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July 22, 2026 8 min read
TL;DR: Puppy teething runs roughly from 3 to 6 months, with peak misery around 4 to 5 months when adult teeth are pushing through. Safe options: frozen washcloths, soft rubber Nylabones (size appropriate), ice cubes, frozen carrots, frozen wet washcloths with bone broth, and lick mats with frozen yogurt. Skip rawhide (choking and digestive issues), cooked bones (splinter), hard plastic chews (can crack adult teeth), and anything small enough to swallow whole. Supervise heavy chewers. The whole stage lasts a few months and then it's over.
Puppy teething is one of those experiences that's mostly fine until it isn't. Most days, your puppy chews things, you redirect, life moves on. Then one bad week your puppy is bleeding from the mouth, your shoes are destroyed, and you start questioning everything. Both phases are normal. Knowing what to give them (and what not to) makes the bad weeks much shorter.
This guide covers the teething timeline, the safest chew options for different ages, the frozen treats that actually help, what to absolutely avoid, and how to redirect biting toward appropriate targets so your hands and furniture survive.
Tiny, needle-sharp deciduous teeth start coming in. The puppy is still with the litter and the mother handles most of the teething chaos.
By the time most puppies go home with their families (8 to 12 weeks), they have a full set of 28 puppy teeth.
The incisors (front teeth) come in first. You may find tiny "lost" baby teeth around the house. Some puppies swallow them, which is harmless.
This is the rough stretch. Adult premolars and canines are emerging. Gums are sore. Puppies chew everything they can reach. Blood streaks on chew toys are normal (it's gum bleeding, not a problem).
The final adult teeth (molars) push through. Most puppies have a complete adult set of 42 teeth by 6 to 7 months.
Teething is done. Chewing continues because puppies (and adolescent dogs) just like to chew. But the discomfort is over.
Two reasons:
The chewing isn't malicious or even particularly trainable during peak teething. Your job is to redirect it to appropriate targets, not stop it.
Wet a clean washcloth, wring it out, twist it into a rope shape, and freeze. The cold soothes sore gums and the rough texture feels good to chew. Free, easy, and effective.
For extra appeal, wet the cloth with low-sodium chicken or beef broth (no onion, no garlic) before freezing. Now it tastes like food too.
Replace when it starts to fray. Supervise heavy chewers, you don't want them swallowing cloth pieces.
The simplest teething treat. Drop an ice cube in the puppy's water bowl or on the floor. The cold numbs gums. Cheap, no calories, easy.
For small puppies, a full ice cube can be a choking hazard. Use crushed ice or smaller cubes instead.
A whole raw carrot, frozen, is a satisfying teething chew. Hard enough to provide pressure relief, cold enough to soothe gums, edible if the puppy chews it down.
Use medium or large carrots, not baby carrots (choking hazard for small puppies). Supervise the first few sessions to make sure the puppy chews rather than tries to swallow whole.
Brands like Nylabone (the soft "puppy" line, not the hard adult versions), Kong Puppy (made from a softer rubber than adult Kongs), and similar soft rubber toys are designed to flex under the bite force of a puppy without cracking developing teeth.
Hard rubber and nylon toys made for adult dogs can crack puppy teeth or hurt their developing jaw. Stick to soft puppy-specific versions until adult teeth are fully in.
Size matters too. The toy should be too big to swallow whole but small enough to fit comfortably in the puppy's mouth.
A silicone lick mat smeared with plain Greek yogurt, mashed banana, or pumpkin and frozen for an hour or two becomes a long-lasting teething distraction. The cold soothes gums, the licking is calming, and the puppy is occupied for 15 to 30 minutes.
Pup-safe fillings: plain Greek yogurt, plain pumpkin (not pie filling), mashed banana, plain wet puppy food, or a thin smear of natural peanut butter (no xylitol). See our yogurt guide for safe brands.
Stuff a puppy-sized Kong with plain puppy food, mashed banana, or a mix of yogurt and a small amount of peanut butter. Freeze for 1 to 2 hours. The puppy works at it for a long time.
