Teething is a Whole Journey in and of Itself

Welcome back everyone! Before we start our journey together today on this particular post, can we take a minute to talk about this picture to our left? Ahhh, the nostalgia that is knowing that Athena was once small enough to fit on my chest :')! Yes, she was indeed that little and now she takes up from my chest all the way down to my knees when she lays on me! Ok, enough of my cheesy mom reminiscing moment and on to today's topic :). *sniff sniff* but still Athena, no more growing up!! :') LOL

Ok, so I have to admit... while this picture is quite adorable and brings back beautiful memories of Thena's first weeks with me, I chose it because it is also perfect for today's topic. You see, in this picture, my little one was at the very beginning of her teething stage. In my past posts I have briefly discussed about going through this phase but, have yet to get a bit more into detail on it.

As pawrents to be, we have all heard about how beautiful, fun, yet challenging the puppy years can be with a new fur-baby. The challenge comes from the fact that our little ones are BUNDLES of endless energy and are ready to tire us out before they are even remotely tired enough to call it a night themselves. Another part of that challenge is teething! Yes, teething is a time that requires a lot of help and TLC for the little one as well as strength, understanding, teaching, and patience on behalf of us pawrents. I learned this very quickly with my baby girl!

You see, during the teething phase, I experienced what so many other parents experience and that is the ever infamous and incessant puppy nipping. At approximately 3-4 months old, I could see Thena's behavior changing. She began getting more and more interested and fixated with biting her toys as well as other household items that she was not supposed to be getting into (i.e., shoes, nightstands, cups, napkins, blankets, etc.) At first, it was very frustrating not only because she was getting into everybody's things and tearing them apart, but also because there was a potential that whatever she broke off she would be able to swallow making it a serious gastric-obstruction risk. Another behavior that was just as concerning was that she began skipping her mealtimes. This was frustrating and frightening at the same time because, as a growing pup, I knew she needed all those nutrients from her kibble to help her grow healthy and strong. I was afraid that this skipping mealtime would continue on long enough to where she could become malnourished or have trouble growing. Yup, hello anxiety my old friend...

So, what is a pawrent to do when their little one is exploring everything whilst making themselves a risk to their wellbeing and your stuff? Once again, I'm not an expert; however, I am going to share how I handled the situation as a first-time dog-mom. For you and your little one it might be a bit different, but this is how I particularly got by. I began by "Puppy proofing" our living space so to speak. For me, "puppy proofing" meant, and means to this day, that I keep all things that she can bite or chew on as far out of her reach as possible. Anything that she can knock down or tear apart is kept at a distance to where even her long Dachshund build cannot reach it. "Puppy proofing" also means my husband and I being vigilant at all times to where she is, what she is smelling, and what she has in her mouth at all times. Our eyes are like locks that are placed behind cabinet doors and do not let our little explorer reach their destination. We have learned to show Thena when she is chewing on the wrong thing by letting her know with our stern tone of voice that whatever she has in her mouth is not ok. This is also usually followed by moving her and/or the object away or taking said item out of her mouth. This method has worked fairly successfully for us! Athena does not come near chargers, and she has learned to stay away from our shoes... two of the many items she re-offended with at the beginning and for which we had to get stern with her about. We also made sure to redirect her desire to chew and nip to more proper items such as teething bones/toys and her other gum scratching chewies. We worked to teach her that it was ok to get the relief she needed from her teething but that it had to be done with the proper items. She learned really quickly which I am grateful and proud of her for.

As for her kibble, this one took me a few more days than it should have to figure out what was going on. We thought, at first, that her lack of appetite was possibly due to her becoming a fussy eater until I realized that she was leaving tiny spots of blood on her toys which corresponded to her gums. It was then I realized that the reason she was not enjoying her meals as much anymore was because it was hurting her too much to break her kibble apart. I began adding just enough water to her kibble to make it into a more gruel-like consistency; thus, making it easier for her to enjoy and eat. This helped TREMENDOUSLY as she was able to get through her meals without pain until the point where those particular deciduous teeth came out.

Just like a human child, animals also go through this phase of life. For them, like for us, it is a time of discomfort. The difference is that, as human babies, we show it by crying, fussing, and even by running slight fevers. For our fur-babies, though uncomfortable as it is, they don't cry. They manifest it through not wanting to eat and looking for relief for their gums by chewing on anything they can find around them. The fact of the matter is that, whether parent or pawrent, it is our job to make sure that these little ones come through these times as smoothly and comfortably as possible. I can guarantee you that it is going to be a time where you will have to understand that behaviors are going to change, and not always for the better... sometimes it's our fur-babies being mischievous and even hard to calm down. This is where our understanding and patience really needs to come into play. We need to understand that their behavior stems from a temporary discomfort (yes, growing those little teeth and having them slice through delicate gums is not a pleasant process). We also need to remember that, during this process, it is not going to be helpful at all to them if we lose our cool... no matter how much we want to! We're not going to be perfect, and that is ok, but attempting to catch ourselves before we act is going to help the situation as well. For example, instead of yelling or scolding our little ones because they bit our favorite pair of sneakers, we should let them know, in a stern yet kind way, that it's not okay to do that and then offer them a toy whilst letting them know that that is an item they can chew on and enjoy.

Just like a regular parenting journey, pawrenting is also a journey where we learn and grow along with our little ones. Teething is one of those many lessons that your fur-baby is going to teach you. When it gets tough and a bit frustrating just remember it is a temporary situation. Also remember that there will come a time where your puppy will be fully grown with all their pearly whites in place, and you will miss the crazy times where anything and everything was their chew toy. Trust me ;) it will happen, and this season too shall pass. Enjoy it now as it is an experience that is as energetic, crazy, unique, beautiful, and special as your little one is! Happy teething and remember... You and your little one got this! :) :D