others, I provide other toys made of the same material but in different shapes and sizes.
I also recommend rotating toys to increase novelty without having to spend any more money. If your pup loses interest in a toy, wash it and store it. When you present it to them a couple weeks later, it’s like getting a brand new toy!
Remember that puppies need to use their mouths to play. It is unrealistic to expect a puppy to not use his mouth during social interactions with people and other dogs. It is our job, as owners and trainers, to teach our puppies what is appropriate. Supervised play with other puppies, like in our Puppy Day School program, is a great way for dogs to hone their skills and learn to adjust their mouthiness depending on who they are interacting with.
What should I look for during the teething process?
You should check your puppy’s mouth regularly – at least once a week. This helps to desensitize your puppy to having his face handled so future appointments with your veterinarian or groomer go smoothly.
Your puppy’s upper teeth and lower teeth should match up relatively closely. Look for underbites (the lower teeth sticking out in front of the uppers, like a Bulldog) or overbites (the upper teeth sticking out in front of the lowers, like a parrot) and inform your veterinarian right away if you notice either one of these deformities. Dogs with severe overbites or underbites may need to have some of their puppy teeth pulled to promote correct jaw development.
As your puppy gets older, look carefully for any retained puppy teeth. This will look like two teeth are coming out of the same spot. Retained puppy teeth are more common in small breeds, mixed-breed dogs that contain small breeds, Poodles and poodle mixes, and dogs with narrow muzzles. When teething is going according to plan, the adult teeth push the puppy teeth loose and cause them to fall out. If for some reason an adult tooth isn’t coming in to the right spot, the puppy tooth may not loosen.
Retained puppy teeth can cause discomfort for the puppy. Food particles will easily get stuck between the puppy tooth and adult tooth, causing tooth decay. All of your puppy’s “baby teeth” should fall out by eight months of age at the latest. Tell your veterinarian if you notice any puppy teeth that don’t seem to be loosening.
How can I discourage my puppy from nipping me?
Puppy owners are commonly told to yelp or yell if their puppy bites them. For the vast majority of puppies, it just doesn’t work – it doesn’t dissuade the puppy from nipping. It also runs the risk of frightening them and creating a negative association with you.
Instead, we recommend redirecting your puppy to bite a soft, long, plush toy instead. We love flat plush toys with little to no stuffing, like the Tall Tails “Stuffless” line, for this process. Wiggle the toy on the floor, away from your puppy. Act like a squirrel or rabbit: a prey animal would never jump toward a dog’s mouth, and neither should your toy. Make twitchy, irregular movements with the toy. Praise when your puppy grabs it, but don’t pet them. Physical touch often overstimulates puppies, and they’re likely to let go of the toy and resume nibbling your hands instead.
Three strikes & you’re out (for a nap)
We also recommend a “three strikes” policy when it comes to nipping. The first time your pup grabs your body or clothes, gently remove their mouth from you (if they’ve latched on) and redirect them to a toy as described above. The second time it happens, repeat the process. But the third time your puppy grabs you in a short period of time (five minutes or so), it’s time for you and the puppy to take break from each other for at least 5 minutes. This can look like:
- placing the puppy in their crate, with at least one edible chew for them to work on
- placing the puppy in a pen with toys inside (again, we recommend it includes at least one chew)
- you step to the other side of a baby gate or into another room, assuming the room the puppy is currently in is completely puppy-proofed and they can’t get into anything.
Your puppy may cry or paw at the door when you do this. Ignore them until they settle down for at least 5 minutes. (Set a timer.) Often, you’ll find that when that 5 minutes is up, your puppy is resting quietly or has actually fallen asleep! This is because puppies frequently start nipping when they are overtired and not able to self-regulate. In the absence of the opportunity to get excited and bite you, they wind down and start to rest.
Nippy puppies need more naps. Keep in mind that puppies sleep for 18-20 hours a day: that’s a lot of rest! If your pup has been awake longer than 60-90 minutes and is getting mouthy, it is almost assuredly time for a nap.
What’s the difference between these two photos? Four minutes. I placed Ska in his pen because he was nipping my hands and not redirecting to a long, skinny, soft rope toy. Four minutes later, he was sound asleep. He was overtired, and overtired puppies are bitey puppies. Note that the pen is set up to meet his needs: he has a bucket of fresh water and toys to play with. (Beyond the camera frame, he also had a bully stick and a plush bed – but he always loved to sleep on his big stuffed animals!)
