Puppies and kittens often go through the same teething problems as human infants and children! Just as with humans, if the symptoms are fairly mild, you don't have to do much for your pet: give good food, clean water, and plenty of safe "chew toys."
(nb. from our Holistic vet, Dr. Anuska Viljoen - "When puppies or kittens are teething and want to chew all manner of things to give the gums relief and to help the teeth cut in, give size appropriate raw bones to chew to help with the teething process."
Avoid treated raw hide chews as young animal guts are particularly sensitive to the chemicals used to soften and treat raw hide and this can upset their delicate gut immune system and micro-biome.
If your pet is obviously in pain or distress from teething, however, you will want to do something to help. In order to "take the case" of your pet, you will need to know about the breed's normal developmental stages for teething. You should also carefully observe your pet's current symptoms and behavior to make sure that your pet's "dis-ease" is teething and not something else, such as worms, or "foreign objects" lodged in the mouth or the intestines. Your veterinarian can help you make that determination!
First teeth come in about the time of weaning—those sharp little "needles" are usually what convince the mother to wean her offspring! Depending on the breed, this can occur as early as 5--6 weeks until about 8--9 weeks of age.
The most common signs of teething distress include tenderness or soreness of the gums, fussing or irritability, loss of appetite, fever, and possibly diarrhea. If you have not been through teething with your own children, it might be helpful to read homeopathic self-care books that address the subject. For example, Homeopathic Medicine at Home by Panos and Heimlich, has an excellent description of children's teething problems.
For some pets, there will be very few teething problems after the front adult teeth have come in. For others, the discomfort cycle begins again at about 7 months of age, when the back molars erupt. Study the symptoms, find the correct remedy, and they will be their happy selves again in no time!
Remedies for teething
Chamomilla: extreme irritability, hypersensitivity to pain, excessive salivation, and greenish diarrhea during teething.
Calcarea carbonica: slow dentition in "stocky" breeds, roly-poly kittens and puppies (not "worm-tummies!").
Calcarea phosphorica: slow or delayed dentition, swollen glands, colicky diarrhea, lean animals that have trouble putting on weight.
Rheum: difficult dentition with bad breath, colicky diarrhea with straining.
Silica: difficult teething in "delicate" animals, interdigital cysts or abscesses.
How to give remedies to pets
Most puppies and kittens love to put just about anything in their mouths, so something mildly sweet, such as a homeopathic pellet, is considered a treat. If they learn to take pellets or tablets early on, they are usually very willing patients later on in life, too!
In the event that your pet balks at having you touch their mouth, you can dissolve a couple of pellets in a tablespoon of fresh water or milk, and let them lick up the liquid or stir it into drinking water.
Dosage and frequency
Low potency homeopathic remedies (such as 6X or 6C) and mid-potencies (up to 30X or 30C) work well for teething problems. How often you have to give the remedy is completely dependent on the individual animal's symptoms and response to each dose. Sometimes they need only one dose to help cut that first tooth. Others might need three or four doses until the pain, swollen gums, and/or diarrhea are under control. A good rule of thumb is to stop giving the remedy as soon as you see steady improvement in temperament and physical symptoms.
(nb. from our Holistic vet, Dr. Anuska Viljoen - "When puppies or kittens are teething and want to chew all manner of things to give the gums relief and to help the teeth cut in, give size appropriate raw bones to chew to help with the teething process."
Avoid treated raw hide chews as young animal guts are particularly sensitive to the chemicals used to soften and treat raw hide and this can upset their delicate gut immune system and micro-biome.
If your pet is obviously in pain or distress from teething, however, you will want to do something to help. In order to "take the case" of your pet, you will need to know about the breed's normal developmental stages for teething. You should also carefully observe your pet's current symptoms and behavior to make sure that your pet's "dis-ease" is teething and not something else, such as worms, or "foreign objects" lodged in the mouth or the intestines. Your veterinarian can help you make that determination!
First teeth come in about the time of weaning—those sharp little "needles" are usually what convince the mother to wean her offspring! Depending on the breed, this can occur as early as 5--6 weeks until about 8--9 weeks of age.
The most common signs of teething distress include tenderness or soreness of the gums, fussing or irritability, loss of appetite, fever, and possibly diarrhea. If you have not been through teething with your own children, it might be helpful to read homeopathic self-care books that address the subject. For example, Homeopathic Medicine at Home by Panos and Heimlich, has an excellent description of children's teething problems.
For some pets, there will be very few teething problems after the front adult teeth have come in. For others, the discomfort cycle begins again at about 7 months of age, when the back molars erupt. Study the symptoms, find the correct remedy, and they will be their happy selves again in no time!
Remedies for teething
Chamomilla: extreme irritability, hypersensitivity to pain, excessive salivation, and greenish diarrhea during teething.
Calcarea carbonica: slow dentition in "stocky" breeds, roly-poly kittens and puppies (not "worm-tummies!").
Calcarea phosphorica: slow or delayed dentition, swollen glands, colicky diarrhea, lean animals that have trouble putting on weight.
Rheum: difficult dentition with bad breath, colicky diarrhea with straining.
Silica: difficult teething in "delicate" animals, interdigital cysts or abscesses.
How to give remedies to pets
Most puppies and kittens love to put just about anything in their mouths, so something mildly sweet, such as a homeopathic pellet, is considered a treat. If they learn to take pellets or tablets early on, they are usually very willing patients later on in life, too!
In the event that your pet balks at having you touch their mouth, you can dissolve a couple of pellets in a tablespoon of fresh water or milk, and let them lick up the liquid or stir it into drinking water.
Dosage and frequency
Low potency homeopathic remedies (such as 6X or 6C) and mid-potencies (up to 30X or 30C) work well for teething problems. How often you have to give the remedy is completely dependent on the individual animal's symptoms and response to each dose. Sometimes they need only one dose to help cut that first tooth. Others might need three or four doses until the pain, swollen gums, and/or diarrhea are under control. A good rule of thumb is to stop giving the remedy as soon as you see steady improvement in temperament and physical symptoms.
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