Teething is a normal developmental stage for your growing puppy, and yes, it comes with bleeding.
You don’t have to worry, as it’s a common side-effect of teething. It usually doesn't mean a serious problem, and they'll eventually grow out of it.
But first, you should know whether the bleeding is a result of teething or another condition.
Signs of Puppy Teething
Teething symptoms aren’t far from the usual puppy behavior, so pup owners may find it tricky to determine what is what.
Keep an eye on these behaviors if it becomes excessive or frequent.
Swollen Gums
You already know bleeding is a typical sign of teething, but so are swollen gums. You can check for redness or soreness around your puppy’s mouth to make sure he’s teething.
Drooling
Your puppy will drool more often during teething.
That’s mainly due to sore gums and from feeling a lot of pain around the mouth area. Even dog breeds known to drool a lot will show further drooling when they’re teething.
Excessive Chewing
Chewing is a normal dog behavior until it becomes excessive. When teething, your puppy will increasingly chew—on the most random things—as a way to relieve pain and discomfort.
Nipping
Puppies love nipping and play-biting, which are natural behaviors. However, it becomes more frequent when teething starts.
Whining
Your puppy will visibly be in a dull mood when teething because of pain. They’ll express discomfort through whining, grumbling, or displaying an irritable manner.
Whining is typical for dogs, especially puppies, and may be a nuisance. Though if they’re whining while chewing on a toy or eating, this is a likely reaction from teething.
Trouble Eating
Puppies will find it hard to eat when their mouths hurt from teething. They’ll eat at a slower rate and may avoid touching their food altogether.
Teeth Falling Out
Teething occurs twice for puppies, so they have plenty of baby teeth to grow out. Teeth will usually fall out of your puppy’s mouth, which is nothing to be alarmed about.
You’ll come to find rice-sized teeth scattered around the floor or on your puppy’s bed. Sometimes puppies will even swallow the fallen teeth, which is also normal.
Causes of Bleeding Other Than Teething
Teething may be the leading cause of bleeding, but there are other potential reasons why a puppy's gum bleeds. Some as indirect results of teething.
Trauma/Injury
A teething puppy is bound to chew anything he sets his eyes on. If the puppy finds something jagged or barbed, it may lead to trauma or injury.
Lacerations, scrapes, and puncture wounds are possible injuries from chewing hazardous objects and will cause bleeding.
Oral Infection
A wound in your puppy’s gums left unattended will lead to infection. Otherwise known as an abscess, it’s when bacteria collect in the injury and form a pocket of puss.
When an abscess erupts, the pus leaks out along with some blood. An oral infection will also result in a bad odor from your puppy’s mouth.
Gum Disease
Though puppies still have premature teeth, poor dental hygiene from a young age will result in gum disease in adulthood.
Periodontal disease is a common gum disease for dogs. It’s a complication that can lead to tooth loss, more abscesses, and even more gum bleeding.
Toxic Ingestion
Puppies are at risk of bleeding once they accidentally consume toxins. However, this is a type of bleeding that goes further into the body (hemoabdomen).
There are a number of toxic household items your puppy will unknowingly play with. Rat poisons and specific human medications will disrupt proper coagulation, causing bleeding.
What Can You Do to Help Your Teething Puppy?
Now that you’re familiar with teething symptoms and their related bleeding complications, it’s time to take action. The whole teething stage is too much for our poor pets, and we can make it a little easier for them.
Frozen Treats and Toys
Try giving your puppy frozen treats like carrots or green beans. Alternatively, try freezing their chew toys or giving them a rag soaked in water for 15–20 minutes.
Giving your puppy something frozen to chew on will help numb their gums and soothe the pain.
You may also consider feeding your puppy softer foods to reduce the pain when eating.
Puppy-Proofing Your Home
A safe environment is in your puppy’s best interest. Puppy-proofing your home prevents several accidents and injuries from happening.
Limit your puppy from exploring and chewing away by keeping them in a safe corner. Toxic household items and electrical wirings are tempting chews and must be out of reach.
Puppy-proofing is also in the owner’s best interest. Your prized possessions aren’t safe from a puppy on a chewing rampage. Hiding them saves you from the troubles of replacing them.
Teething Chew Toys
A puppy must still chew, especially when it helps him soothe the pain. So finding a safer chewing alternative is a must.
Gentle chew toys like teething sticks and rubber toys are available for your pups to chew. It’s best, though, if you’re nearby to supervise. Chewing can sometimes lead to swallowing hazards.
Bite Training
Puppies love to bite, and they mean it in the most playful way. But a puppy’s bite hurts more than you think.
You don’t want to hurt yourself and your puppy, so it's best to clear boundaries and adopt bite inhibition while they’re still young.
Positive Reinforcement
A teething puppy is in constant pain and is only acting out to relieve it. They may chew your shoe or accidentally nip your skin; you can resolve this through positive reinforcement.
If your puppy is chewing on something he shouldn’t, lay restrictions and take the puppy away from it. Then give him a safe chewing toy instead to set what he should and shouldn’t chew.
Dental Care
You can accustom your dogs to dental hygiene as early as when they’re puppies. This is to prevent gum diseases from showing up in the future.
Brushing their teeth can be too much when it's only developing. Instead, start by familiarizing them with the taste or scent of toothpaste.
Paul has been creating content for the dog niche for many years. The information he shares comes his first hand experience growing up in dog lovers household and then owning multiple dog breeds of his own as an adult. Paul enjoys doing the hard research to collect, analyze and present our dogtemperament.com readers with the best answers to their questions.