Maltipoo Teething

There are a few challenging phases you will face when bringing a new puppy home. Teething is one of the top challenges.
When a puppy is teething, there is quite a bit of discomfort and itching. This can send a pup into a frenzy as he looks for something to cure his teething discomfort. However, there are some things that you can do to help your puppy and keep your home from being destroyed.

The Maltipoo Puppy Teething Timeline

Maltipoo Puppies are born without teeth, but they will grow in very soon.
They will first grow a 'puppy set' of 28 deciduous teeth, and then later an adult set of 42 teeth.

Here is an example of the time table for the puppy teeth coming in:

• 3-4 Weeks Old – The puppy's canines (the longer teeth on each side in the front of the mouth) begin emerging

• 3 to 5 Weeks Old - The incisors (the tiny teeth in the front) begin coming in

• 4-6 Weeks Old – The premolars (larger side teeth) begin to show

• Puppies should have a total of 28 milk/puppy teeth by the age of 8 weeks.
  

The age that a Maltipoo starts the teething phase when the milk teeth start falling out and the adult teeth growing in is just around the 4 month mark. There will, of course, be some early and late bloomers. Typically, teething is complete around 8 months of age.

The order of this is usually as follows:

• 4 Months old – the adult incisors begin to grow in
  

• 5 months old - the adult canine teeth begin to grow in
  

• 6 months old - the adult molars begin to grow in
  

• By 8 months old, a puppy should have all adult dog teeth ascended and teething will end.
  

How to Help When Your Maltipoo is Teething

Puppies have very little self-control so you'll need to take some steps to prevent your puppy from chewing on non-toy items and to help with the itching and discomfort.

Here is what you can do:

1. Puppy-proof the house.
In this section you will see that there will be little time for your Maltipoo to roam around and mouth things. However, all it takes is a second.
So you'll want to scour every room that your puppy could possibly be in for hazardous items.

• Tie cords out of the way, and use cord concealer for those that must stay plugged in and within reach.

• Pick up any small items from the floor that they might chew. Teething puppies often mouth things just to find out if they might be pleasant to chew on, so nothing is off limits. Sometimes dogs will chew and swallow small socks, toys and coins. Pay close attention to items of this nature to make sure they are not available for your puppy to chew or swallow.

• Put shoes, clothing and personal items up high. If a shoe gets destroyed during the teething phase, it is not the puppy’s fault. It should always be kept up where the puppy cannot reach it.
  

2. Supervise.

Supervising is one of the most important yet simple and overlooked items in keeping your dog from chewing items they shouldn’t.

Young teething pups should not be allowed to roam the house, leaving puddles of pee and poop throughout. They should have a designated area and supervision whenever possible to avoid these issues.

When you can have your puppy near you, keep your pup on a harness with a 6 foot leash. You can simply slip the end of the leash around your wrist or secure it through your belt loop. Be sure to use a harness and not a collar, as this will prevent neck injury as your Maltipoo follows you around.

When you cannot keep an eye on your puppy, keep him in one designated area. One of the best ways to set up a comfortable and safe area is to use an indoor playpen. These are also great for potty training and to keep a puppy's essentials right near him to help cope with separation anxiety. Inside the playpen should be a bed, water, food (if you won't be home) and teething toys. Read More About Setting Up a Safe Space for Your Maltipoo

3. Provide effective teething toys.

You don’t need to waste time stocking up on generic toys. These will not help with teething discomfort. Teething puppies need toys that are specifically designed to soothe discomfort and relieve itching.
The toys should be:

1. Properly sized - If a puppy has to struggle to fit parts of the toy in his mouth, he will most likely give up.

2. Properly textured - What really helps a teething puppy is that the toy has the right density to work the jaw, while having textures that scratch itchy gums.

• There are two textures that work well for this.

  • tiny nubs

  • ropes - Ropes are a good choice to have as at least one of your pup's toys, since you can soak and freeze them.

    Giving your puppy cold ropes can really help with both pain and itching, and it also helps with swelling that often occurs around the teeth.

How Often Should I Walk My Puppy?

Having a puppy is a handful, and there’s lots of things that you need to know – especially when it comes to walking and exercising your puppy. In this article I’m not just going to tell you how often you need to walk your puppy, but also how long the walks should be depending on the age and breed of your puppy.

When can you start?

First of all, when can you start walking your puppy? You need to wait two weeks after your puppy’s final vaccination booster, which means your puppy would be around 16-18 weeks old.

This is to ensure that your puppy will be protected, because their developing immune systems make them more susceptible to viruses which they can catch from going outside (such as distemper and parvo).

While you’re waiting for your puppy to be able to go outside, you can help them get their needed exercise simply by playing with them, or there are puppy training/social classes. This is ideal if you only have one puppy, so that they can start socializing with other dogs as early as possible. Also on top of that I recommend dog training books which will give you even more useful tips on things like socializing your puppy.

How often and how long?

Now that you can walk your puppy, to figure out how often you should walk them you need to take some things into consideration: what is your puppy’s energy level, both mental and physical, and what breed of dog is your puppy.

Your puppy will need to be let outside many times throughout the day to use the bathroom, but you should be going out for short walks at least once or twice a day. Every puppy has different limits, perhaps you happen to have an extremely high-energy pup for example.

