Dutch Shepherd Forum

Hi,
Amber is 5month 2weeks, she lost her baby teeth a month ago and her adult teeth are through not sure she has all 28.
? Is, she's no longer showing any signs of pain and they don't bleed when she eats bones or during basic puppy bite work. I use a leather rag to improve her grip and a soft bite cushion. I took her ipo training today for the first time, which they used a jute bite cushion, as this is different from her soft bite cushion I don't want to put too much pressure on her teeth, so I decided to go back to a leather rag at the mo and the club and i decided to stop bite work with her until she has finished teething.
Bottom line is...... How can you be certain that they have finished teething ?????.
Thanks
Paul

Inspect her mouth, teeth, and gums. Look for any loose puppy teeth, or if there are any left. Look for any open gum holes where a new tooth is still poking through. I never had to count teeth, I just look at them, and maybe feel with my finger if one is getting loose.

As far as I can see she has lost all baby teeth, none of her new ones are loose or bleeding, I can't see any holes for new ones, it's just the new adult ones are not that large which tells me that the roots can't be that strong, bite work could cause them harm or can it, she too young to bite properly

Well, they don't all fall out at once and grow in at once so chances are that most of them are established if even a couple are still growing in. You can at least do prey work and let your puppy catch and win the leather rag and carry it around, be careful not to try to snatch in and yank or pull too much if you do suspect some of her teeth might still be soar. It's kind of a touch and feel thing as all dogs are different. You have to go based on your dog's reaction, no one over the internet can really tell you when is a good time to restart full out bite work.

If you are in a club and the helper is an experienced person they might be the best person to give you advice on this after seeing the dog in person.

Dora is 2 wks older, all new teeth are there. Will wait for another month or 2 and let her get a bite.

Hey choochi,
Thanks, your right Amber's baby teeth fell out at different times as well as the adult teeth coming through.
I've had another look and they all look like they are all there. The club thinks is best to leave the bite work alone at the moment, it can have a reverse effect on amber if her teeth cause her discomfort and she can turn her bite aggressively. So it's tracking, scent, drive, motivation and Ob for her for now... I must say everyone at the club was amazed how much drive she has, this tough little cookie is going to turn out real good

Hi selena,
I'm also giving amber a break for a while, she turning out to be such a high drive little girl with plenty of fire that's for sure, I got loads of good comments from the club, pro k9, Sujay and Danny lines, you might of heard of them they are well recognised in ipo over here.
Love the the breeding, hats off to you and Megan, really glad Megan choose amber for me

I like to take advantage of this time to work on search and retrieve drives. We concentrate on the ball during teething and start to build a lot of brain action vs tug work. Restrained retrieves do a ton to continue to build drive and forward movement to the toy - but with no pain associated.