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Teething weeks
How to survive puppy teething with frozen Kongs and patience
Somewhere between three and six months, your puppy's baby teeth come out and the adult set pushes through, and for those weeks the mouth is sore, the puppy is restless and everything at floor level is a candidate. It ends. Until it does, the job is to make chewing the right thing easier than chewing the wrong thing.
What you need
What you need: three textures, a freezer shelf and a room with nothing to lose
Chewing is not one need. A teething puppy wants something soft to gnaw when the gums ache, something firm to work when it is restless and something cold to numb the sore spots. So the menu has three textures: a rubber toy that gives, a harder chew that lasts, and something frozen. Kongs cover two of the three, filled with soaked kibble or plain yogurt and frozen overnight, and a wet washcloth twisted and frozen covers the cold one for pennies.
Clear the room before the puppy does. Shoes go in a closet, cables go behind furniture or into a box, the rug corner gets a chair on it, and the chewable chair legs get a gate between them and the puppy. The point is not to punish exploring; it is to make sure the only things in reach are things you are happy to see chewed. A puppy that has never reached a shoe never learns that shoes are good.
- A soft rubber chew, a firm long-lasting chew and something frozen
- Two or three Kongs stuffed and frozen ahead, always
- One puppy-proofed room with a gate, a crate and a water bowl
- A bag of tiny treats for every swap
The method
The method: freeze ahead, rotate, redirect, and check the mouth on Sundays
The method runs on preparation. When the puppy is chewing the coffee table at 9 PM, the swap only works if a frozen Kong is already in the freezer; a swap that involves ten minutes at the counter is a swap that fails. So the routine is built around the freezer shelf, refilled every time it empties, and a chew rotation that keeps the toys interesting without buying more.
The redirect is the part to get right. When the puppy mouths a hand or a chair leg, you do not shout, push or chase. You get up, fetch the chew, offer it, and pay the moment the puppy takes it. Calmly, every time, for weeks. Repetition is the whole of the lesson. A puppy that hears a yell learns that chewing gets attention, which is exactly what it wanted.
- 01
Sunday: stuff three Kongs with soaked kibble, a spoon of plain yogurt or mashed banana, and freeze them. Twist two wet washcloths and freeze those too.
- 02
Set out two chews at a time, not the whole box, and swap the pair every day so each one comes back new. Keep a frozen Kong for the evening slump.
- 03
When the puppy chews something wrong, walk to the chew, offer it in silence, and pay the switch with a treat. Say nothing about the wrong thing.
- 04
Mouths on skin get the same treatment: stand up, go still, offer the chew. If the puppy follows and grabs at trousers, step behind the gate for thirty seconds.
- 05
Give the brain a job before the mouth finds one: a five-minute training game, a scatter of kibble in the grass, a puzzle feeder at lunch.
- 06
Nap on time. A teething puppy that is also overtired chews everything; most evening chewing is tiredness. Chew in the crate, lights down.
- 07
On Sundays, lift the lip and look. Count what has come out, check for a baby tooth still standing beside an adult one, and tell your vet about anything stuck or sore.
Where it goes wrong
Where it goes wrong: the old shoe, the antler and the chase around the sofa
Giving the puppy an old shoe to save the new ones is the mistake everyone regrets. A puppy cannot tell a retired sneaker from a work boot, and the household ends up with a dog that chews shoes for life. The same goes for socks, stuffed animals that look like the children's, and any towel you would mind losing. Chews should only ever be chews.
The second mistake is the too-hard chew. Antlers, bones, hooves and some hard nylon toys can crack a tooth, and a puppy's new adult teeth need to last a dozen years. A chew you cannot dent with a thumbnail is a chew to leave on the shelf. If in doubt, ask your vet what they see broken teeth on, and check the ASPCA's poison control page for the foods that should never go inside a Kong.
The third is the chase. The puppy grabs a sock, the owner lunges, the puppy runs, and the best game of the day is invented. Never chase. Trade instead: hold out a treat, say drop it, pay the drop and put the sock away. A puppy that learns that giving things up pays well brings you the sock instead of eating it.
- No shoes, socks or anything that looks like one
- If a thumbnail cannot dent it, it is too hard
- Trade, never chase
- Nothing sweet, salty, grape-based or chocolate in a Kong
The Cape Ann version
The Cape Ann version: the wrack line, the summer humidity and the frozen treats at daycare
A teething puppy on a Cape Ann beach in the off-season has a whole buffet in the wrack line. Lobster bands, bits of rope, crab shells, fish bones and driftwood that splinters are all at mouth height along Good Harbor on even-numbered days and Wingaersheek on odd ones between October 1 and April 30, and a sore-gummed puppy will chew whatever is closest. Keep the long line short near the tide line, carry a chew for trades, and teach drop it before the first beach trip. Anything swallowed that you cannot name is a call to your vet or the ASPCA poison line before you leave the lot.
Summer is the other problem. A frozen Kong on a humid July afternoon in Gloucester is a puddle within the hour, so freeze the washcloths in pairs and hand out the second when the first goes limp, and keep the cold chews for the crate indoors. On daycare days the freezer comes with us: a frozen Kong is a $6 add-on to any daycare day at 210 Eastern Ave, a homemade pupsicle is $6 and a lick mat is $5, booked online, in the Dogtown app or at drop-off.
When to hand it to us
When to hand it to us: a tired mouth from a playgroup, and a Kong at the end of it
A half day in a matched puppy group does what no chew can: it tires the whole puppy. Groups at Dogtown are 7 to 10 dogs of a similar size and play style with a handler, and a puppy that has spent a morning wrestling politely with pups its own age comes home with a mouth that has had its fill. Book a frozen Kong or a lick mat onto the day so the settle happens on something cold. A half day is $33, a full day $42, and new customers take 15 percent off the first visit with FIRST15.
Every puppy starts with the free evaluation on a weekday between 6:30 and 9:30 AM, with Rabies, DHPP and Bordetella on file and a current city license. If the mouthing has turned into hard biting that a redirect does not stop, tell the front desk; our trainers work on puppy biting without punishment and will tell you whether this is teething or something that needs a plan.
- Half day in a matched puppy group, plus a $6 frozen Kong
- The free evaluation first, weekday morning, records and license on file
- Biting that does not stop with a swap: ask our trainers
At Dogtown
Something cold, and somewhere to chew it
Playgroups that tire the whole puppy, and frozen add-ons for the settle afterward.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
When do puppies stop teething?
What can I put in a frozen Kong for a puppy?
Is it okay to freeze a washcloth for a teething puppy?
Will daycare help with teething?
More questions? Read the full FAQ
Sources
Rules and dates change. We re-check every beach, licensing and ordinance page each spring and fall; the source above is the current word.
Keep reading
Next step
Freeze ahead, swap calmly, nap on time.
Book the free evaluation, then add a frozen Kong or a lick mat to your puppy's first daycare day.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
