Content
- Dog changing teeth?
- How many months does the dog change teeth?
- Symptoms of teeth growing in a dog
- What to do when the dog changes teeth?
- Be aware of possible complications
Having a puppy at home is discovering a whole new world, both for him and for us, as there are several changes a dog goes through, including changing its teeth, a process that may surprise you if you've never taken care of it. a dog before.
This process can go unnoticed if complications do not occur, but if we know a little more about the exchange of dog teeth we will be able to accompany our pet also during this move. In this post by PeritoAnimal, we clarify important information about this process: how many months does the dog change teeth, symptoms of this exchange and what to do so that the process occurs in the least painful and healthiest way possible.
Dog changing teeth?
Yes, just like a child, a dog loses teeth. The teething of a puppy has 28 baby teeth that as they fall, they give rise to a definitive set of 42 dental pieces. So, when we ask ourselves how many teeth a dog has, we must remember that this answer is different depending on its age: adult dogs have 42 teeth in their definitive denture and puppies less than 4 months old have 28 milk teeth.
How many months does the dog change teeth?
Lens teeth start to grow in a newborn dog after 15 days of life, when they start to open their eyes and explore the environment. Anyway, this monitoring can be done by the tutor himself, checking the puppy's mouth, and by the veterinarian or veterinarian during the consultations to follow the schedule of vaccinations and deworming, essential at this stage.
Afterwards, the definitive exchange starts at approximately Four months and ends between 6 and 9 months, although this period of time can always vary depending on the dog and its breed. In some dogs, permanent dentition can continue to develop until the first year of life.
Symptoms of teeth growing in a dog
This process often goes unnoticed, since the puppy shows no signs of pain and sometimes even swallows its teeth. That's why it can be hard to tell when the dog's tooth falls out. One of the main symptoms of changing dentures is desire to bite, this desire is accompanied by discomfort in the gums and a slight pain or getting the gums slightly inflamed.
What to do when the dog changes teeth?
Our intervention should be minimal because it is a physiological process and completely normal, but you can check it occasionally to make sure the teeth change happens naturally. What can also be done is to alleviate the pain that changing teeth in the dog causes with soft, cold toys.
If the dog has soft toys to bite, it will have more resources to manage pain and gingivitis. It is important that these are soft, bear in mind that harder toys are not recommended for up to 10 months. Another tip is cool the toys to reduce swelling if any.
You bones are not a good option either because they are too hard and consistent, save them for when the dog grows. Likewise, during this period of time, it will not be necessary for you to brush your puppy's teeth either, the accumulation of tartar and plaque only occurs in these early stages.
To relieve pain and swelling, an alternative for hot days is to offer ice cream. In the video below we leave a specific recipe for them:
Be aware of possible complications
Sometimes it is possible that the baby teeth do not fall out despite the force exerted by the permanent tooth. In these cases, some complications may occur.
If you find that your dog has not changed all of his teeth within the allotted amount of time, it is important that you see a veterinarian. because it can compromise the dog bite, that is, it can make your jaw not fit properly. In addition, in these cases, the visit to the veterinarian is quite necessary because the increase in pain can be considerable, in addition to the appearance of wounds, inflammation in the gums and inadequate growth of the dental parts, leaving an appearance of dog with a tooth out. That is why the veterinary evaluation is essential since, in some cases, a small surgical intervention may be necessary to detach this temporary piece and allow the development of the definitive dentition.