Use the Kong Puppy (the lighter blue version), not the regular red Kong, which is too hard for puppy teeth.
Frozen blueberries, frozen watermelon cubes (no rind, no seeds), or frozen banana slices give cold relief plus a snack reward. Almost no calories, no risk to teeth, easy to make in bulk.
For older puppies (5+ months), softer chew treats like single-ingredient freeze-dried meat (which softens fast in the mouth) work as both a treat and a teething aid. The chewing pressure relieves sore gums while the puppy works the treat down.
Skip it. Rawhide can break off in chunks that cause choking or intestinal blockages. It also expands when wet, which makes blockages worse if a chunk does get swallowed. Adult dogs have plenty of issues with rawhide too, but puppies are at higher risk because their teeth aren't strong enough to chew it down properly.
Never. Cooked bones (chicken, beef, pork) splinter and can puncture the GI tract. This applies to all dogs, but puppies are especially vulnerable.
Standard Nylabones and other hard nylon/plastic chews are too hard for puppy teeth and can crack developing teeth. Wait until adult teeth are fully in (7+ months) before introducing the hard versions.
Too hard. A common cause of cracked teeth in dogs of all ages, and puppies are at even higher risk. Skip until adult.
Anything small enough to swallow is a choking hazard. Tennis balls (the fuzz can be chewed off and swallowed), small rubber toys, parts of bigger toys that can break off, fabric stuffies with loose squeakers, anything that fits entirely in the puppy's mouth at once. Supervise.
Some "natural" rope chews and braided treats can shed long fibers that wrap around the intestines. Stick to chews that don't string out when bitten.
Tempting because they're free, but sticks splinter and can lodge in the roof of the mouth or throat. Provide an actual chew toy instead.
This is a redirection issue, not a danger issue. But if you let your puppy chew your hands during teething, they learn that hands are appropriate chew toys, which is a hard habit to break in adolescence. When the puppy goes for your hand, calmly redirect to a chew toy.
Puppies bite hands, feet, ankles, pant legs, and anything else that moves. The standard approach:
Don't expect this to work perfectly during peak teething (4 to 5 months). Some days the puppy is just miserable and bitey. Manage with frozen treats, plenty of appropriate chews, and patience. It ends.
Frozen toys and ice cubes have no calorie cost, so as much as the puppy wants.
For frozen food treats (yogurt drops, frozen Kongs, lick mats with filling), count toward the daily treat budget. Puppies need a higher percentage of calories from main meals to support growth, so keep treats at 5 to 10 percent of daily calories rather than the 10 percent maximum for adults.
A puppy that weighs 15 lbs (still growing) might be eating 700 to 900 daily calories. Treat budget: 35 to 90 calories.
Some bleeding from the gums during teething is normal. Call the vet if you notice:
Our regular treats (baked biscuits, Pupsicles) aren't formulated specifically for teething, but the Pupsicles in particular work well as a frozen distraction during peak teething weeks. They're soft enough to be gentle on developing teeth, cold enough to soothe gums, and the meat-based flavor is high motivation for puppies.
For homemade teething aids, the frozen washcloth and frozen carrot are still the cheapest, easiest options and worth keeping on hand throughout the 4-to-6-month stretch.
Puppy teething peaks around 4 to 5 months and ends around 6 to 7 months. Give them cold, soft, appropriately-sized chews: frozen washcloths, ice cubes, frozen carrots, soft puppy-specific rubber toys, lick mats with frozen yogurt, and frozen Kongs with soft filling. Skip rawhide, cooked bones, hard nylon chews, antlers, and anything small enough to swallow. Redirect biting calmly. Stay patient, it's a few months that feel longer than they are, and then you have a dog with a full adult set of teeth who only chews things you actually gave them.
If your puppy is destroying furniture or hands despite plenty of appropriate chew options, talk to a positive-reinforcement trainer. Teething is normal but escalating biting can also signal stress, frustration, or lack of stimulation that's worth addressing.
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