HELP!! MY PUPPY BITES A LOT!!! My toddler doesn’t want to play with my puppy anymore; my puppy is always biting and nibbling on my toddler, I have bite marks all over my body from when I played with my puppy. When do puppies stop biting? Let’s follow the guide of Petscarehq.
Well, the good news is your puppy would stop biting when their teeth are fully developed. Do you have to wait until then before it stops? No, you can train your puppy to stop.
So, let’s explore ways you can achieve that and also means you can help your puppies during their teething ordeal.
Puppy Teething Timeline
Have you always wondered how at one stage puppies teeth are sharp and painful when they nib on you? (I know I have), or how they gnaw on your visitors’ shoes and other objects? Or how they sometimes become restless at night?
So, I recently found out that it’s all part of the teething process (who would have thought?) I actually thought my puppy was just annoying.
Puppy’s teething like that of a baby is in stages starting from week two (2) through the sixth month. During this stage, puppies chew on basically all objects they find, this is in a bid to ease the uneasiness that comes with the teething.
According to “the Spruce pets” an award-winning online publishing site, a teething timeline can be summarized as follows;
- Birth to 2 weeks
- No teeth
- 2 – 4 weeks
- Incisors develop
- Followed by premolars, molars, and canines
- 5 – 8 weeks
- 28 baby teeth should be expected
- The baby teeth begin to fall out at the 8th week
- 12 – 16 weeks
- Adult teeth start developing
- 6 months – older
- All 42 adult (permanent) teeth should be fully developed.
Symptoms of Puppy Teething
Have you noticed that your puppy is drooling more than usual? Or you noticed your puppy has a swollen gum and is restless. They are no cause for alarm as these are signs of common teething symptoms. However, you are encouraged to visit a veterinarian if symptoms persist or are severe.
Although puppy teething symptoms vary from one breed to another, they are some general symptoms to look out for. Some of which are;
• Chewing more than usual
• Bleeding, this is mostly a spot of blood on the puppy’s toys.
• Swollen gums
• Lack of appetite
• Drooling
• Irritability
• Fever
• Restlessness at night.
It is essential to notice every change no matter how little in your puppy as most teething symptoms go unnoticed as they get mistaken for behavioral problems.
Puppy Teething Relief
While teething is a healthy growth phase in a puppies life, the discomfort it entails could become unbearable, hence the need to learn and understand how to help teething puppies. Below are a few ways you can help relieve teething discomforts;
=> Puppy teething toys are dog toys made specifically for puppies (weaker jaws). They are designed to be very durable to withstand constant chewing. Chewing toys helps train your puppy on what and what not to chew, it goes a long way to reduce puppy bites. Remember to have a variety of them (we get tired of using the same thing).
=> Frozen chew is another way to go. For this, you soak your puppy’s toys in any form of liquid like broth or gravy and freeze. Others prefer to freeze some carrots give their puppies to chew on.
=> Puppy teething gels are another alternative. However, do not use a teething gel on your puppy without a prescription from your veterinarian. Also, it is vital to note that, these gels can be unsafe when misused.
=> Gum massage when done correctly can help relieve sore gums.
=> Puppy-proof your house.
Aggressive Puppy Biting
Puppy biting is a normal behavior in puppies especially at 8 weeks, yes you heard me right. “But…”, but it’s painful? I know, those teeth are not sharp for nothing. “But he’s drawing blood” okay, that might be a cause for alarm or could be entirely normal. “Okay, the… the growling, yes and snarling, that can’t be normal” just don’t call your vet yet, it also is normal with puppies.
“Does it mean that puppies cannot be aggressive?” no, it doesn’t, although very rare, they have been reported cases of genuine puppy aggression, it is therefore imperative to learn how to tell the difference.
The commonest form of aggression in puppies is fear aggression. This normally comes to be when you punish your puppy, expose your puppy to a scary environment or hormones. You can tell your puppy is going through something through some of these signs;
- Freezing
- Stiff tail
- Growling excessively
- Barking and many more.
When do Puppies Stop Biting and Teething
Growth in dogs has been linked to when dogs stop biting and teething. So, when do dogs stop growing? This varies from puppy to puppy and also the breed of puppy is a determining factor. The growth period ranges from 10 months to a year for small dogs to 18 months for giant dogs.
There is no fixed age for when a puppy stops teething. However, at 6 – 7 months when the puppy has grown the complete 42 permanent teeth could be said to be when a puppy stops teething. At that stage, you would notice your puppy has naturally reduced chewing and nibbling on objects and your bodies. You can, however, train your puppy to stop biting from as early as 6 weeks. Yes, you can.
Excitement, attention, and poor bite inhibition are things that make biting worse. To stop puppy bite fast, you need to understand why your puppy bites, start training the puppy early and always remember positive enforcement as oppose to contrary enforcement. Biting during teething is challenging to maintain because your puppy is going through discomfort just like a baby does. In this phase patience is vital.
At the end of the day, it is essential to know that biting in puppies is normal and part of the teething process. It is equally crucial to look out for symptoms of teething and devise means of easing the pain.
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