Puppy Teething Timeline: When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth?


playing puppy on a sofa. when do dogs lose their baby teeth

‘When do dogs lose their baby teeth’ is among a punch of several questions that new dog parents are kinda baffled with but totally should know the answer to.

You don’t want to be surprised by a stray tooth in a pile of your puppy hair that you cleaned off your couch. That’s not a sign of good doggy parenting. You have to be prepared for these kinds of situations.

That question along with How to care for my dog’s baby teeth? and How to care for a teething puppy? are essential knowledge for every dog parent to ensure their puppies having good healthy dental hygiene.

Also, learn about How to Take Care of your Dog’s Hair?

It’s so easy to prevent minor gum infection from turning into something bigger. Just a little effort and knowledge of what you are up against and your puppy’s teething process will pass as smooth as possible.

See also, The Best Dog Grooming Shears You Can Get in 2020 – Buyer’s Guide and for your dog to stay healthy they need to eat healthy. For more help check our Buyer’s Guide on The Best Dog Food for German Shepherd Puppy in 2020

Puppy Teething Timeline: When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth? |

In this article, ‘When do dogs lose their baby teeth’, we gonna help you with these questions and many others, hopefully, offering you everything you need to know about dog baby teeth. So, read on and let’s start with the first question.

Before ‘When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth’ Know The Anatomy Of Your Dog’s Mouth

Puppy Teething Timeline: When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth? |

Just like humans, our canines have teeth to help them with their cycle of life. A number of different sets of teeth for different tasks to be done, every dog has these types of teeth;

Incisor

Puppy Teething Timeline: When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth? |

Incisors are located at the front of the dog’s mouth. Our canines use their incisor for scraping, as their shape is ideal for getting the meat off bones. Incisors are not only used for scraping, but dogs also use them while they are grooming themselves, they are used to get fleas and ticks out of their coats and also to pick out parasites and kill them.

More tips for your dog’s health:

Canine

Puppy Teething Timeline: When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth? |

Canines are those long and pointed teeth found on the front of the dog’s mouth, they are just behind the incisors directly. This set of teeth is used to tear things apart like meat, for instance, when a dog eats meat he will use his canines to tear meat.

This is not their only job, canines are used to lock on any item in the dog’s mouth, anything like a bone, chew toy, a tree branch or anything. There are 4 canines in a dog’s mouth two on the upper jaw and two at the lower jaw.

Pre-Molar

Puppy Teething Timeline: When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth? |

Pre-molars are sharp-edged teeth located just behind the canines. They are used in the shredding and chewing of any food the dog is eating. If you saw a dog eating some sort of a meaty bone you will find that it is located at the side of his mouth and not at the front, so he can shred the meat of it with his pre-molars.

Molars

Puppy Teething Timeline: When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth? |

Molars are used to shred down anything that a dog has to chew like dry kibble and tough doggo biscuits too. Molars are found behind the pre-molar and they are considered to be the furthermost teeth in the dog’s jaw.

So, now you know the anatomy of a dog’s mouth, let’s get to another point on our ‘When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth’ article, let’s dive more in!

Also, Find out about Can Adult Dogs Regrow Teeth? Is It Possible?

When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth?

Before you know the answer to the question ‘When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth’, you will need to know more facts first.

Dogs are not born with teeth at all, they don’t need teeth at that age as they depend on their mother’s milk for their nutrition so, they don’t need teeth as milk is a fluid.

Puppy Teething Timeline: When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth? |

When they reach the age of three weeks, your little puppy will start to get his first set of teeth. Still, your puppy will depend on his mother’s milk so even the first set of teeth doesn’t have grinding molars as he/she doesn’t need them yet.

To give a fully comprehensive answer to this question you have to be aware of all the stages that your dog’s baby teeth go through. That’s why it’s important to know the timeline of your dog’s baby teeth growth.

When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth?; Puppy Teething Timeline

Puppy Teething Timeline: When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth? |

Puppies have baby teeth just like humans babies. Here is a comprehensive timeline of the teething process so you will know what to expect and prepare while your furry four-legged friend goes into adulthood

When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth?; Weeks 2 to 4

Puppy Teething Timeline: When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth? |

In this time, Your dog will still be at the breeder’s and with his mother, you will still being nursing at that time. His eyes will be opened and his teeth will be starting to grow. During this period your puppy’s baby teeth will gradually start to show.

