At what age do cocker spaniels stop chewing? Answered plus Tips

Cocker spaniel puppies, just like any other dog breed puppies go through a chewing phase. During this phase, your cocker spaniel puppy will chew on just about anything, your furniture upholstery, your shoes and anything else on their way.

Cocker spaniels chew when they are teething because when their teeth are growing out, your pup’s gums become sensitive and painful, just like a baby experiences and this makes them uncomfortable. To ease the discomfort, your cocker spaniel puppy chews on things. If your puppy is going through this phase, you must wonder will it ever end. We will tell you all about it and how to deal with your cocker spaniels chewing.

At what age do cocker spaniels stop chewing?

Cocker spaniels stop chewing before 1 year

Cocker spaniels stop chewing when they are about 5-7 months. Cocker spaniels start shedding their baby teeth when they are about 3 months old to give way to their adult teeth. The cocker spaniel’s 28 baby teeth will slowly fall off to be replaced by 42 adult teeth. The teething lasts up to about 7 months old. Sometimes, teething can last for up to a year. You don’t have anything to worry about if your cocker spaniel doesn’t have 42 teeth by the 7 months mark.

If your puppy is chewing wood then you can check my guide on how to stop dogs chewing wood in this guide

You may also be wondering when you can leave your cocker spaniel alone, learn more about that here

How can you help your cocker spaniel puppy during teething?

The teething is usually a very uncomfortable phase of your puppy’s life. Their gums are all swollen and painful and chewing constantly helps to soothe their gums. The downside to this phase is that your furniture, shoes and other items suffer damage. While teething is important, you also don’t want the damage that comes along with it if you don’t address the chewing. Here is how to deal with a puppy’s chewing.

Do chew toys discourage chewing?

Cocker spaniels with plenty of chew toys to keep them from chewing other items

Chew toys are a great way to redirect your puppy’s destructive chewing. These toys also provide your puppy with something safe to chew on. When you have chew toys around, you can trade things you don’t want your cocker spaniel chewing to the toy. This is not however, a guarantee that your puppy will never chew on your favourite items, but it will provide an alternative to your favourite shoes and furniture.

We recently reviewed some puppy starter kits which include most of the items needed

Use interactive feeding toys to soothe swollen gums

Some interactive feeding toys are made in such a way that you can pack some food and freeze it in the toy before you give it to your puppy. These feeding toys are designed in a way that your puppy has to struggle to get the food out of the toy. This, in turn, soothes their swollen gums and the frozen treats will also numb your puppy’s gums in the process, which provides relief from the pain. As the puppy is rewarded from chewing these toys, they are likely to keep your puppy engaged.

Training cocker spaniel puppies not to chew

Training is crucial at every stage of a dog’s life. Training your puppy on some simple commands like “leave it” will help when you need to refocus their energy from destructive chewing.

Learning more about training a puppy cocker spaniel in this guide

Mental stimulation can help reduce chewing

Whilst most puppies chew on things to relieve the gums’ pain, some puppies chew just because they are bored and lacking mental stimulation, especially, cocker spaniels because they are an energetic breed.

To avoid this, make sure your cocker spaniel puppy gets enough exercise for the day. For an adult cocker spaniel, 30 minutes twice a day will be enough. Dogs also chew when they are anxious and stressed. Check that nothing in your cocker spaniel’s environment is stressing them.

If you think your cocker spaniel is hyper you can read more about how to overcome this here

You can also check this guide on how long you should walk cocker spaniel puppies here

Taste deterrents

Some dog owners have reported that spraying things you don’t want your puppy to chew on with nasty tastes for dogs, like apple cider vinegar and lemon solutions prevents puppies from chewing.

In conclusion,

Teething is a natural stage of every dog’s life, regardless of the breed. During this stage, your puppy will chew on just about anything to ease the discomfort in their gum. This stage lasts from about 3 months old when your puppy’s puppy teeth start falling off to when they are about 7 months to around a year old.

Whilst this chewing stage is inevitable, you can deal with it by providing your cocker spaniel with alternative items to chew on, like chew toys. Some interactive feeding toys also allow you to pack them with frozen treats. Other than keeping your puppy occupied, they also numb the painful gums providing relief.

Also read this guide on why your puppy might be crying at night

We also have a good guide on how to stop puppies from biting you which you might find useful