River’s now 21 weeks old and has 8 beautiful adult incisors that emerged a few weeks ago. He was a bit whiny and chewed and nibbled a bit more but we got through that stage okay.

But now? He’s been whining and unsettled on and off all day. I think either his canines are thinking about coming out or the third incisors are coming in or both. Last night at ringcraft he was growling and snapping at one of the judges because she went near his face and he was scared she’d hurt him. He doesn’t want to be picked up but he does want to sit on my lap and bite at my arms, and he’s finding it hard to settle down or sleep. I can touch his face but I think if I tried to lift his lips he’d growl and probably try to nip.

What have you found most helpful for teething puppies?

What I’ve done so far:
* Soft rope toys made from strips of old T-shirts, soaked in water and frozen. He’ll chew them for a minute then abandons them.
* The usual bully sticks and other dried bits of dead animal. If he hasn’t finished something after maybe an hour, it ceases to exist. Yak cheese chews are a bit better but he’s losing interest in them as well. I think they just hurt him too much.
* Lots of the usual chew toys, with and without squeakers. He prefers soft teddy type toys and will terrorise then for a while, but starts crying again once he’s done playing.
* Ice cubes made from meat stock. I’ve had conflicting advice on these with some people saying they can break puppy teeth, but he’s very careful and only licks them at first, moving onto chewing once they get a bit melty and soft. Great while he’s busy with them, cries again straight afterwards so I don’t think the effect lasts long.
* Stuffed frozen Kongs/Lickimat. Same as above.
* Metacam. This does help, but not enough to stop him crying.
* Cuddling/snuggling. Doesn’t last long before he’s biting hard enough that I have to move away or put him in the crate to calm down, despite my best efforts to distract him with toys.

Have heard frozen carrots can be useful

my whippet puppy is about the same age and is all nippy and chewy and short tempered just the same.    rabbit ears are well received but don't last long.  oddly she is really enjoying me brushing her teeth at the moment even though all swollen and sore- seems to find it soothing,  will be glad when its over though as nothing is safe from her at the moment- all she wants to do is bite. so far lost a computer cable (not plugged in) my kindle cover, a glasses case, cushion, damaged shoe, her bedding,   cannot be trusted for a minute right now as she is desperate to try any new thing to bite on- I suspect she keeps hoping the new item will relieve her poor mouth. having to crate her when left alone as NOTHING is safe.

I found that calf hooves were good when mine was a pup. She loved chewing on them although the smell was horrendous it was worth it as it kept her occupied and helped her with teething

I just hate hearing him cry and feel terrible that my sweet boy is feeling bad enough that he has to growl and bite.

We took him to PaH tonight so he could pick out a few new toys and chews and he was much more barky than usual and a bit worried about things he would normally take in his stride.

I spent an hour with him we got home playing with his new toys (soft cuddly doughnut and hotdog that he was immediately interested in, and some Nylabone teething keys that smell of bacon) in an attempt to tire him out, and now he’s relatively quiet in the crate chewing on a piece of dried venison so we might have 5 minutes of peace.

He’s very upset if I leave the room as well, and I’m having to keep the cat well away from him as he barks and growls now as soon as he sees him (and two days ago he was wagging his tail and trying to persuade the cat to play). And all hell breaks loose if he thinks the cat is eating something! Then we have a temper tantrum meltdown.

I have to admit I’m beginning to understand why so many adolescent dogs end up surrendered to rescues. Not that I’d entertain the thought of giving River up for a second, but it’s pretty tough when your sweet puppy is doing a great impression of being possessed by demons. I know he can’t help it and I’m trying to help him as best I can, but it’s definitely a challenge right now.

mine is having episodes of being the same but being a whippet she sleeps 80% of time so its a lot easier as she looks so sweet and is so cuddly sleepy that can forgive her anything lol

All you can do is count to a million cross your fingers and remember the worst behaved pups make the best adults and memories.

River does seem a bit more settled today. Still biting but not so hard, and he’s definitely less grumpy - only barked at the cat once when having his pre-lunch chew! ;)

We haven’t done much in the way of actually brushing his teeth yet, but he’s had a gentle gnaw at the brush covered in gel and seems to quite like it.

I popped some chunks of carrot in the freezer so I can try that later - he doesn’t seem that bothered about carrot usually so I expect he’ll just shred it and leave me a load of bits to clean up, but if it helps him I don’t mind.

I haven’t seen the upper teeth today but he definitely now has the third set of incisors on the lower jaw. Loads more to come through yet, unfortunately! :(

I found my pup really did enjoy the cow feet bones.  She actually had 1 retained deciduous tooth at 6 months, and the raw bones helped it out. She has a beautiful "smile" now at 10 months old.  So I second Jodi on cow hooves.  I actually give her 2-3 a week, throw them out when she is no longer interested in them.  She has beautiful teeth, absolutely no bad breath, and the best thing....I never have to brush her teeth!