Teething Troubles and the Doodle
A puppy begins teething at age 4 months, and it can last until they are a year old. During this trying phase of growing up, it may seem that your dood has an insatiable desire to chew everything in sight. Training and redirection are the keys to saving your house. Here are a couple of tips to help you deal with teething.
1) Have a variety of chew toys designed for teething puppies on hand. Rotate the toys daily. A chew toy will give the puppy something acceptable to gnaw on. Do NOT give a puppy an old shoe, he won’t be able to discriminate between the “throw away” and the “new”.
2) When you’re not at home or able to pay attention to his activities, confine the puppy – either to a crate or to a room with nothing it can damage in it.
3) Use both positive and negative VERBAL reinforcement. Give positive verbal reinforcement to encourage your puppy to chew on things you want him to chew on. Don’t be afraid to give a firm verbal “Bad dog” as you take away an unacceptable item. Then replace with one of his chew toys. Always keep in mind, if your puppy chewed your shoe, or anything else that’s unacceptable – it’s YOU that allowed access to the item by either leaving it out or not using a crate to confine a curious puppy.
Signs of Teething:
Swollen inflamed gums
Bleeding gums
Missing teeth
Increased desire to chew
Reluctance to chew kibble
Some great chew items for sore gums:
a rope toy that has been soaked in water and frozen – under your watchful eye because strings can be pulled out and should never be swallowed
a large carrot, frozen
a puppy nylabone – they’re softer
a Kong filled with a little peanut butter and frozen
You see the pattern here – anything frozen will soothe sore gums.
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