Weeks 5 to 6:

By the start of this period, all your puppy’s baby teeth should have come in. Your dog will have about 28 baby teeth in total. Those are not the teeth that the puppy will continue living with, those are ‘milk teeth’ that will eventually fall off and then his adult teeth will come out.

Puppy Teething Timeline: When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth? |

This is the stage when you will likely try to wean your puppy in the litter as they learn to eat hard-soft moist puppy food. Check our 13 Human Foods Safe for Dogs (With Recipes!) if you are considering to give your puppy homemade food. Find healthy and balanced types of human food that you can give to your puppy.

When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth?; Weeks 12 to 16:

From this stage, the answer to our question ‘When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth’ will be answered.

Puppy Teething Timeline: When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth? |

losing baby teeth starts! During this period, you may start to find a little crumb of rice-sized teeth around your puppy’s playing areas. This is an indication that your puppy is shedding his baby teeth and permanent adult teeth are emerging.

The transition from baby teeth to permanent teeth is a painful process for your puppy so, he will need your help to ease it out a little bit. You should offer your puppy safe chew toys, also check with your vet periodically to make sure everything is moving along as it should.

Puppy Teething Timeline: When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth? |

Tip.
This is also the period when your pup is highly adaptable to new experiences around him.
So take advantage of that and familiarize him with you touching his mouth outside and in.
That will help you a lot in the long run as you’ll be setting your puppy up to be able to enjoy or at least tolerate getting his teeth brushed.

Be careful, the remaining baby teeth still razor-sharp so, beware, or he will bite you.

If you are getting your pooch from a breeder, you may not see the process of the teeth transitioning of the puppy as some breeders give the new puppy owners their puppies at the age of 12-16 weeks, others would let you take the puppy at the age of 8 weeks it depends on the breeder’s preferences.

Keep in mind that this age is the ideal age for socialization for your puppy, expose your dog to new experiences but don’t put him in a high-level of pressure while doing so.

Since we are talking in the mean of your dog’s teeth and When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth, you could make your puppy get used to you touching his mouth and teeth, but beware of being nibbed as the baby teeth are razor-sharp and will injure you deeply if you don’t deal with your dog with extra care.

Puppy Teething Timeline: When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth? |

You are doing this to make your dog comfortable with you touching his mouth area so when you start to brush your puppies teeth he will be comfortable with. Check Can You Brush Dog Teeth with Coconut Oil? when you start to brush your dog’s teeth.

When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth?; 6 Months and Older:

By the end of the first six months of your puppy’s age, he would have lost all his baby teeth and his adult teeth should have grown in. In general, there should be a set of 42 teeth in adult dogs that’s about 10 more than adult people.

Puppy Teething Timeline: When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth? |

If there are still baby teeth remaining, make sure to check with your veterinarian as they may need to be removed

The order of the baby teeth’s fall is:

a puppy resting on the arm of owner. when do dogs lose their baby teeth

First, the incisors’ milk teeth, incisors are six teeth at the top and bottom of your puppy’s mouth, they are small teeth located between the large fangs, those teeth will fall off, they will do that around 12 to 16 weeks of the puppy’s age. After that, the canine teeth fall out around 16 weeks. At last, the pre-molars will fall off at the age of 24 weeks.

At this age, your puppy has lost all the milk teeth or as vets call it ‘deciduous teeth‘ Now for the frequently asked questions, you may have regarding dog baby teeth.

How to Care for a Teething Puppy?

OK, before anything, I know you love your puppy dearly but try not to dramatize the whole teething process that he goes through. It’s a natural part of his transition into maturity.

Puppy Teething Timeline: When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth? |

Don’t worry too much. Be sure that If the puppy is still engaging in normal activities like eating, drinking, socializing, grooming and exploring, then there isn’t really a problem. If not then you may assume that the pain or discomfort is affecting his quality of life. and then you may take your puppy to the vet.

There isn’t much that you can offer at this stage. The only thing that you can do is to supply good, safe chews so that the dog can pass the teething process with appropriate items.

Go to the nearest pets store and look for toys that are flexible, soft and bend easily in your hand. If it is too hard to bend, flex or break, it is too hard for your dog. You can check for chew toys at our store Glamorous Dogs for high-quality dog’s items at reasonable prices.

