Between 12 and 16 weeks of age, your dog will begin to lose its baby teeth. The incisors (the small teeth at the front) tend to fall out first. You may notice tooth loss, but this is unlikely. These teeth are small and many puppies will swallow them if they become loose.
Symptoms of tooth loss in puppies
Your puppy’s gums may look swollen, and her mouth is now tender. You may also notice these signs that your puppy is losing baby teeth:
- Chew toys with blood stains on them
- Chew, chew a lot
- There is blood on the puppy’s mouth
- Hesitance to chew hard foods
- swollen gums
- Appearance of permanent teeth breaking through the gums
Help puppy teething
Your puppy will chew as her teeth transition from the first 28 deciduous (or “baby” teeth) to the full set of 42 permanent teeth. And chew, chew. As always, you should pay attention to her choice of chews!
Most puppies do enjoy some cold, soft chews while teething. Soaking a washcloth in cold water and freezing it before giving it to your puppy will help soothe her gums. Soft or semi-soft chew items, such as Kongs made for puppies, are also a good choice. Always supervise chewing as she may break the chews and it is best not to swallow them.
Resist the urge to brush until she’s past the annoying teething phase. Instead, give her some enzyme dog toothpaste (poultry flavors tend to be popular) to lick off your fingers.
By the time they are 6 to 8 months old, your puppy should have a full set of permanent teeth. Sometimes the baby teeth remain in place and the permanent teeth are located next to or behind them. Your veterinarian may recommend removing the baby teeth to allow the adult teeth to grow in properly. The puppy’s bite (how her front teeth mesh together) should also be apparent at this time.