Last updated October 26, 2026
The quickest relief for a teething puppy is something cold and soft to chew. A damp washcloth frozen into a stick, a rubber teething toy chilled in the freezer, or a large carrot held out for your puppy all cool the gums and give those itchy new teeth something safe to work against. Keep the sessions short, stay in the room, and swap the toy for a fresh cold one when it warms up.
Teething runs from about 3 to 4 months to around 7 months, when the last adult teeth come in. Most of what you see, extra chewing, a little drool, a spot of blood on a toy, is normal and passes on its own. The puppy teething timeline shows when each stage happens. Your job is to give sore gums a safe outlet, keep the risky things out of reach, and know the few signs that mean a call to the vet.
What teething looks like
As the adult teeth push up, the gums get sore and a puppy chews more to ease them. You might see heavier mouthing of hands and furniture, a bit more drool, gums that look red or puffy along the edge, and the odd fleck of blood on a chew toy or in the water bowl. Now and then you will find a tiny tooth on the floor, though most are swallowed with food and do no harm.
Appetite can dip for a day or two when a sore patch is at its worst, and breath can turn a little stale while teeth are changing. Both usually settle within a week or so. The chewing is not all pain either, since puppies explore with their mouths and the teething months land in the middle of that. So expect chewing, and give it somewhere useful to go rather than trying to stop it.
What soothes sore gums
Cold is the active ingredient, and soft keeps it safe. A clean washcloth, wet, wrung out and twisted into a rope, then frozen, is the cheapest soother there is and easy to hold for a small puppy. Rubber teething toys made for dogs do the same job and last longer. Keep two or three in the fridge or freezer and rotate them, because a cold one works and a warm one gets ignored.
A rubber toy packed with a little wet food and then frozen turns a two-minute chew into a longer one, which helps when your puppy is most restless. If eating looks uncomfortable, soften dry food with warm water or switch to wet food for a few days.
Keep chew time supervised and fairly short, because a puppy left alone with any chew can work a piece loose and swallow it. When your puppy bites you instead of the toy, a calm swap onto the toy teaches the lesson without a fuss.
Safe cold foods, and the size rule
A few plain foods double as cold soothers. A large whole carrot, chilled or frozen and held at one end for your puppy, gives a satisfying gnaw. A slice of frozen banana or a little plain frozen fruit works too. Keep all treats and chews to roughly a tenth of your puppy's daily food, so the main diet still does the feeding.
Size is the thing to watch. Cut nothing into small chunks a puppy can gulp, because a swallowed lump is a choking risk. Give a piece big enough that it has to be chewed, or hold it yourself.
Check what goes inside a stuffed toy, too. Peanut butter is a popular filler, and some brands are sweetened with xylitol, which is toxic to dogs. In dogs, xylitol has been linked to a drop in blood sugar at doses above about 100 mg/kg and to liver injury above about 500 mg/kg, and it turns up in sugar-free gum and human toothpaste as well (Merck Veterinary Manual). Read the label before you reach for the jar, and keep sugar-free gum and your own toothpaste where a puppy cannot find them.
The hardness rule, and what not to give
The single most useful habit is the thumbnail test. Press your nail into the chew. If it leaves a mark, it is soft enough for a puppy's mouth. If it stays hard, it can chip a tooth. A kneecap version works too. If being hit on the knee with it would hurt, it is too hard.
This matters more in a dog than you might think. A dog's tooth enamel is only 0.1 to 1 mm thick, measured across 194 dog and cat teeth, and it is thinner than our own (Crossley, J Vet Dent 1995). The adult teeth coming in during teething are new, and a hairline crack is too fine for an owner to spot. So press every chew rather than trusting how it looks.
That rules out several things owners reach for in good faith. Ice cubes get suggested as a free soother but are hard enough to crack a tooth, so keep the cold for soft toys and food instead. Antlers, hooves, cooked or dense weight-bearing bones and hard nylon chews all fail the thumbnail test too.