How to Care for Dogs Baby Teeth

Puppy Dental Care

Puppy Teething Timeline: When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth? |

If you have a puppy in the age range between 14 and 30 weeks, keep the following instructions in mind;

Puppies in their mid of the teething process usually tend to eat slightly less and chew more. It’s advisable to provide them with hard rubber or rawhide toys made especially for dogs. They usually help prevent household damage.

Make sure to get your young puppy used to a dental care regime, even though the puppy teeth don’t normally last long enough to have any serious problems.

From time to time try to gently reach into his mouth and rub his gums and teeth. This procedure will get him used to have someone’s fingers in his mouth and will make future dental care much easier.

Start with a small finger toothbrush then move on to a bigger toothbrush that is approved for use with dogs and puppies.

Make sure to use a toothpaste that is formulated especially for dogs. These come in a variety of dog-friendly flavors. NEVER EVER use human toothpaste.

If puppy teeth didn’t fall out after 30 weeks, take your puppy to the vet as these teeth may need to be removed. And that will take us to our next question

Read also, How Often Should You Brush Your Dog’s Teeth Using Baking Soda

What to Do When Dogs Baby Teeth Don’t Fall out?

To Pull or Not to Pull

The shortest answer is: If your puppy has surpassed 7 months of age and his baby teeth didn’t fall out on their own, they should be pulled.

Puppy Teething Timeline: When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth? |
credit: tomlyn

However, this is not something you should try on your own. The process of extracting a retained tooth is painful to your puppy and should be done under general anesthesia.

Most vets check for retained teeth at the time of spaying or neutering and remove any additional teeth for a small fee (or free, in some cases) while they have your pet under anesthesia. If you do not have plans to spay or neuter your pet, see your veterinarian to discuss the removal of any retained teeth before dental problems occur.

Try not to wait too long to get the baby tooth pulled, as the overall bite problems or jaw problems may then require pricey pet orthodontic treatment to reposition the teeth.

Read also on your Dog’s health section, What is Periodontal Disease in Dogs?

When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth; Double Teeth

Sometimes, the process of teething doesn’t go the usual way as it is supposed to go, your puppy may get his adult teeth growing out with his stubborn milk teeth staying at their places, this case is called double teeth as both adult and baby teeth are there at the same spot.

Puppy Teething Timeline: When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth? |

At first, you won’t notice that the adult’s teeth are growing behind the baby teeth, the adult teeth will push and put pressure on the stubborn milk teeth to force it to fall, if that doesn’t happen, you will need to go to the vet to get the milk teeth extracted out to give the space for the adult’s teeth to get in place.

When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth; Taking Care of Adults Teeth

Congratulations! Now your dog is gifted with his permanent 42 adult canine teeth, your mission of maintaining this set should go forever as now they will not fall of the milk teeth your dog had before.

Puppy Teething Timeline: When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth? |

Taking care of your dog’s teeth is not only about keeping his breath as fresh as possible, in fact, maintaining your dog’s dental care is crucial for his overall health.

Not taking care of your dog’s teeth will lead to building germs and bacteria on his teeth which will appear in the shape of tartar. With time if you didn’t clean this tartar off your dog’s teeth and gum it will cause serious problems of your dog’s not being able to eat well ending with losing the tooth or getting bacteria transferred to the dog’s bloodstream.

So, don’t ever underestimate the effects that could happen because of ignoring taking care of your dog’s teeth, it could transfer to one of the worst nightmares a dog owner might get.

There are many options out there for you to take care of your dog’s teeth; dog’s toothpaste found in stores, homemade recipes to make your own toothpaste at home if you are looking for an eco-friendly solution to keep your dog’s teeth clean without harming mother nature.

Puppy Teething Timeline: When Do Dogs Lose Their Baby Teeth? |

So, here is our article about all that you need to know about your dog’s teeth, When do dogs lose their baby teeth, and even what to do after your doggo get his permanent teeth.

That’s it, I hope this helps and answers your questions. If you liked it, share it with a friend. He may have the same questions in mind.

And as always, If you liked what you read here and you wanna read more check my other articles on How to trim black dog nails or How to get dog hair off your couch

If you got any other questions, comment below and let me know, I will get back to you ASAP. Have a nice day! Read you next time!

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