Embrace that wet nose and the kisses that come along with that WigglyButt.
Keep reading if you are curious about:
- How many teeth are in your dog’s mouth…
- What you can do to promote healthy teeth…
- …Plus easy breath treats
Fast Facts About Your Dog’s Teeth
... oh my!
Just like humans, dogs lose their teeth too. I know that some of you right now are thinking: “well duh!”
If you have never had a puppy, then you may not understand the needle nature of their teeth, or how quickly they shed puppy (deciduous) teeth.
Is your pooch missing teeth? How many teeth are they supposed to have?
Day two with our stinky dog, nothing crazy happened except for she lost four teeth in a span of 20 minutes!
I was playing tag, and tug of war, all while trying to teach our pup not to bite/nip.
In all of the fun, she was barreling toward me! While trying to avoid hurting me with her teeth, as my husband puts it, “I knocked out Pi’s teeth.”
For the record, I did not knock out her teeth. She ran into my arm with her mouth open. We both felt the ramifications of the situation!
Have you experienced needle teeth? THEY’RE SHARP!
As it turns out, she didn’t have enough dental stimulation while she was in her foster home. She did not have many things to gnaw on which in turn would have promoted proper dental development.
Therefore, in one evening she lost four teeth, and in a week she lost almost 10 teeth.
Don’t judge me!
To be fair, she was four-ish months old and due for her permanent teeth. So don’t worry she wasn’t all gums.
I guess this is where she gets her crooked smile!
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puppy teeth arrival
When do puppy teeth arrive?
Hint: most puppies are ready for adoption by eight weeks.
Just before the eight weeks puppies are weaned off of mom’s milk, because she fed up with her pups nipping her nips.
Dogs are born without teeth. By the time they reach the 7-8 month mark, they should have all of their permanent teeth.
As seen in the above chart, teeth development begins in the front on the mouth.
>> How many teeth are in a set of dog chompers?
Incisors are the teeth at the very front of the mouth. There are six permanent incisors on the top and on the bottom jaw.
Next in line come the canines. These are the two vampire looking teeth on the upper and lower jaw.
Premolars are the third in line for puppy development. Puppies will have six on the upper and 6 on the lower jaw. Temporary premolars will be replaced by a total of 8 permanent premolars.
Last in line for dental development are the molars. While they are not present at the temporary teething stage, a total of 10 permanent molar will emerge behind the premolars. The upper jaw will have four molars, and the remaining six will emerge on the lower jaw.
Advice alert: KEEP YOUR PUP’S MOUTH HAPPY AND OCCUPIED!
Teething is uncomfortable, plus pups explore the world through their mouth. Reinforcing positive play and habits will also help your pup learn not to nip and what they should not chew.
This is a good time to develop good habits.
The average puppy will have 28 deciduous teeth, while the average adult dog will have 42 permanent teeth.
Dogs on average have 10 more permanent teeth than humans. I say on average because every pooch is different.
For example: smooshed face dogs have less teeth because their skulls cannot accommodate all 42 teeth.
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Relief For Your Furniture And Shoes
Teething snacks are important to sooth those achy achy puppy gums. If you do not provide adequate sources of entertainment and gum relief, then I hope you like the look of distressed and somewhat lopsided furniture.
Simple teething snacks:
- Carroteenies [teeny carrots]
- Green beans
- Ice cubes or low sodium dog friendly broth cubes
- Frozen blueberries
- Raw butcher bones. Depending on the type of bone, cooked bones will splinter and may cause intestinal harm. Use RAW bones.
There are multiple opinions on what happened that one rambunctious night between our pup and I. Now our pooch has a sweet, pearly white, crooked smile.
Since her adult teeth were already growing, we did not have to revert back to soft food for her.
This scruffy pup continued yapping and chewing on all things dog friendly.
Did I mention she has an under bite with the most crooked teeth ever. Yet somehow, her mugshot is one of the sweetest you will ever see.
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dog breath
Soak up all of that puppy while you can, because once puppy breath is gone…IT IS GONE.
Canine oral hygiene plays a key role in the overall health of your scraggly four legged buddy. Stinky breath is a definite sign of inadequate oral hygiene [this counts for humans too].
Using dry kibble is not a reliable method to clean your dog’s teeth. That would be like brushing your teeth with a cookie. Yes, it tastes yummy, but I assure you it is in-effective. [As if you haven’t tried at least once in your life time.]
Getting your pup used to you playing and handling their snout is a great start to working your way to brushing their teeth. They have to learn that it is alright for their muzzle to be handled.
I am pretty sure if it is important for us to brush all 32 of our teeth [or what’s left], then it is just as important for us to dedicate time to our pooches 42 teeth.
Oral hygiene can be facilitated by:
- *Call me old fashioned… but brushing teeth with a toothbrush works well
- Teeth cleaning chew toys
- Breath freshening water additives
- Breath freshening snacks
*Indicates best option [since they lick their WigglyButts]
There are many homemade treats that are not only tasty, but they will freshen your buddy’s breath too [I cannot guarantee it will work on your human buddy].
Simple fresh breath treats include [but are not limited to] fresh baby carrots and fresh green beans. Yeap. Little carroteenies and crunchy green strings are the way to go for fresher breath and clean teeth.
If the crunch and size of baby carrots may be too much for puppies, steaming carrots to make them manageable may be the way to go for puppies [and senior dogs].
Fun Facts About Carroteenies:
- One medium orange crunchy has approximately 3.5 calories or 35 calories in 100 grams.
- If too many baby carrots are consumed, urine may have a more orange hue.
In general carrots are a good source of beta-carotene, fiber, vitamin A, Biotin, K1, potassium, B6, and then some… - Ranks low on the glycemic index. Meaning it does not spike blood sugar and it is a great diabetic dog snack.
If you are going with teeth cleaning chew toys, then they should obviously be non-toxic, and they should not splinter as your pooch gnaws away happily.
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pearly whites
So this is awkward to admit, but I think our dog has whiter teeth than I do. Put those judge-y eyes away! Come on now… she is younger and I’m a tea drinker!
Either way, plaque and tartar affect dogs just the same as humans. The difference is that humans can take charge of their dental health while our four legged companions need assistance from us people.
Dogs are prone to gingivitis and periodontal disease, which means regular dental care is imperative. Daily teeth brushing is ideal.
summary
Take care of your pup’s teeth. They need our help since they are under our care!
When your dog approaches you for kisses, you should not have to shy away because of the impending eye and nose hair burning due to stinky bacteria covered salmon breath.
You know it is bad when dogs would rather smell a WigglyButt rather than a snout.
Embrace that wet nose and the kisses that come along with that WigglyButt.
Time for some wet kisses!! What are some ways you keep up with your dog’s teeth?