Keep these out of reach
Some popular fixes do more harm than good. Human teething gels are made for people, and many contain benzocaine, which the US Food and Drug Administration warns against even for human babies under two because it can cause a serious blood disorder called methemoglobinemia. It has no place in a puppy's mouth. Human painkillers such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen are not safe for dogs at all, so never give one for teething pain.
A few everyday items are toxic to dogs and worth naming. Grapes and raisins, concentrated essential oils such as tea tree, and anything sweetened with xylitol should all stay well away. The chewing phase also means a puppy will test electrical cords, shoes and small objects, so tidy those up while the urge to gnaw is at its peak.
If your puppy does swallow something it shouldn't, or gets into gum, a sweetener or a human medicine, call your vet or an animal poison line straight away rather than waiting to see what happens.
Where dental powders and additives fit
Teething is about sore gums and new teeth arriving, not about plaque, so a dental powder, chew or water additive is not a teething remedy. Those products are made for plaque and tartar control in adult dogs, and many are not meant for young puppies. If you are thinking about one, check the minimum age on the pack first.
What does pay off now is the habit. Spend a few seconds a day lifting your puppy's lips and touching the teeth and gums, then give a treat. A puppy used to having its mouth handled makes the move to a soft brush and dog toothpaste simple once the adult teeth are in. Building that routine early is the best thing you can do against the gum disease adult dogs get, which starts with the plaque that daily care keeps down.
When teething needs a vet
Most teething sorts itself out, but book a vet visit if you see any of these.
- Two teeth sharing one spot, usually a thin baby fang beside a new adult tooth. This is a retained baby tooth, and it crowds the adult tooth and traps plaque, so a vet often removes it.
- A broken baby tooth, especially one with a pink, red or dark center. Bacteria can get in through the break and reach the adult tooth forming underneath.
- Bleeding that will not stop, a swelling on the face or gum, or pus.
- A puppy that will not eat even soft food, or seems flat and feverish.
- Lower canines digging into the roof of the mouth when the jaw closes.
Pawing at the mouth, dropping food or chewing only on one side can be signs of tooth pain rather than ordinary teething, and they are worth a check. The six-month look described in the teething timeline is the moment to catch a retained tooth before it causes trouble.
Questions owners ask
What can I give my puppy to chew on when teething?
Soft rubber teething toys, a frozen damp washcloth, a rubber toy stuffed with a little wet food and frozen, or a large carrot held for your puppy. The test is simple. If your thumbnail dents it, it is safe, and if it does not, it can break a tooth.
Are frozen carrots good for teething puppies?
Yes, in small amounts and the right size. A large whole carrot, chilled or frozen and held at one end, is a good cold chew. Avoid small chunks that can be gulped, and keep carrots and other treats to about a tenth of the day's food.
How long does puppy teething last?
From about 3 to 4 months, when the baby teeth start to drop, to around 6 or 7 months, when the last adult teeth are in. Very small breeds can run a few weeks longer.
Does a teething puppy need pain medicine?
Usually not. Cold soft chews and patience handle ordinary teething soreness, and human painkillers and teething gels are unsafe for dogs. If your puppy seems to be in real pain or will not eat, see your vet rather than medicate at home.
References
- Crossley DA. Tooth enamel thickness in the mature dentition of domestic dogs and cats, preliminary study. J Vet Dent. 1995;12(3), 111-113. PMID 9693636
- Merck Veterinary Manual. Xylitol toxicosis in dogs (toxicology, food hazards).
- Merck Veterinary Manual. Muylle S. Dental development of dogs (pet owner version, updated June 2025).
- Merck Veterinary Manual. Mulherin BL. Developmental abnormalities of the mouth and dentition in small animals (reviewed February 2024).
- US Food and Drug Administration. Warnings on over-the-counter benzocaine oral products for teething and the risk of methemoglobinemia (2011, 2012, 2014; 2018 action on products for children under 2).