Puppy teething survival guide

Somewhere between month 3 and month 7, your sweet puppy turns into a small chewing machine. Nothing is wrong. The 28 baby teeth are falling out and 42 adult teeth are erupting, and sore gums demand pressure.

The timeline

Weeks 3 to 6: baby teeth arrive. Months 3 to 7: they fall out while adult teeth push through. Peak chewing, occasional blood spots on toys, and tiny teeth on the floor are all normal, most are swallowed harmlessly. By month 7 the storm is mostly over.

The relief menu

• Rubber chew toys, rotated so they stay interesting.
• A wet, frozen washcloth for sore gums.
• Frozen carrot pieces under supervision.
• Splinter-resistant coffee tree or olive wood chews, which crumble instead of splintering like garden sticks.

What not to do

Do not punish the chewing itself, the need is physical and real. Manage the environment instead: shoes and cables out of reach for a few months, and a calm trade when the wrong item gets grabbed, never a chase. Skip cooked bones and very hard antlers, puppy teeth fracture.

One vet check worth doing: retained baby teeth. A double row of fangs is common in small breeds and needs a professional look.