Just like human babies grow out of their baby teeth and into their adult teeth, puppies dogs go through exactly the same process.
How old are they when they start losing their baby teeth (aka deciduous teeth)?
Their puppy teeth will start falling out at around 12 weeks of age (3 months old) and will have been completely replaced with adult teeth when the dog is around 24 weeks of age (around 6 months old).
Your pup will have about 28 milk teeth, and these will be replaced with about 42 adult canine teeth.
Helping Them as They Shed Their Puppy Teeth
During the time that they lose their baby teeth, your puppy will have to suffer through some pain and soreness.
And you will have to put up with lots of biting and excessive chewing behavior.
You might even end up with a baby tooth impaled in your skin, clothing, or furniture as more room is made for the adult tooth to grow into.
So how can you help your puppy through the process of losing its baby teeth?
- Keep a Close Watch of the Dog’s Mouth for Lose or Shedding Teeth
- Give Them Plenty of Puppy-Safe Chew Toys
- Take Them to the Vet When the Puppy’s Baby Teeth Start to Fall Out
- Train the Puppy to Get Used to You Touching its Mouth and Teeth
- When They Hit 6 Months Old Ensure the Baby Teeth Are All Gone
- Start Your Adult Dog’s Teeth Care Regime
Keep a Close Watch of the Dog’s Mouth for Lose or Shedding Teeth
As a good habit, you should regularly check over your dog’s body for signs of any potential health issues from a young age.
This includes checking their mouths, keeping an eye out for any signs of a loose or missing baby tooth.
This obviously tells you that you have a teething puppy on your hands.
Give Them Plenty of Puppy-Safe Chew Toys
This is standard at all times during your dog’s life but even more so when your puppy’s teeth are falling out.
Chewing helps move the process along and is also vital for their overall dental health and wellbeing, so making sure they have lots of chew toys is really important.
NOTE – If they have sore gums try giving them a cool chew toy to soothe the pain, you pop it in the freezer until it is frozen and then let your puppy chew on it.
Take Them to the Vet When the Puppy’s Deciduous Teeth Start to Fall Out
As the puppy’s remaining baby teeth start to fall out and be replaced with the dog’s adult teeth, this is a great time to get them into the vets for a quick checkup.
The puppy teething timeline is perfectly natural and healthy, but complications can arise, so getting them checked over by your local veterinarian is a good idea.
There may be some other things you might want to discuss with the dog’s doctor at the same time.
Train the Puppy to Get Used to You Touching its Mouth and Teeth
From very early on in the puppy’s life, you should get them used to your touching, feeling, and inspecting all areas of their body.
This will make them much easier to handle when they are adult dogs, being groomed, taken to the vet, etc.
NOTE – Obviously, puppies have really sharp teeth. Also, chewing and biting are normal behaviors at this age, so be careful when you inspect their mouth!
When the Hit 6 Months Old Ensure the Baby Teeth Are All Gone
All the little puppy teeth should be gone and be in the process of being replaced with their permanent teeth by the 6 months old mark.
So this is a good time to give them a thorough inspection and make sure all the needle teeth have fallen out.
As always, if you have any concerns about your puppy’s teething, please consult your veterinarian.
Start Your Adult Dog’s Teeth Care Regime
Now that your young dog has grown into its permanent teeth, you need to keep them clean and healthy.
You can keep their teeth clean with daily brushing. At first, this might be a bit of a chore, but if you train your pup using treats and lots of praise, they will soon learn to enjoy daily teeth brushing.
As you can see in the picture, some puppies really love chewing on things they find outside.
How Long Does Teething Last?
There are two stages of teething that young puppies go through. They are born toothless and get all their feeding needs met from their mother’s milk.
The first stage of their puppy teething process is them growing their first set of baby teeth, then a few months later, they lose these teeth and grow their adult teeth.
The timeline for this process from start to finish is around 6 months.
- Around weeks five to six, they will grow their baby teeth.
- Around twelve weeks old, they will start replacing their puppy teeth.
- At around twenty-four weeks old, they will have grown all their adult teeth.
NOTE – At 24 weeks (6 months of age), they might still have the odd adult tooth coming through but don’t worry, this is not a big deal; just let nature take its course.
More Advice for Dealing with a Teething Puppy
As part of our ongoing mission to help as many dog owners as we can to best care for their four-legged friends, we like to get information from a wide range of sources.
This video will help you care for your puppy as they grow out of their baby teeth and into their adult teeth:
That is all for this blog looking at your pup’s transition from puppy teeth to adult teeth and how you can help them cope with it.
Once they get through this phase, their gums won’t hurt as much, and so you should notice they stop chewing as frequently, so this hopefully means less damage to shoes, carpets, furniture legs, etc!
PS – If you like little mementos, you might want to keep a baby tooth or two as a keepsake of when your dog was a super cute puppy.