Our new puppy is now in the teething stage, and will be for a few months. I massage her gums the best I can, and since we have an older dog, there are more chew toys around the house than shoes. But I feel so bad for her when she's feverish. She is really restless at night, her mouth and gums and paws are hot and her her nose goes dry from the heat, too. I can tell she's just miserable.
I made these with my other dog when she was teething, too. I remember Googling this type of thing with my very first dog, so I'm sure others are too.
What you'll need:
1 - Hand towel or bar towel
Scissors
Bowl
Water (approx. 1-2 cups)
1 - Gallon-size Ziplock Freezer Bag
Vanilla Extract
1) Cut your towel into smaller pieces. I fold mine into thirds, then cut. Then folded each third into thirds, and cut - making 9 small squares. (They don't need to be very big, because otherwise they'll melt before your dog ever gets to chewing most of it. Also, smaller pieces freeze faster.)
2) Fill your bowl with about two cups of cold water. Put a few drops of vanilla extract in the water. Make it so it has a subtle vanilla smell to humans, which will be plenty strong for the pup. This will keep their interest and make it more like a treat.
3) Dip the towel pieces into the water, wring out excess, and throw into the Ziplock bag. Repeat with the other pieces. **Do not lay each towel piece on top of one another like layers. For one, it'll take longer to freeze. And two, once they freeze together, you'll have a heck of a time tearing them apart.)
4) Seal up the bag and toss it in the freezer. Take one out of the bag whenever you want your pup to cool their gums.
Ta da! Instant gum relief.
