Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Puppy Teething

Puppy’s teeth just like babies and that is why they tend to chew on everything. Even if you scold them it isn’t going to change their mind about it. You will find most older dogs obey this type of warning not to do it because they aren’t teething. It is going to be your responsibility to keep things out of the reach of your puppy during this stage. Otherwise your furniture, shoes, and even collectibles could end up in their mouths.

This is why it is important to feed your puppy food specially formulated for them. Adult dog food can be too hard and crunchy for them to enjoy. Puppy food is softer so even if their teeth are bothering them they can still consume it. You may notice your puppy isn’t eating like normal. If this persists for several days you should call your vet. It may be due to teething but that isn’t always the case.

Make sure your puppy does have plenty of things they are allowed to chew on. This can help with the teething process for them. Bones that won’t splitter as well as toys are very good choices. You need to be careful that they can’t chew the toys in half and swallow pieces of it though. You will likely notice they enjoy sticks from the yard to chew on too. Keep your children’s balls and other toys out of reach or they will become destroyed as well.

Should you have an outside puppy make sure they can’t get to any cords. They will also chew on them. This can result in you not having phone, cable, or internet service. They can also injure themselves if they get a hold of an extension cord with power surging through it. A light coat of rubbing alcohol on such cords will also deter them from chewing on them.

Many people find limiting the amount of access that the puppy has around the home can greatly prevent them from chewing up things. Even outdoors you can put them on a dog run so they can’t venture too far. Keep in mind that teething is a stage your puppy is going through. It will soon pass and then you won’t have to worry so much about inappropriate chewing.

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