Safe vs Unsafe Puppy Teething Toys

Puppy teething toys should be firm enough to chew but never harder than a tooth can handle. Veterinary dentists have a simple rule: don’t let your dog chew anything that won’t bend. Here is how common chews measure up, so you can sort your toy basket tonight.

Which puppy teething toys are safe?

Good choices	Notes
Soft rubber puppy toys	Stuff and freeze them for sore gums
Rope toys	Supervise and trim loose threads
Soft plush toys	Replace when damaged
Frozen knotted washcloth	Remove if threads come loose
Puppy teething rings	Check the size rule
Frozen treats in a toy or on a lick mat	Never as a hard block

Soft rubber toys bend and dent, so they pass both of the tests below. Rope toys are fine when you supervise and trim any loose threads, and a frozen knotted washcloth is a cheap cold option as long as you remove it when threads come loose. Even good choices wear out, so check them every day.

What are the two chew tests?

1. Thumbnail test. Press your thumbnail into it. A safe chew should dent.
2. Knee test. If you wouldn’t hit it against your kneecap, it is too hard.

Add the size rule: any chew must be too big to fit fully in your puppy’s mouth. Supervise all chews and replace damaged toys, because no toy is 100 percent safe.

Which chews should you skip?

Too hard, can crack teeth:

• Antlers and hooves
• Cooked or raw bones
• Hard nylon bones
• Ice cubes and rocks

Choking or blockage risk:

• Rawhide
• Pig ears
• Bully sticks
• Tennis balls

The big back teeth, called carnassials, break most often on hard chews. Raw bones can also cause injury or intestinal obstruction that may need surgery.

Why did antlers not make the cut?

Antlers fail the thumbnail test. They do not dent, and hard chews like them can fracture teeth. A broken tooth needs a vet. A soft rubber toy gives the same chewing time with far less risk.

Do not use clove oil, human teething gels or human pain medicine for a teething puppy either. If your puppy seems to be in pain, call your vet.

How do you use cold safely?

Cold soothes sore gums. Serve frozen food inside a rubber toy or on a lick mat, never as a hard frozen block, and let it sit for 5 minutes so it softens slightly. Count treats as part of the day’s food, and check labels for xylitol, onion, garlic and salt.

What should you do today?

• Do the thumbnail test on every chew in your home.
• Bin anything that fails.
• Keep a basket of 3 or 4 safe toys in every room where you sit, so you are never more than an arm’s length from one.
• Swap the toys every 2 to 3 days. A rotating set stays new and far more interesting than your hands.
• Replace anything cracked, shredded or small enough to swallow whole.

Teething drives chewing on objects, while biting people is mostly play, so even the best toy will not fix hand biting alone. See the full guide for the calm response, and the help box below if a chew goes wrong.