Has your furry friend reached the age of 8 weeks and you’ve noticed that some of their teeth are missing? Don’t worry, it’s completely normal for puppies to be born without teeth and to gradually develop them over time.
However, by the age of 8 weeks, teeth are crucial for your puppy’s health and well-being. As a fellow dog parent, I understand how concerning and worrisome this can be. That’s why it’s important to understand the stages of tooth development in puppies.
Just like humans, puppies go through several stages of tooth development. And there are several reasons why your 8-week-old puppy may have no teeth or missing teeth.
It could be due to losing their deciduous teeth, genetic conditions, periodontal disease, inadequate chewing toys, canine distemper, or swallowing hard objects like stones. If your puppy is missing teeth at 8 weeks, it’s important to seek treatment from a veterinarian.
Understanding why your puppy has no teeth is just the first step. With proper care and attention, your furry friend will develop a healthy set of teeth, allowing them to enjoy their food and maintain good oral health.
Why 8-week old a puppy has no teeth?
1. “My milk tooth has fallen.”
Puppies usually begin their teething at the age of 3 to 4 weeks, and by the age of 6 weeks, all of the puppy’s milk teeth might have erupted.
Also, puppies might begin to lose their deciduous teeth later on. First, the incisors will fall out at around 12 to 16 weeks of the puppy’s age. Following up, the canine teeth will fall out around 16 weeks.
Finally, the premolars will fall out at around 24 weeks.
So if your puppy has no teeth or missing teeth by the age of 8 weeks, he might be getting ready for the first set of his adult teeth!
2. “Hereditary issues.”
Are you a dog parent with a Doberman, Collie, or Pinscher? If you are, that might be a case cause the loss of teeth of these breeds is much more common due to various genetic factors.
So, missing teeth or being born with few teeth can depend on your puppy’s breed.
3. Canine Distemper Virus (CDV)
Canine Distemper virus or CDV is a severe contagious virus that can cause severe problems in our little blossom buddies. Usually, young dogs 2 to 6 months of age and not vaccinated puppies are infected more commonly.
CDV is spread through infected dogs’ coughs, sneezing, saliva, urine, and feces and can even be spread through a dog who has recovered and has just passed by one to two weeks only.
Moving on, when we consider the severity of the illness, it can be depended on several factors, such as the immunity of your pooch, the age of the pooch, and even the level of exposure.
When we consider the effects of the major symptoms of CDV, CDV can affect your puppy’s teeth in a considerably abnormal manner. Loss of teeth and discoloration of teeth can be a part of CDV. The other major symptoms include,
- Swallowed eyes and nose with white discharge or mucous discharge(conjunctive
- Dry cough following up with a moist cough
- Vomiting, nausea, diarrhea
- Seizures and tremors
- Weaken immunity
The above are just a few symptoms of the Canine distemper virus.
Suggested Readings: Can Puppy Teething Cause Vomit?
4. Periodontal disease.
Periodontal disease is occurred due to a bacteria named periodontitis. Poor nutrition and diet is precisely the main reason for this periodontal disease. The bacteria developed in the puppy’s mouth can eventually lead to plaque.
They will combine with other minerals and get hardened within a few days, like two to three. Moreover, unhygienic methods and teeth alignments can also cause periodontal disease.
Specifically, loss of teeth or missing or discolored teeth might even be a symptom of periodontal disease. Other symptoms of periodontal disease include,
- Excessive drooling
- Weight loss
- Reduced intake of food
- Bad breath
- Blood on chewable objects
- Saliva is bloodied
- Bleeding of gums
5. “Not the right chewing toys.”
Chew toys are just perfect for calming your puppy and giving them a fun and an ecstatic time for themselves. Yet, what if it is not the correct type of “chew toy”?
This may cause fracturing of teeth and ceratin cracks, which might loosen the teeth and make them fall off with time by the juvenile stage.
Moreover, it can even cause oral injuries and enamel damage, causing trouble to both you and your adorable fur creature.
Bones, antlers, cow hooves, and ice cubes are a few things people think might be suitable for the puppy, yet they need to be cautious when providing them with these.
Is it normal for a puppy to have no teeth by 8 weeks?
The most straightforward answer is “No.”It is generally not normal to have no teeth by 8 weeks unless the puppy’s deciduous teeth are falling off and getting ready for a new set of teeth.
Other than this reason, if your puppy has no teeth or teeth are missing, it would be a real deal to be a concern and focus on. “Why your puppy is not having or missing teeth by 8 weeks” can even be detrimental.
What to do if your puppy has no teeth by 8 weeks?
As I’ve mentioned above, if it’s not about the tooth fairy and your adorable pooch, consult a veterinarian as soon as possible. Here, the veterinarian will give a treatment or therapy according to your pooch’s age.
For example, For pooches under 9 months; the overlying gum tissue and bone could be removed to clear out the eruption path for the missing teeth.
The more you try to solve everything by yourself, it might get worse. Therefore, act consciously and handle the matter so that your pooch will be cured soon and be away from any pain caused in the future.
When does a puppy’s teething period begin?
Like our toddlers, these tiny creatures don’t have teeth at birth, yet that will not affect gaining the required nutrition for the age.
A puppy’s teething period begins from 3 to 4 weeks, and all deciduous teeth are erupted by 6 weeks generally. It will be followed by incisors, canine teeth, and the premolars. Yes, puppies do not have molars in their juvenile stage.
Furthermore, at around 12 weeks, puppies’ deciduous teeth will fall, giving rise to permanent teeth. So after the 28 deciduous teeth, your puppy will end up with 42 permanent teeth. He is growing up!
How to tell if your puppy’s teething period has begun?
Now, here comes the stage of identification! Let’s see how to identify when your adorable pooch has begun his teething period! Before proceeding.
one thing as a dog parent you should know is that the beginning of a puppy’s teething period is never difficult to identify. Let’s get into the facts straight away!
1. Chewing, chewing, chewing
As you might know, teething is simply an uncomfortable process for all of us, and it’s the same for our little pooches as well. As a result, they chew off things that give them complete relief!
Yes, it’s a pretty excessive kind of chewing! So, providing him with the “right type of chew toys” is vital.
2. Blood spots.
When the teething period has begun and excessive chewing is seen, you might even see tiny blood spots on your puppy’s toys.
3. Drooling
Your adorable puppy would be unintentionally flowing saliva out of his mouth because of the underdeveloped muscles around your puppy’s mouth. Poor one!
4. Crying, whining
The little one is in pain, so you might get to see whining a bit more often than usual due to his teeth upgrade! You’ll have to help him out at this point.
5. Other symptoms
Other than the above-mentioned few other features that can be identified are,
- Red swollen gums
- Become a slow eater
- Fever
Things to be aware of.
Let’s figure out some vital things that we should be concerned about, like a dog parent,
1. “The chewing toys.”
One might wonder why this is a reason to be concerned about, but you might have noted how vital it is as per the reasons mentioned above. For example, giving him hard bones can affect his enamel and gums, leading to teeth issues.
2. “Do not punish.”
Make sure he is not punished when he might be chewing off and nipping off things that you might love. The poor little one just doesn’t know it. He needs more love than ever.
Punishing would only make him traumatized, and there won’t be any good yelling at him or slapping him off!
Conclusion.
Let’s wind this off! I hope you got the answer to why your 8-week-old puppy has no teeth or missing teeth.
Stay connected with us to enhance your knowledge of your beloved pooch!
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