Teething remedies can help your puppy cope with the pain and discomfort of the natural process of teething. During teething, your puppy's teeth are putting pressure on his gums in order to pierce through, and as a result he's feeling pretty uncomfortable. Follow these tips to remedy your puppy's teething pain.
Your Puppy Needs to Chew
Your puppy's natural reaction to the feeling of his teeth coming in is to find something to chew on. Offer your puppy an acceptable chew toy before he finds something else to chew on. Chewing on an acceptable toy can help your puppy cope with the discomfort of teething without destroying your home, possessions and furniture.
You can make your puppy's chew toy seem more interesting by rubbing it with peanut butter, bacon grease or something else that tastes good. Use just a tad, and rub it on two or three times a day. The more accustomed your puppy is to chewing on his chew toy, the less likely he'll be to chew on unacceptable items.
Use Ice to Numb Your Puppy's Gums
Ice can help to numb the pain and irritation in your puppy's gums. Give your puppy an ice cube, or put ice cubes in his water dish. A bowl of crushed ice will do the trick, especially for very small breed puppies.
Alternatively, you could place a twisted wash cloth into the freezer. Wet a cling cloth, wring it out, and twist it up tightly before putting it in the freezer. When you're done, you'll have a frozen rope that you can give your puppy to chew on. When the wash cloth melts, you can rinse and repeat.
Try Massaging Your Puppy's Gums
You can relieve the pain of teething by massaging your puppy's gums. Place one hand under your puppy's chin and gently massage the upper and lower gums for about ten minutes. Use small, circular motions to massage your puppy's gums.
Use Herbal Remedies
Natural herbal remedies can help soothe your puppy's teething pain. Freeze aloe vera juice in a paper cup and rub the resulting ice cube on your puppy's gums. The aloe vera can help to soothe your puppy's inflammation and irritation, while the cold helps numb the pain.
Chamomile can help calm your teething puppy, since he's likely to feel restless and agitated. Use one teaspoon of dried chamomile and eight ounces of boiling water to make a tea. Allow the tea to cool, and then give it to your puppy to drink. If your puppy won't drink the tea, you can squirt it into his mouth with a large syringe or turkey baster.
The homeopathic remedy, Chamomilla, is said to help soothe and calm puppies during their teething stage. Use the solution in 12X to 30X potency. Give this solution to your puppy two or three times a day to keep him calm and help to soothe his teething pain.
You can try adding chamomile or lavender essential oils to your dog's frozen teething rope to help soothe the pain and relax his nerves.