Top Five Products for Teething Puppies

If you have a teething puppy, you know what damage a dog can do to wood furniture, upholstery, and leather shoes. While you can protect your items from tiny chompers by coating them with deodorant or lemon furniture polish, that still won't alleviate your puppy's teething discomfort. Luckily, there are many kinds of chew toys and chewy treats that will soothe his teething pain--and keep him occupied long enough to forget about your furniture! Some products can be purchased from pet supply stores, others you can make at home.

(1) Nylabone Teething Toys: Nylabone toys are flavored toys made of thermoplastic polymer, a rubbery compound that is safe for a puppy's digestive system. They come in dozens of shapes and sizes just as teething toys for babies.

Unlike rawhide, which can cause intestinal blockages if a puppy swallows too much, nylabone chew toys are very resistant and degrade very slowly, so your dog won't ingest a lot of shavings. The toys are specially designed for dogs that have no adult teeth. You can order Nylabone from Pet Mountain.

(2) Frozen Low-Sodium Chicken Broth Cubes: This is a tasty teething treat you can make at home. Dogs love the flavor of chicken, and the cold ice helps numb teething discomfort. Simply make a diluted batch of chicken broth using either real chicken or low-sodium bouillon cubes. Freeze blocks of chicken broth in a regular icecube tray, or bone-shaped ice trays. Larger blocks melt more slowly and so keep your puppy chewing longer.

(3) Kong Goodie Bone: Kong bones are made of durable rubber so they can withstand the constant gnawing of a teething puppy. Kong chew toys are unique among teething toys in that you can insert treats into ends of the bone. Your dog will stay occupied for a while trying to get at the goodies. You can order Kong Bones from Pet Mountain.

(4) Dehydrated Beef Chunks: Another chewy treat you can make at home is simple beef cubes. You can either dry raw meat in a food dehydrator, or bake chunks of stewing beef in the oven. If dehydrating raw meat, purchase it from a trusted butcher to avoid food-borne illnesses. If baking it in the oven, boil it in water for a while before baking so that it is tough and chewy but not brittle.

(5) Frozen Rope or Washcloth: You can make an inexpensive freezer toy using old towels or ropes made from cotton or canvas. Soak the cloth or rope in water and pop it in the freezer until it becomes solid. (If using a washcloth, twist it into a ball or rope shape.) When the toy is hard enough, give it to your puppy to chew on.

You can make it more appealing by soaking the cloth or low-sodium chicken broth, or smearing it with peanut butter. Since the cloth thaws after about 30 minutes, you can freeze several at once. Give them to your pet one at a time so that your teething puppy can enjoy continuous relief from teething pain.