Now, let’s look more specifically at exactly how long you can walk your puppy depending on their age.

On average, you should walk your puppy at a ratio of five minutes per month of age. This means that at three months, you take them for a walk for 15 minutes a day. When your puppy is six months old, you can walk them for a total of 30 minutes a day. You can choose to split this into two or three walks, or do it all at once – again, remember, this depends on the individual puppy.

Australian shepherds need longer walks than pugs, and border collies need more mental stimulation than other dogs. Bigger dog breeds, such as St. Bernards and Great Danes, shouldn’t be taken on long walks until they’re at least eight months old, but they do need several short walks. This is because the bones and joints of larger breed puppies take longer to mature than those of smaller dog breeds.

Don’t overdo it

Be sure not to force your puppy to do too much exercise, because overexerting him or her could potentially damage their developing joints. Slow and steady walks are necessary to build strong muscles, so don’t rush your puppy either.

Letting your pup play with other puppies is fine, but you shouldn’t really let him run around with adult dogs, because he will try to keep up with them.

Also, you shouldn’t take your puppy running because that level of activity is just too much for them.

Never exercise your puppy on a full stomach after eating because this can cause bloating, and you need to make sure your puppy has the time to take plenty of naps throughout the day.

As you increase the amount of time you are on walks, make sure you do it gradually, and don’t go out for walks during the hottest or coldest parts of the day.

Consistency is really important, so if you take your 4-month-old puppy out for 20-minute walks, but you split it in half and take him for two 10-minute walks a day, keep this up and avoid changing routine.

AUTHOR: David Gray

David is a long time dog lover since he can ever remember, he runs his own blog over at Dog Desires where he shares tips and advice for everything imaginable about dogs.

Is a Maltipoo Right for You?

Getting a dog or puppy on impulse is not usually a good idea.  Each breed of dog was designed to do specific things. You need to decide what you want in a dog and what your dog will be doing before deciding on a breed.  There are a lot of pros and cons you should weigh when looking at Maltipoos or any other breed.

There are so many different breeds to choose from. When different breeds were originally developed, there was a greater emphasis on the ability to do a job, such as herding, guarding, hunting, drafting, etc., than appearance.  If a particular breed interests you, find out what the dog was bred to do.

The Maltipoo breed was originally bred to be a hypoallergenic companion dog for allergy sufferers.  They were bred to receive the intelligence, affection, and trainability from both the Poodle and Maltese breed as well as the low to no shedding.

Maltipoos hate being left alone and get separation anxiety very easily, so they are not an ideal breed for families that are not going to be home often.

So DO get a Maltipoo if you are looking for:

• Companionship

• Playmate for the Kids

and DON’T get a Maltipoo if you are looking for:

• Protection

• A special activity, such as hunting or herding

Are Maltipoos Hypoallergenic?

Maltipoos are Hypoallergenic and a great option for those with allergies. If you’re looking for a short answer to this question, there it is. But the more accurate answer to this question “Are Maltipoos Hypoallergenic” has a bit more detail we need to cover.

What does “Hypoallergenic" mean?

The Oxford Dictionary gives the definition relatively unlikely to cause an allergic reaction. So when people are measuring the pros and cons of Maltipoos and ask if Maltipoos are hypoallergenic, although Maltipoos are hypoallergenic the real question you’re asking is “Will I or a member of my family be allergic to my new Maltipoo puppy?”

Maltipoos are low to non-shedding dogs which means there is very little chance “relatively unlikely” your allergies will be triggered like with other breeds. The Maltipoo breed has hair instead of fur, which most people think is the reason for being hypoallergenic. But most people that have allergies are allergic to the dander (dead skin cells that fall off and collect in the fur) and not the coat of the dog. Both dogs with fur and dogs with hair have dander. The top layer of skin is in a constant state of renewal where the dead cells are replaced with new ones, just like humans.

The thing that makes the difference in the severity of the allergic response is that fur is usually a lot thicker than hair. Because fur is thicker, it holds onto and collects the dander. The Maltipoo hair is silky and soft, which allows the dander to fall out. When a person that suffers from allergies pets or grooms a dog, they come into contact with whatever is on the coat. With the Maltipoo, there is much less dander that has collected so a person may have a smaller or no allergic response when handling the dog.

Also, Maltipoos are said to be non-shedding, but this is not entirely true. The coat will shed any dead hairs and replace with new ones just like the skin. This happens at a much slower rate than dogs with fur so there will be less dead hairs around the house to cause allergic reactions.

To conclude, the Maltipoo is hypoallergenic but that doesn’t mean there’s a zero percent chance you will have an allergic reaction. Maltipoos as much as any other breed should be considered Low Allergenic.

What can I do to reduce the risk of allergic reactions?

When you are considering purchasing a Maltipoo and you or a family member have allergies, it is recommended that you hold the dog or puppy for at least 20 minutes and play with them to see if they cause any kind of reaction. Be sure to do this indoors since the air outside can push the dander away and give false results. To date, we have never had a complaint from someone with allergies that has adopted a Maltipoo from us which gives us high confidence in saying Maltipoo could be a great option for you!