Teething in Puppies
Puppies are born toothless, and remain so for several weeks. Around 3 to 5 weeks of age, the first baby teeth, the incisors (the small teeth in front) emerge, followed by the canines (fangs) at 5 to 6 weeks of age. The premolars erupt around 6 weeks of age. Puppies do not have molars---that really big tooth near the rear of the mouth you probably think is a molar is called the carnassial tooth, and is actually a premolar. The puppy will eventually have 28 deciduous (baby) teeth, with six incisors, two canines, and six premolars on both top and bottom. Compared to adult teeth, the baby teeth are very sharp.
As the teeth are coming in, the gums may hurt. You can help by giving your puppy things of a variety of textures and hardness to chew on. Make sure whatever you give him does not resemble anything of yours you don’t want him to chew. That means no old shoes! No socks, no stuffed animals (if you have children who collect them), nothing that resembles anything he can find around the house. What your puppy learns to chew on at an early age will tend to be what he looks for to chew on for the rest of his life. A particularly soothing toy is one that can be soaked in or filled with water and frozen, providing your puppy a cold teething object.
Even at this early age, you may notice occlusion problems. In ideal occlusion for most breeds, the upper incisors fit snugly just in front of the lower ones, and the lower canine is just in front of the upper one. In some flat-faced breeds, it's normal for the dog to be undershot, with the lower incisors in front of the upper ones. In some puppies, there may be a small gap between the upper and lower incisors. This very often improves on its own by adulthood. But in other puppies, the upper jaw may jut out well beyond the lower jaw, and the upper canine tooth may be placed in front of the lower canine tooth. This is an abnormal bite that probably will not get better. Some veterinary dentists have tried removing the upper baby canines to allow the lower jaw a chance to grow, but this has generally proved unsuccessful. As these puppies mature, you must make sure that the short lower jaw, which narrows toward the end, is not so short and narrow that the lower canines jab into the roof of the mouth (a condition called base-narrow). One report stated that for some puppies, playing lots of tug games have helped the lower canines flare outward enough to avoid the problem. In others, surgery may be required to shorten or remove the lower canines.
By 3 to 5 months of age, the baby incisors are replaced by permanent ones, followed by the permanent canine teeth at 4 to 6 months of age and the permanent premolars at 4 to 5 months of age. The molars come in around 5 to 7 months of age. The adult dog normally has 42 teeth (six incisors, two canines, four premolars and two molars) on top, and the same teeth but with an extra molar on each side on the bottom. Many dogs, however, are missing one or many of the small premolars, and a few dogs may have an extra premolar or two.
A common problem is the retention of baby teeth, which happens if the permanent tooth bud doesn't grow immediately beneath the baby tooth, so the roots of the baby tooth aren't resorbed as they normally are. This happens most often with the canine teeth. If they stay there for more than a week it could interfere with his occlusion, especially if he's a toy dog, so you should consult your veterinarian. Sometimes a baby tooth just remains in place, with no visible permanent tooth. Never have a retained baby tooth pulled without first checking to make sure an permanent tooth is ready to take its place. Sometimes, in toy breeds especially, the permanent tooth never develops and the baby tooth is the best you'll get!
As your puppy grows he'll need more chewing toys---even once he's through teething. Assemble a group of dog toys and only let your puppy have a few at a time, rotating them every few days so he has the excitement of new toys. Be sure to include some interactive toys, such as those he must work at in order to extract food. You can fill these with kibble, soft cheese, canned dog food, or peanut butter, and then freeze them to make them last even longer. Some toys dispense kibble a piece at a time as the toy is rolled. With luck, your dog will prefer these fancy toys to your fancy belongings.